Sensitivity of Four Species of Carp to Selected Fish Toxicants

Abstract

Abstract Methods may be needed for controlling the four species of exotic carps now in the United States—common carp (Cyprinus carpio), grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella), bighead carp (Aristichthyes nobilis), and silver carp (Hypopthalmichthyes molitrix). We determined the toxicity of four registered or candidate fish toxicants to the carps and delineated the toxicity of GD-174 (2-[digeranylamino]-ethanol) to the four species under various conditions of temperature, water hardness, and pH. The 96-hour LC 50's ranged from 0.570 to 1.00 ppb for antimycin, 1.5 to 9.35 ppb for Salicylanilide I, 0.05 to 0.08 ppm for Noxfish, and 0.05 to 0.55 ppm for GD-174. Toxicity of GD-174 to the four species was little affected by variations in water temperature and water hardness, but was increased at higher pH's. All of the test compounds were toxic to the four species; GD-174 was more toxic to common carp than to the others.