Abstract
The nitrification process in recirculating aquaculture systems can reduce water pH. Fish can also be exposed to water acidification during transport, an important feature in the aquarium industry, as live fish can be kept in a closed environment for more than 24 h during overseas aerial transportation. Therefore, it is important to study the responses of fish to acidic environments. We investigated the impacts of acute exposure to decreasing pH levels in orange clownfish Amphiprion percula juveniles on their survival and oxidative stress status. Fish were exposed to pH 5, 6, 7, and 8 for 96 h. We observed a significant reduction in survival (85%) and protein damage as measured by P-SH (protein thiol) for fish maintained at pH 5. Despite no effects on survival or oxidative damage, fish exposed to pH 6 showed an increase in their antioxidant defense systems, demonstrating this pH level could not be suitable for them as well. Furthermore, there were no negative effects for fish kept at pH 7, compared to those maintained at pH 8 during this short-term evaluation.
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The Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES, Brazil) provided access to the Portal de Periódicos and financial support through Programa de Excelência Acadêmica–PROEX (Brazil). L.A. Sampaio is a recipient of research fellowship provided by Brazilian CNPq (Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico) (# 307445/2016-0) and M.D.D. Carneiro was granted by CAPES. We acknowledge the co-tutelage agreement between FURG (Brazil) and Universidade de Vigo (Spain) for M.D.D. Carneiro, which is within the scope of the Capes PrInt Program (public notice 041/2017).
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M.D.D.C and L.A.S. planned the study and designed the experiment. M.D.D.C. carried out the experiments, M.D.D.C and L.C.M analyzed the data. L.A.S and R.V.R contributed reagents/materials/analysis tools. All authors wrote and revised the manuscript and approved the final version.
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Carneiro, M.D.D., Maltez, L.C., Rodrigues, R.V. et al. Does acidification lead to impairments on oxidative status and survival of orange clownfish Amphiprion percula juveniles?. Fish Physiol Biochem 47, 841–848 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10695-021-00942-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10695-021-00942-9