Anesthetic and sedative efficacy of peppermint (Mentha piperita) and lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) essential oils in blue dolphin cichlid (Cyrtocara moorii)

Abstract

The use of different essential oils (Eos), which are considered as a good alternative to synthetic materials, is increasing day byday in fish species. Nevertheless, studies on the anesthetic effect of peppermint Eo (Mentha piperita; MPEo) and lavender Eo (Lavandulaangustifolia; LAEo) are scarce. In the present study, the effective concentrations of three anesthetic materials (MPEo, LAEo, and MS-222) were previously determined in the concentrations range of 100–400 ppm in Cyrtocara moorii juveniles (4.92 ± 1.03 g and 7.13 ±1.22 cm) with the criteria of appropriate induction time (AIt) and ready recovery time (RRt) (Trial 1). Afterwards, four different groupswere established at three different sedative concentrations (10, 20, and 30 ppm and a control group without anesthetic additive) fortransporting (Trial 2). The study concluded that MPEo and LAEo can be used as anesthetic and sedative agents in tropical fish speciessafely. The use of 100 μL L–1 (183.5 s AIt and 227.8 s RRt) and 300 μL L–1 (109.2 s AIt and 420.0 s RRt) MPEo and LAEo, respectively, wassufficient for deep anesthesia, whereas concentrations in the range of 10 to 30 μL L–1 are recommended for fish transport.