Hydrogen Peroxide Treatment during Egg Incubation Improves Channel Catfish Hatching Success

Three trials were conducted to evaluate the effect of hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ) treatment on the hatching success of channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus when administered during egg incubation as a 15‐min bath or as a flow‐through treatment. In the first trial, initial treatment with 100 mg povidone iodine/L followed by daily 15‐min baths of 250 mg H 2 O 2 /L yielded a 26% increase ( P < 0.05) in hatching success above controls. In the second trial, daily 15‐min baths with H 2 O 2 (250 mg/L) yielded a 30% increase ( P < 0.05) in hatching success compared with povidone‐iodine‐treated controls and significantly improved hatching success compared with formalin‐treated (1,600 mg/L) eggs. In the third trial, hydrogen peroxide was administered in flow‐through hatching troughs. Egg masses treated with 70 mg H 2 O 2 /L had significantly improved ( P < 0.05) hatching success compared with untreated controls (68.3% and 24.2%, respectively). The results of this research show that significant improvements in channel catfish hatching success can be obtained through the use of hydrogen peroxide as a cost‐effective alternative to formalin.