How do you anesthetizes live fish?

[SeanQ]

How wide and swift is the river? Could you put a net across to prevent them from escaping?

 

[ScubaBabe22]

I need to anesthetizes some big, live rainbow trout for some video taping. They cannot be released into the river where we are filming them, so I need to have them "under the influence" enough so that they won't swim away, but so that they can be lifted out of the water in a fly-fisherman's hands and look alive. The fish will be transported from a hatchery in an aerated fresh water holding tank (meaning, a big cooler). Is there some kind of chemical that can be put into the water to temporarily cool their jets, but keep the gills moving?

Thanks!!

"...very carefully..":lol:

 

[Longstocking]

i breed and raise fish (part time job)

Go to your local fish store...

there is a product called Bag Buddies .... there is also another product that is available ( if you use it wrong it could easily kill them... I have some on hand if need be {a vet has to perscribe it.... it basically knocks the fish out} )... I would try the bag buddies first though....

It is used for shipping fish..... it basically makes them very sleepy... but they still swim about.... just slowly ! Typiclaly takes them a couple hours to "snap" out if it.

It's meant for commercial tropical fish though... so my guess.... you'd have to experiment in a large bucket to get the dosage right. If you want more info ask away ...

 

[Longstocking]

BTW... i wouldn't use clove oil..... long explanation..... but 1 reason... wrong dosage and the fish will die. People typically use it to flat out KILL deformed/hybrid fish.

Also.... Baking soda raises ph .... I use it for my fish since they like a high ph and kh.... it will have NO effect on them ... other than myabe a bit of discomfort at first... ( it will triger certain types of fish to breed though :lol: )

If you REALLY need the stuff that the vet has... shoot me a pm.... I can probably part with some.... I'd just have to find it !

 

[Rick Inman]

If you REALLY need the stuff that the vet has... shoot me a pm.... I can probably part with some.... I'd just have to find it !

Actually, the Bag Buddie sounds good. I'll check with my local fish supply store.

BTW, these nice fat, 20" rainbows will serve 2 roles: Guest stars in the commercial, and lunch.

 

[dlwalke]

>so I need to have them "under the influence" <

Actually, I use to troll for bluefish from my kayak. Bluefish taste GREAT when cleaned right away, but nearly inedible if not. So I would need to gut and clean these fish as soon as I caught them. To do this quickly, safely, and humanely (i.e., without the fish struggling, which would have been bad when I were wielding an 8 inch serrated knife on a tipsy kayak), I would give them a little squirt of tequilla into their gills while they were still hanging on the line I was trolling with. Nearly instantaneously, the fish would be out cold (like within a second, literally). I don't know if they would have recovered or not as immediately thereafter I would chop their head off.

 

[Bob3]

Some Skoal may work, though I'm not sure what flavor they'd prefer.
Might be safer to just stick to Copenhagen.


(Nicotine is what's sometimes used in tranquilizer darts, so it may actually be worth a try.)

 

[erparamedic]

Don't worry. There is no way this fish will end up in the gene pool, even if it gets away (don't ask).

I'm asking! Curiousity got me. How will it not end up in the gene pool if it gets away... is it already a mutant fish? LOL

 

[Rick Inman]

I'm asking! Curiousity got me. How will it not end up in the gene pool if it gets away... is it already a mutant fish? LOL

I meant, it would be dead (or close to it) when it was released. However, I managed to find a stock of fish that is sterile.

Actually, the point is mute now. Out of the 6 spots we're shooting, we decided to bag the fly fishing one as being too low keyed.

Thanks anyway.

 

[erparamedic]

I see... I was just curious.