USE OF ELECTROANESTHESIA WITH FRESHWATER TELEOSTS - SOME PHYSIOLOGICAL CONSEQUENCES IN RAINBOW-TROUT, SALMO-GAIRDNERI RICHARDSON

Electroanesthesia caused both immediate and longer term alterations in the physiological status of the rainbow trout. These were not, by comparison with the related brook trout, more extensive than those associated with tricaine methane sulfonate (MS 222) anesthesia. Changes in hemotological indices were minimized, while the spontaneous resumption of cardiovascular-respiratory activity, and the character of variations in plasma electrolyte levels suggested that blood gas tensions and acid-base status may be less affected by electroanesthesia than by chemical anesthesia. Recovery in the control levels proceeded more rapidly in several instances. Electroanesthesia offers a useful alternative to chemical methods of anesthesia.