Abstract
Pomacentridae is a common family in the aquarium fish trade. Most species are harvested from nature. Here we evaluate the following water parameters in the pomacentrid sergeant major,Abudefdufsaxatilis(Linnaeus, 1758), to assess their stress level during a 24, 48, and 72 hours transport: dissolved oxygen (DO), total ammonia, and pH. In addition, we evaluated the following physiological parameters: plasma osmolality, muscle water content, blood glucose, and the enzyme activities of the branchial carbonic anhydrase (CA), the hepatic glutathione S-transferase (GST), catalase (CAT), and superoxide dismutase (SOD). The mortality of fish measuring >6 cm total length was 22%, while no mortality was observed for fish measuring <6 cm. The pH of the water was significantly correlated with fish mortality, especially for the initial 24 hours of transport. Hypoxia after 24–48 hours also led to fish mortality, but build up ammonia was not a problem even after 72 hours. We suggest that a minimum water volume of 125 ml/g fish is necessary for safe and cost-effective transport of the sergeant major, preferably with <6 cm in total length.
Highlights
The trade of marine ornamental fish (MOF) is essentially based on harvesting fish from nature
This study evaluated physiological and biochemical responses of the sergeant major fish Abudefduf saxatilis (Linnaeus, 1758), and changes in the water of transport in a situation simulating long transport
Bags were placed inside Styrofoam boxes, which were transported by car (4–5 h trip) to the Laboratory of Comparative Physiology of Osmoregulation in Curitiba
Summary
The trade of marine ornamental fish (MOF) is essentially based on harvesting fish from nature. Intense and repeated harvesting from nature, which is magnified by unsuccessful transport events, may cause a problem to the conservation of the target species. If most fish survived their journeys to their final destinations, there would be less specimens captured, but in order to guarantee higher survival rates during transport, it is necessary to minimize the stress on fish, from capture to their target environment (Wood 2001b, Wabnitz et al 2003). Research describing the association between the stress of capture and transport, and its relationship with the conservation of MOFs, has not been found
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