Cage-cultured Largemouth Bronze Gudgeon, Coreius guichenoti : Biochemical Profile of Plasma and Physiological Response to Acute Handling Stress

Abstract

We examined the blood biochemical profile and the physiological response to acute handling stress of a historically important economic but currently a rare endangered fish, Largemouth bronze gudgeon, Coreius guichenoti, in the upper Yangtze River. The results showed that the glucose (GLU) and triglyceride (TG) levels in the cage-cultured C. guichenoti were significantly higher than those of the wild type, and the basal cortisol (COR) level was higher than that of most other fish species. In the stress experiment, the fish were subjected to a low- and high-intensity handling stress, respectively, and sampling was performed before the stress and at 0, 1, 4, 12, 24, 72, 120, and 168 h after the stress. The levels of COR, GLU, lactate (LA), and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) of stressed fish exhibited an increase first and then a recovery to the pre-stress levels with a typical acute stress response in the first 24 h. Fish in both stressed groups were spontaneously infected with Ichthyophthirius multifiliis from the 24th to the 168th h, and exhibited a chronic stress response. These data would facilitate the studies of blood physiology of C. guichenoti and related fish in health evaluation, species propagation and conservation, as well as the stress response in aquaculture.