Anesthetic effect of rosemary essential oil (Rosmarinus officinalis L.) and its use for transport of common carp (Cyprinus carpio L.) stocking material

Vasilka Krasteva, Maria Yankova, Angelina Ivanova

Abstract: The aim of the present study is to examine the efficacy of rosemary oil as an anesthetic for common
carp (Cyprinus carpio L.) and as an additional agent for transport of carp stocking material.
The fish used in the research have an average body weight (BW, g) of 12.72 ± 5.87 and an average
total length (TL, cm) of 10.19 ± 1.43. For the experiment of the anesthetic effect of R. officinalis, six
treatments are conducted with six experimental concentrations: 0.20 ml/l, 0.30 ml/l, 0.40 ml/l, 0.50
ml/l, 0.60 ml/l and 0.70 ml/l. For each concentration 10 individuals are used or a total of 60 fish. For
the transport experiment, 3 concentrations are used: 0.02 ml/l, 0.04 ml/l and 0.06 ml/l. The applied
stocking density is 8 fish/l. A total of 80 fish are used for each concentration or a total of 240 fish.
Based on the results it can be concluded that at concentration of 0.70 ml/l the induction of anesthesia
is the fastest (4.24 min), thus the recovery time at this concentration is the longest (4.86 min). From
all tested concentrations the recovery time is the shortest at the lowest concentration (0.20 ml/l) – 0.95
min (P ≤ 0.05).
The behavior of the fish and the phases in which they enter (Phase 0 and Phase 2) change every
hour in all experimental variants of the transport experiment. All three experimental concentrations
(0.02 ml/l, 0.04 ml/l and 0.06 ml/l) of rosemary oil are applicable for the transport of carp stocking
material from 1 to 4 hours.

Keywords: anesthesia; common carp; Cyprinus carpio; rosemary oil; Rosmarinus officinalis; transport

Date published: 2021-12-22