Drug Research Information Bulletin - Use of AQUI-S®20E and BENZOAK® to Sedate Sunshine Bass, Blue Catfish, and Nile Tilapia to Handleable

Sedatives are chemicals or physical agents that—with increasing treatment concentration and duration—first calm an animal and then cause successive loss of mobility, equilibrium, consciousness, and reflex action. Fisheries professionals routinely sedate fish for a variety of purposes, including collection of samples or morphometric data, implantation of tags or tracking devices, and transport. Sedating fish before handling can minimize stress and physical injury to the fish and also help protect the handler. Ideally, a fish sedative is safe, effective, easy to administer, and inexpensive. Also, it is desirable that the sedative have no withdrawal period so that treated fish can be released into the wild immediately after recovery from sedation.