Benzocaine as an Anesthetic for Striped Bass

Benzocaine was tested as an anesthetic on juvenile and mature adult striped bass (Morone saxatilis). Concentrations of 55 mg/L at 22-degrees-C to 80 mg/L at 11-degrees-C effectively anesthetized fish in about 3 min. Recovery was more rapid as temperature increased. Fish survived concentrations of twice the effective concentration and exposure times up to 60 min at the effective concentration. Striped bass required higher concentrations for anesthetization than had been previously demonstrated for salmonid fishes, but safety margins for both concentration and exposure time were wider than for the salmonids.