Induction and recovery from anesthesia in channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus fingerlings exposed to clove oil

The use of clove oil as an anesthetic for channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus fingerlings was examined. At 100 mg/L, clove oil induced anesthesia within 1 min following exposure. Fish recovered from a 10-min period of anesthesia in 100 mg/L clove oil within 4 min following removal from the anesthetic solution. At clove oil concentrations of 150 mg/L or greater recovery times were prolonged, requiring longer than 10 min for recovery. At 300 mg/L, mortality was observed with half of the catfish fingerlings failing to recover from the 10-min exposure. Fish could be safely maintained in 100 mg/L clove oil for periods of up to 15 min; exposure for longer than 15 min produced both prolonged recovery times and mortality. At a concentration of 100 mg/L clove oil produced responses similar to those of the commonly used fish anesthetic MS-222. The low cost of clove oil relative to MS-222 and the extensive testing and use of clove oil in dentistry and as a food ingredient make clove oil an attractive candidate as a fish anesthetic.