Further studies on factors determining tissue levels of sulfamerazine in trout

There is considerable variation in the tissue level of sulfamerazine among individual trout in a treated population. This fact may be the reason why prolonged sulfonamide therapy sometimes fails to free all trout from Bacterium salmonicida. The quantity of food given with a standard dosage of sulfamerazine has a pronounced effect on the tissue concentration of sulfamerazine; the concentration increased when the quantity of food decreased. It appears therefore, that trout should be fed at a rate very closely adjusted to their optimum feeding requirements for the best practical results. The start of treatment with high initial doses of sulfamerazine had no effect on the tissue concentration sustained by the maintenance dosage. The relative distribution of sulfamerazine in various organs and tissues of rainbow trout was about the same as in brown and brook trout. The only difference noticed was the lack of peak levels of short duration between the 8 and 10 days of treatment, which is characteristic for brook and brown trout.