Measurement of Resting and Stress-elevated Serum Cortisol in Rainbow Trout Oncorhynchus mykiss in Experimental Net-pens

A commercially available heterogeneous, solid-phase tube enzyme-linked immunoassay (ELISA) was modified and validated for the measurement of serum cortisol in rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss . The assay is accurate and precise. Resting and stress-elevated serum cortisol concentrations were measured in rainbow trout with a sensitivity of 1.5 ng/ml. Fish held in net-pens at a density of 0.4 kg/m³/cm had a resting cortisol level of 16.5 ± 3.8 ng/ml (mean ± SE). At 3 h postdisturbance, serum cortisol levels were not affected by the removal of fish from adjacent net-pens with dip nets or by the use of 200 mg/L tricaine methanesulfonate (MS-222) as an anesthetic for obtaining samples. However, an acute stress (60 s removal from water) elevated serum cortisol levels to 73.7 ± 9.4 ng/ml.