EVALUATION OF THE TOXICITY AND EFFICACY OF HYDROGEN-PEROXIDE TREATMENTS ON EGGS OF WARM AND COOL WATER FISHES

The use of hydrogen peroxide in aquaculture is growing and there is a need to develop fundamental guidelines to effectively treat diseased f ish. The safety (toxicity) of hydrogen peroxide treatments was determi ned on eggs of representative warm- and coolwater fish species. Eggs o f northern pike (Esox lucius), walleye (Stizostedion vitreum), yellow perch (Pel ca flavescens), white sucker (Catostomus commersoni), lake sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens), paddlefish (Polyodon spathula), commo n carp (Cyprinus carpio), and channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) we re cultured in egg jars or aquaria. Treatments were initiated with non -eyed eggs and continued until all viable eggs had hatched. Eggs were treated daily for 15 min Monday through Friday with either 0, 500, 100 0, 3000, or 6000 mu l l(-1) of hydrogen peroxide. For all species, the mean percent hatch was greater in eggs treated with 1000 mu l l(-1) h ydrogen peroxide for 15 min than in the untreated controls. Common car p, lake sturgeon, and paddlefish were the least sensitive to hydrogen peroxide with percent hatch ranging from 40 to 48% in the 6000 mu l l( -1) hydrogen peroxide treatment. Fungal infections reduced or eliminat ed the hatch in most controls whereas nearly all treated eggs remained free of infection; hydrogen peroxide inhibited fungal infections on f ish eggs. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.