Transfer of blue yunus (Cyrtocara moorii) juvenils with different anesthetics: Anesthesia and water quality

Synthetic anesthetics such as 2-phenoxyethanol, MS-222 (tricaine) and benzocaine are widely used in aquaculture. It is the only anesthetic that is legally allowed to use tricaine in edible fish in America and England. The Drug and Food Organization (FDA) reported that the MS-222 was removed from the fish body for 21 days. This causes the marketing of fish to be delayed. The use of different oils from herbal products, which are considered as a good alternative to synthetic anesthetics, is increasing day by day and studies are ongoing. Several studies have been carried out on the anesthetic effects of carnation oil in the investigations. However, the study on the anesthetic effect of mint and lavender oils was scarce and there were no studies on stock density and transfer considerations. Effective doses were determined by dissolving 1: 9 ethanol with anesthetics in the concentration range of 100-400 mg L-1 (for MS-222) and μL L-1 (for plant anesthetics). Afterwards, 4 different groups were prepared (3 different sedative doses, 10 ppm, 20, ppm and 30 ppm and one control group without anesthetic additive). The fish were put into nylon bags and the anesthetic was added and then the fish was transported for 6, 12 and 18 hours with 1: 3 air pressure and mouth taping. After the study was completed, the fish were observed for 72 hours to determine whether they were lost or not. In addition, different anesthetic applications were compared in terms of water quality criteria. As a result, the study showed that mint and lavender oils can be used as natural alternative to synthetic anesthetics in tropical fish species.