The effect of some sulfonamides on the growth of brook trout, brown trout, and rainbow trout

Sulfonamides such as sulfisoxazole (Gantrisin^R), sulfamerazine, and a mixture of sulfamerazine with sulfaguanidine were fed to apparently normal fingerlings of brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis), brown trout (Salmo trutta), and rainbow trout (Salmo gairdneri). None of these drugs had any growth‐affecting influence on rainbow trout. Growth of brook trout was somewhat retarded by sulfamerazine. The retardation of the growth of brown trout was greater with sulfamerazine than with the mixture of two sulfonamides. Sulfisoxazole did not retard growth of any of the three species. As soon as the medicated food was replaced with normal, brown trout resumed growth. Observations are also furnished on the tissue levels of sulfonamides and hemoglobin in the experimental trout.