Karen,
An interesting question, and not one most
isotope geochemists are
used to dealing with. In my opinion, I would not take any chance of
using
MS-222. Why not simply use CO2? It can be bubbled into
solution from
a tank or, perhaps more crudely, alka seltzer does a wonderful job.
I've
put down fish about 3 inches long myself by gradually dropping in
about
6-8 alka seltzer tablets into a liter or 2 of water (the smaller the
volume the
fewer tablets needed). CO2 is supposed to have an anesthetizing
affect,
which I can't attest to. But I can say that the fish go down within
a few
minutes and usually with very little struggling. I believe that CO2
is an
accepted humane way for euthanizing fish. Use of CO2 would have
absolutely
no isotope effects on tissue samples
Best of luck,
Nathaniel Ostrom
At 11:58 AM 3/14/2003 -0700, you wrote:
Hello, everyone.
Has anyone out there used MS-222 (C9H11O2N + CH3SO3H) to euthanise
fish
before taking tissue samples for isotope analysis? The Animal Care
and
Use Committee at my university wants me to use this method instead
of
freezing my tiny fish on dry ice.
I'd just as soon use the least traumatic method possible for the
little
guys, of course, but I haven't seen any references to using MS-222
for
euthanasia in the SIA literature.
If you've used this stuff with great success, *or* know for sure that
its
use would mess up the isotope ratios (which I suspect), would you
please
let me know ASAP so that I can satisfy the powers that be?
Thanks for your help!
Karen Gaines.
=|= =|= =|= =|= =|= =|= =|= =|= =|= =|= =|= =|= =|= =|= =|= =|= =|=
=|=
Karen H.
Gaines
"The Libella [dragonflies] do set forth
Doctoral Candidate Nature's
elegancy beyond the expression of Art."
University of New
Mexico
- Tho. Mouffet, 1658
Department of
Biology
The Theater of Insects
MSCO3 2020
1 University of New Mexico
Albuquerque, NM 87131-0001 U.S.A.
Phone: (505) 277-4969, FAX: 277-0304
E-mail: [log in to unmask]
Nathaniel E. Ostrom, Ph.D.
Professor
Dept. of Geological Sciences
206 Natural Sciences Building
Michigan State University
East Lansing MI 48824-1115
517-355-4661