Date Received: 10-03-2025 / Date Accepted: 30-05-2025 / Date Published: 30-05-2025
The Channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) possesses rigid, sharp fins, making it prone to injury during capture, transportation and research procedures. Anesthesia is a potential solution to mitigate these issues while promoting aquatic animal welfare. Azaperone is a compound with sedative, analgesic, and anesthetic properties commonly used for animal capture and transport but has not yet tested on Channel catfish. This study explored the use of Azaperone as an anesthetic for Channel catfish through immersion comprising three experiments: acute toxicity level, anesthetic efficacy, and optimal concentration. The results indicated an LC50-96h of 1.737ppm under environmental conditions of 26-28°C, pH [7.5-7.9] and DO > 5.0 mg/l. Swimming behavior, balance, and respiratory rate varied across the stages of anesthesia. A concentration of 20ppm was found to be suitable for anesthetizing Channel catfish for 20 minutes, making it appropriate for various purposes, including surgery and transportation.