Efficacy of sodium bicarbonate as anaesthetic for yellow seahorse, Hippocampus kuda (Bleeker, 1852)

Abstract

In the present investigation anesthetic efficacy of sodium bicarbonate on yellow seahorse Hippocampus kuda was studied. Captive bred two years old (163.2±10.2 mm height and 12.22±1.94 g weight) yellow seahorses were exposed to 0.5, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 25, 30, 40 and 50g L^-1 concentrations of sodium bicarbonate. It was observed that very high dose of sodium bicarbonate (more than 30g L^-1) was needed to completely anesthetise adult seahorses. The onset of individual phases of anaesthesia and recovery times depended significantly on the concentration of the anaesthetic used (P<0.05). An inverse exponential relationship was observed between sodium bicarbonate concentrations and induction time, whereas exponential relationships were observed between concentrations and recovery times for sodium bicarbonate. Results showed that sodium bicarbonate could not be a good anaesthesia for adult yellow seahorses.