Water acidification causes death of marine ornamental fish (Perciformes: Pomacentridae) during transport: contributing to the conservation of wild populations

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.

Effects of transporting stress on the immune responses of Asian seabass Lates calcarifer fry

“…Furthermore, regarding the surge of ammonia nitrogen concentration, it is a momentous concern of fish transportation (Lim et al, 2003; Urakawa & Sipos, 2020; Watson et al, 2010). Ammonia nitrogen is a major substance excerted by fish through whose gill, which originate from protein matabolism (Bolner et al, 2014; Golombieski et al, 2013; Sampaio et al, 2019; Wright & Anderson, 2001). It can cause great damage to the metabolism and growth, result in pathological changes of gill, liver and kidney, and even bring about a death when accumulate to a high level (Bolner et al, 2014; Cavero et al, 2004; Gomes et al, 2009; Parodi et al, 2014; Tondolo et al, 2013).…”

Multisensor monitoring and water quality prediction for live ornamental fish transportation based on artificial neural network

“…The ornamental fish is usually transported in large tanks or aerated plastic bags and is usually farmed for trade and export, so they have extended transport durations, which will be ranging from a few hours to a few days, grouped as short (<8:00 h) and long duration (>8:00), and international trade could be ~50–70 h (Sampaio & Freire, 2016). The most health deteriorating parameters in the microenvironment of ornamental fish during transportation are dissolved oxygen (Boyd & Hanson, 2018; Mallya, 2007), nitrite, pH (Sampaio et al, 2019; Wedemeyer, 1996) and ammonia nitrogen (De Oliveira et al, 2008). Due to their variations, the ornamental fish experienced physiological stress, including waterborne cortisol, mortality and behavioural changes (Wedemeyer, 1996).…”