Physiological Responses of Dark-banded Rockfish Sebastes inermis to Anesthetization with Clove Oil

In order to establish optimum anesthesia concentration, we tested the efficacy of clove oil at five different concentrations in large sized (mean SL $17.1{\pm}2.21\;cm$) and small sized (mean SL $0.6{\pm}0.06\;cm$) dark-banded rockfish Sebastes inermis. Optimal anesthesia concentration for dark-banded rockfish was $150\;mgL^{-1}$ in both large and small sized fish. In general, fish exposed to higher anesthetic doses were rapidly induced but took longer to recover (P<0.05). Recovery time of small sized fish was longer than large sized fish in lower concentrations, while recovery time of large sized fish was longer than small sized fish in higher concentration (P<0.05). Using the established optimum aesthetic concentration, we evaluated the physiological response of dark-banded rockfish to clove oil by measuring plasma cortisol and glucose levels. Following administration of $150\;mgL^{-1}$ clove oil at $20^{\circ}C$ (optimum breeding temperature), plasma cortisol level was highest ($42.2{\pm}11.318{\mu}g/dL$) after 0 hour, while plasma glucose level was highest ($52.5{\pm}10.61\;mg/dL$) after 1 hour. Plasma cortisol and glucose concentrations required 6 and 2 hours, respectively, to return to pre-exposure levels.