Tolerance of lake trout, Salvelinus namaycush (Walbaum), sac fry to dissolved gas supersaturation

The tolerance of sac fry of lake trout, Salvelinus namaycush (Walbaum), to the acute effects of gas supersaturation, from hatching to swim-up, was tested using six gas levels, ranging from ΔP 8 to 148. Although many fish were moribund by the time the yolk was nearly absorbed, mortality during the 40-day study was negligible; survival to swim-up was 96–99%, including 99% survival at ΔP 148. Of fish examined at ΔP 42, 40% showed bubble formation around the rim of the eye. Signs of trauma were greatest at ΔP 119 and 148, and included intestinal bubbles, a distended abdomen, and bubbles around the eye, in the mouth and in jaw tissues.