# Comparison of chemical treatments to ablate the lateral line system in two freshwater fishes, bumblebee goby Brachygobius doriae and silver hatchetfish Gasteropelecus sp

## TL;DR

This paper compares chemical treatments to temporarily disable the lateral line system in two freshwater fish species for behavioral studies.

## Contribution

The study identifies specific chemical ablation protocols for bumblebee goby and silver hatchetfish.

## Key findings

- Bumblebee gobies require 30 µM gentamycin for 24 hours to ablate the lateral line system.
- Silver hatchetfish require 200 µM neomycin for 10 hours in Ca²+ free water for ablation.
- Species-specific protocols are recommended for non-model fish species.

## Abstract

Chemically ablating the lateral line system is a useful tool to temporarily and non-invasively inactivate this sensory system, so that the role of this sensory system can be revealed in behaviors relying on flow sensing. Here we determined species-specific lateral line ablation treatments for two freshwater fishes, bumblebee gobies (30 µM gentamycin for 24 hours) and silver hatchetfish (200 µM neomycin for 10 hours in Ca
2+
free water), for future behavioral experiments. We recommend that investigators fully vet lateral line ablation treatments prior to behavioral experiments, especially for non-model species.