Archives

The anesthetic effect of Acorus calamus oil in fish is reported for the first time. The anesthetic time
was evaluated in terms of the time taken from induction to recovery. Through a laboratory
experimental design the Koi carp (37.6 ± 4.27 g) was short bath treated in water containing calamus
oil (dissolved in methanol) at different concentrations (1, 1.5, 2, 2.5, 3, 3.5, 4, 4.5 and 5 mg L-1). The
time taken for induction of anesthesia is negatively related to concentration of the calamus oil used
while the recovery time had a direct relationship. Based on the opercular activity, fading of
ventilation and recovery time 2.5 mg L-1 of calamus oil has been found to be (P<0.05) ideal. At this
concentration anesthesia was induced within 8.03 ± 0.01 minutes; the fish remained amenable for
easy handling without any reflex action for 8.05 ± 0.02 minutes and all the exposed fishes in the
anesthetic solution recovered 43.02 ± 0.02 minutes. The results demonstrate that this phyto
anaesthetic is effective for sedation and anesthesia of Cyprinus carpio. A concentration of 2.5 mg L-1
calamus oil showed rapid anaesthetic and recovery times in the C. carpio, indicating its suitability
to minimize the handling stress during weighing, measuring, tag implantation and for biopsy assay.
This ideal dosage did not make any physiological changes in the treated fishes.
Keywords: Phytoanesthetic, Acorus calamus, Cyprinus carpio, Koi, Anesthetic.