ABSTRACT

Propofol (2’6-diizopropylofenol) effectively induced general anaesthesia in African catfish in the preliminary test with mean induction/exposure (time to anesthesia) time recorded as 5.3 ± 0.74 minutes while the mean recovery time from anaesthesia was recorded as 3.2 ± 0.48 minutes. The aim of this study is to evaluate propofol anaesthesia and its effects on the haematological and biochemical blood profile of African catfish. A total of 30 African catfish from the same farm were purchased.  Blood sample was collected from the caudal vessel from non-treated fish (control). Six (6) fish were immersed one after the other in a 30 litre water bath treated with solution of 2 mg/l Propofol for 5 minutes. Blood sample was collected from the caudal vessel during and 24 hours after anaesthesia the hematological and biochemical indices were analyzed, and compared to control group. The results of the haematological and the blood chemistry analysis show no significant differences in the means when compared to the control except for that of the neutrophils and lymphocyte that shows significant difference of p ≤ 0.01 and p ≤ 0.05 respectively. This study has shown that propofol has the properties of an ideal anesthetic for aquaculture as the induction and recovery time were within that required in the aquatic system, besides being safe without adverse effects and no dead fish 72 hours post administration. Propofol is a useful, safe and effective depressant drug for different tasks related to the management of African Catfish, since it met the established criteria for use in aquaculture.