ACUTE TOXICITY OF FUCHSIN BASIC (MAGENTA) AND ITS EFFECTS ON BLOOD PARAMETERS OF A FRESH-WATER CATFISH, HETEROPNEUSTES-FOSSILIS (BLOCH)

Fuchsin basic was tested for determining its acute toxicity to H. foss ilis. The 24, 48, 72 and 96 hr LC(50) values were found to be 130.80, 36.50, 34.30 and 31.20 ppm respectively. The calculated harmless (safe ) concentration of the funchin basis was 0.5 ppm. Exposure of the catf ish to acute (6.24 ppm) level of fuchsin basic for 96 hr and to sub-ac ute (3.12 ppm) for short (10-20 days) and sub-lethal (1.56 ppm) for 10 days, resulted in significant decrease in serum calcium and protein l evels. However, long term (30-60 days) exposures to both sub-acute and sub-lethal levels did not produce significant differences in the seru m calcium and protein levels from that of controls. The fish elicited hypercholesterolemia during acute and both short and long term exposur es to sub-acute and sub-lethal levels.