Efficacy of 2-phenoxyethanol as an Anesthetic for Two Size of Persian Sturgeon, Acipenser persicus

The purpose of this research was to appraise the efficacy of 2-phenoxyethanol as an anesthetic for two sizes of Persian sturgeon, Acipenser persicus (100 and 400 g) to find the minimum concentration for desirable anesthetic effects on them. Fish were exposed to concentrations varying from 0.1 to 1.10 mL/L for a 10 min period. At concentrations of 0.1 and 0.3 mL/L, 2-phenoxyethanol was unsuccessful to cause deep anesthesia in small fish, whereas at a concentration of 1.1 mL/L all the fish were anesthetised within 3 min of exposure. In larger fish, low concentrations of 2-PE (0.1 mL/L) did not cause deep anesthesia, whereas at concentrations of 0.9 and 1.1 ml/L all the fish were anesthetised within 3 min of exposure. Increasing the concentration of 2-phenoxyethanol decreased the induction time, contrary to this trend recovery time from anesthesia increased. At all tested concentrations, induction time was significantly weight-dependent (p < 0.05), but recovery time was not different between the two size classes at 0.7 mL/L. 2-Phenoxyethanol proved to be an efficient and careful anesthetic in both sizes of Persian sturgeon permitting quick and not eventful induction and recovery after a 10 min exposure period. Graphical abstract