Chloramine-T application for Trichodina sp. in Arapaima gigas juveniles: Acute toxicity, histopathology, efficacy, and physiological effects

Abstract

Trichodinids are problematic ectoparasites for intensive arapaima fish farming, which can make their breeding costly and unprofitable. The search for effective and safe therapeutic molecules is constant, and chloramine-T has stood out as an effective biocide to treat various pathogens in aquaculture. Here we investigated the acute toxicity (LC50-4h) of chloramine-T and its behavioural, morphological, histological, physiological, and antiparasitic effects on the control of trichodinids in arapaima juveniles. Initially arapaima were exposed to chloramine-T (0, 10, 20, 40, 50, 60, 80, 100 mg L−1) for 4 h. During this period, behavioural, morphological, and mortality changes were recorded. Immediately after a toxicity test, gills were collected for the histological analysis. The LC50-4h was calculated at 23.8 mg L−1 of chloramine-T. Behavioural changes like erratic swimming, loss of balance, gasping at the water surface, excessive mucus, jumping at the water surface, lethargy and gill hyperventilation, and morphological changes like loss of scales, ocular opacity, and skin darkening, were considered mild in arapaima exposed to 10 and 20 mg L−1 of chloramine-T for 4 h. The arapaima gills exposed to 10, 20 and, 40 mg L−1 of chloramine-T presented epithelial hyperplasia, dilated venous sinus and eosinophilic infiltrate, but they were reversible and of a low pathological degree. Based on the acute toxicity test (LC50-4h) results, concentrations were defined for the in vivo efficacy test, during which arapaima were exposed to 0, 10, 15, and 20 mg L−1 of chloramine-T for 1 h. After a therapeutic bath, physiological and parasitological analyses were performed. The use of 20 mg L−1 of chloramine-T significantly reduced (p < 0.05) parasitism by Trichodina sp. with an efficacy of 50.27 % and 53.23 % in gills and on the body surface, respectively. Chloramine-T did not change haematological parameters (erythrogram and thrombogram) or the biochemical parameters of arapaima after 1 h of exposure. However, monocytosis and neutrophilia were noted at slightly higher concentrations (15 and 20 mg L−1), but changes in fish homeostasis were not characterised. Thus, we demonstrate that the application of a therapeutic bath with 20 mg L−1 of chloramine-T for 1 h reduces parasitism by trichodinids and does not affect general arapaima juvenile health.