Author(s): Srianga Tilak Patnaik, Debasrita Mohanty and Tejasweta Bhuyan

Abstract: In the last few decades, there has been an overall increase in average global temperatures and other severe climatic changes affecting every aspect of life on earth. One such aspect is the effect of temperature variation due to climatic change mostly rising temperature affecting the aquaculture of many edible and commercial fish species. Anabas testudineus, a mostly freshwater-dwelling fish, is known for its good nutritional value, being a rich source of proteins, vitamins, minerals, etc. This is a much easily available fish as a source of food for many people across South Asia. The experiment performed studies the effect of different temperatures on the stress levels of Anabas testudineus, measured by the levels of lipid peroxidation (LPX) in the liver, belly, and caudal muscle. In doing so, the tolerance of the fish to different temperatures was assessed. From the study it was found that the liver showed an initial rise of 79.65% in LPX levels after 24 hours of exposure at the low temperature (20 °C) with respect to control but soon declined (9.20%) after 48 hours of exposure with respect to control, indicating supposed acclimatization of the fish to the cold temperature. The high temperature (30 °C) caused a steady rise in LPX values in the liver, initially decreasing (44.13%) compared to the control, for 24 hours of exposure, but rising with increasing time i.e., after 48 hours the levels have gone up from the initial value significantly showing about 38.03% rise compared to control in the same condition. In belly muscle, there was an increase in LPX values at both the lower and higher temperatures compared to control for both exposure periods, with a very high percentage increase in LPX at 30 °C after 48 hours (with respect to initial LPX levels for 24 hours exposure period) supporting previous research stating a rise in temperature leads to a prominent increase in LPX values with increasing exposure period. While the lower temperature leads to an initial rise (469.23% compared to control) but lowers after 48 hours of exposure to 91.42% compared to the control, giving a perception of adjustment. But the changes in the level of LPX for caudal muscles show a distinct pattern different from earlier trends for muscle tissues seen on exposure to a different temperature. The patterns of LPX changes for different exposure periods at different temperatures require more future analysis. These insights at the considered temperatures, about the stress condition of Anabas testudineus can be used to have better temperature management for aquaculture purpose for commercial purposes, since any stress on the liver or muscle may cause low productivity due to oxidative damage to these organs causing many physiological changes or in extreme situations death of the fish.

DOI: 10.33545/26174693.2024.v8.i7b.1452