Procedure for performing a fixed microscopic specimen of the gonads of fish

Abstract

This study aims to provide a procedure for performing microscopy in fish gonads. Specimens used in this study were the ovaries and testes of fish collected in the Mekong Delta from April to July 2022. Organs at five different stages for each sex (ovary diameter from 1.16 cm in stage I to 4.04 cm in stage V; testis diameter from 0.42 in stage I to 2.39 in stage V) were studied in this procedure. The results showed that both ovaries and testes needed to be fixed at 4% formol for 24 h and under running water for eight hours. Ovaries and testes were then immersed in 500 ethanol for 24 h to initiate dehydration. Results showed that the time for dehydration and paraffin infiltration was longer in the ovary (26 to 55 h across stages) than in the testis (25 to 26 h across stages). The mean staining time of the ovary was 1.5 min (stage I) to 3.5 min (stage V) in Hematoxylin and 50 s (stage I) to 140 s (stage V) in Eosin. Whereas the staining time of testis was shorter, 1 min (stage I) to 3 min (stage V) in Hematoxylin and 30 s (stage I) to 90 s (stage V) in Eosin. This study provides a reference for further studies on the histological structure of fish gonads. These results could be applied to fish species inside and outside the Mekong Delta.