Influence of temperature on clove oil anaesthesia in flounder (Platichthys flesus Linnaeus, 1758)

The efficacy of clove oil as an anaesthetic in juvenile flounder was evaluated at two temperatures (10–12 and 16–18 °C) and the effective concentration determined. Flounder juveniles with a body length of 9.0–10.2 cm and a weight of 6–14 g were individually exposed to clove oil at concentrations ranging from 200 to 1000 mg L^?1 in a 5‐L bath with three replicates per treatment with 10 fish. The induction and recovery times were recorded in seconds for all doses and temperatures. Temperature had no effect on induction, but higher temperature shortened the recovery time. The effective concentration (EC₅₀) was estimated as 753 (692–820) mg L^?1 for ≤3 min with 95% confidence limits. The study demonstrated that clove oil can be used as an effective anaesthetic in juvenile flounder and that temperature has an effect on recovery time from anaesthesia with clove oil.