A comparison between sedation using propofol and clove oil in Levantine scraper (Capoeta damascina

Anesthetic agents are used in fish to decrease stress and mortality during sorting, surgery, diagnosis and artificial fertilization procedure. This study was done to evaluate and compare the efficacy of propofol and clove oil for anesthetizing Capoeta damascina. For this purpose, 40 fish were caught from Arvand River and divided into two groups. After a pilot study, propofol and clove oil were examined in 12.5 mg L-1 and 125 mg L-1 concentrations, respectively. The onset of anesthesia, duration period of anesthesia and recovery time were recorded separately for each group and compared. Results showed that the anesthesia onset of specimens in propofol treatment, was significantly shorter than that of clove oil treatment (p<0.05). Also, recovery time in propofol treatment was longer (p<0.05) than that of clove oil. Based on the results, it was recommended to use propofol instead of clove oil in performing anesthesia for this species due to rapid induction, longer duration and more prolonged effect in immersion method.