Remote intramuscular injection of immobilising drugs into fish using a laser-aimed underwater dart gun.
Sixty coldwater and warmwater fish ranging in weight from 2 to 35 kg were injected intramuscularly with the hypnotics alphaxalone-alphadolone and metomidate hydrochloride and the non-depolarising muscle relaxant gallamine triethiodide using a laser-aimed underwater dart gun. Alphaxalone-alphadolone produced sufficient sedation for easy netting within five to 20 minutes at doses between 0.3 and 0.5 ml/kg, with induction being somewhat faster in warmwater species. The pattern of induction was similar with metomidate but required doses of 40 to 60 mg/kg. The muscle relaxant gallamine triethiodide showed promise as a practical agent for the capture and handling of large fish by virtue of its smooth induction of paralysis at doses between 1 and 3 mg/kg and its reversible supplementation with orally administered metomidate hydrochloride.
D000777:Anesthetics / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D000818:Animals; D005399:Fishes / Q000502:physiology*; D005703:Gallamine Triethiodide / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D007093:Imidazoles / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D007103:Immobilization; D007273:Injections, Intramuscular; D007834:Lasers; D011277:Pregnanediones / Q000008:administration & dosage
D000777:Anesthetics; D007093:Imidazoles; D011277:Pregnanediones; C006477:alphaxalone; C033418:alphadolone; D005703:Gallamine Triethiodide