ISSN: 2577-4050
Authors: Akinrotimi OA*, Ikeogu CF and Anyaobu-Cookey IK
The efficacy of Rauwolfia Vomitoria root extracts as Anaesthetic agent in juveniles and adult sizes of Clarias Gariepinus were investigated. The time of induction (time taken for the fish to get anaesthetized) and recovery (time taken for the fish to recover from the effects of the anesthetics) for various concentrations were recorded in seconds using a stop watch. The concentrations used for the anesthesia bioassay were: 0.00-control, 50.00, 100.00, 150.00, and 200mg/l. The results obtained indicated that the induction time in both sizes were found to decrease significantly (P < 0.05) as the concentrations of the R. Vomitoria root extracts increased, with the shortest induction time 145.00±3.00(s) observed in juveniles at the concentration of 200mg/L and the longest 266.66±12.12(s) in adult at the concentration of 50mg/L of the extracts. However, the recovery time increased significantly with increasing concentration of the R. Vomitoria root extracts, with the highest recovery time of 732.33±11.50 (s) observed in Adult size, at 200.00mg/L concentration and the lowest 434.33±28.29(s) in Juveniles at 50.00mg/L concentration of the extracts, with the optimum dosage of 50.00mg/L and 100.0mg/L for juvenile and Adult sizes respectively. Interestingly, the survival of the exposed fish during the trial was 100% in both sizes, as no mortality was recorded in all concentrations of the plant extracts. The findings of this trial, indicated that R. Vomitoria root extracts, was efficient with zero mortalities and therefore can be recommended as an effective Anaesthetic for use in aquaculture.
Keywords: Anaesthetic; Aquaculture; Plant extracts; Catfish; Stress
