Drugs in Aquaculture

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Drugs in Aquaculture

• Dr. Craig Kasper

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Drugs/chemicals used in aquaculture

• Feed additives (Sulfonamides)
• Sulfamerazine (fish grade) and Romet-30
• Effective for bacterial infections
• 220 mg/kg fish for 14 days.
• Some treatments recommend 3 days, fewer
  side-effects.
• Toxicity may occur -
• Kidney damage (drug crystal formation in renal
  tubules)
• Clinical signs bloating/dropsy (stomach full of
  water)
• Trout very suceptable.
• Commercial availability in feed has limited many
  problems

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Drugs/chemicals used in aquaculture

• Sulfonamides (continued)
• Sulfamerazine (fish grade)
• No longer available
• Romet-30
• Suggested dose (furunculosis) 50mg/kg fish/day
  for 5 to 7 days
• Also effective for ESC
• Still used in the catfish industry.

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Drugs/chemicals used in aquaculture

• Terramycin (oxytetracycline) TM50
• Generally drug of choice in aquaculture
• Recommended dose 55-83mg/Kg fish/day for 10
  days
• Effective against gram neg. bacteria (BKD?)
• ERM, Furunculosis, CWD, etc.
• Requires withdrawal period of at least 21 days.
• Should not be fed on prophylactic basis!
• Resistance to oxytetracycline can occur in most
  bacterial fish pathogens (Meyer and Schnick 1989)

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Drugs/chemicals used in aquaculture

• Therapeutants added to water
• Methods
• Static bath most reliable for
  raceways/tanks/troughs
• Constant flow safe and can be used in most
  situations when fish reared in running water
• Prolonged lower doseage, but constant
  emersion.
• Chemicals
• Formalin
• Most widely used agent in fish culture
• (solution contains 37 formaldehyde in water)

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Drugs/chemicals used in aquaculture

• Chemicals (cont.)
• Quaternary Ammonium compounds
• Benzalkonium chloride/Hyamine
• Antibacterial, toxic!!! 48 hr LD50 at 1.12 g
  (catfish)
• Now only limited use in food fish
• Potassium Permanganate
• Strong oxidizing agent
• Great for fungus!!

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Drugs/chemicals used in aquaculture

• Chemicals (cont.)
• Copper Sulfate (lt6.4 mg copper/L water)
• Also called Cutrine
• Algaecide/bactericide/parasiticide
• Effective on scaled fish, but can cause problems
  with scaleless fish (catfish).
• Can produce kidney necrosis, destruction of
  hematopoietic tissue, increased liver fat and
  inhibition of digestive enzymes.
• NaCl (salt) (uniodized!!)
• Most overlooked treatment
• Can be very effective
• Was classified as a drug until recently.
• 3 recommended if possible (10-30 min)

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Always the legal stuff....
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What else is good?

• Some options are not drugs, per se, but natural
  products that havent been applied to fish (at
  least not in any scientific method.)
• Many products in traditional medicine/herbs, etc.
  can and are used for fish health!

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GRAS (generally regarded as safe)

• Spices/flavorings basil, garlic, salt, fennel
• Essential oils from the above spices/plants.
• Natural solvent-free extracts peach kernal
  (persic oil)
• Many others havent even been considered

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