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Title: Preliminary Pond Evaluation of a Natural-Based Algicide for Managing Musty Off-Flavor in Channel Catfish Aquaculture

Author
item Schrader, Kevin
item TUCKER, CRAIG - MS STATE UNIV.
item MISCHKE, CHARLES - MS STATE UNIV.

Submitted to: Water Science and Technology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/26/2007
Publication Date: 9/13/2007
Citation: Schrader, K., Tucker, C.S., Mischke, C.C. 2007. Preliminary Pond Evaluation of a Natural-Based Algicide for Managing Musty Off-Flavor in Channel Catfish Aquaculture. Water Science and Technology. V. 69:360-366.

Interpretive Summary: A patented, natural-based algicide was tested in a catfish aquaculture pond for its effectiveness in reducing the abundance of a type of blue-green algae that causes musty "off-flavor" in farm-raised channel catfish in Mississippi and Alabama. This patented algicide was found to be effective in reducing the abundance of the musty blue-green alga in catfish pond water and subsequently helped reduced levels of the musty-odor compound in the flesh of the channel catfish.

Technical Abstract: Environmentally-derived "off-flavors" such as "earthy" and "musty" in channel catfish aquaculture are attributed to the presence of certain species of cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) in the catfish ponds. Most catfish producers manage off-flavor episodes by the application of algicides; however, these algicides have high environmental persistence and broad-spectrum toxicity. Recent research has discovered several natural and natural-based quinones that are effective and selective in reducing the abundance of the MIB-producing cyanobacterium Oscillatoria perornata. In this study, efficacy testing of one of these quinones, anthraquinone-59, in a catfish pond found that it is effective in reducing O. perornata and MIB levels. Also, anthraquinone-59 and the commercial product SeaKleen(trademark) which contains a water-soluble derivative of menadione (vitamin K3 or 2-methyl-1,4-naphthoquinone) were evaluated using a laboratory bioassay for their selective toxicity towards Pseudanabaena sp. LW349, a MIB-producing cyanobacterium isolated from a municipal drinking water reservoir. Anthraquinone-59 was found to be more toxic than SeaKleen towards Pseudanabaena LW349.