Effects of repeated handling, with or without anaesthesia, on feed intake and growth in juvenile rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss (Walbaum)

The effects of weekly anaesthetization with clove oil and tricaine methanesulphonate (MS-222) on feed intake and growth were examined in juvenile rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss (Walbaum), held individually. Repeated handling without anaesthetics significantly reduced feed intake and weight gain compared with an unhandled control group during an 8-week experiment. When anaesthetics were used during handling the feed consumption and weight gain were significantly (MS-222) or not significantly (clove oil) higher than in fish handled without anaesthesia. When compared with the unhandled control group, neither of these two anaesthetics had significant effects on feed intake but, in contrast to MS-222, repeated anaesthesia with clove oil had a significant negative effect on growth. However, the effects of MS-222 and clove oil on the growth were not significantly different from each other. Feed conversion ratio (feed/gain) of MS-222-anaesthetized fish was significantly higher compared with unhandled control and handled control fish but was not significantly different from fish anaesthetized with clove oil. These results suggest that both MS-222 and clove oil alleviate handling stress in juvenile rainbow trout, and that these two anaesthetics are rather similar with respect to their effects during repeated exposures.