Effect of dietary ascorbic acid on the susceptibility of steelhead trout (Salmo gairdneri) to nitrite toxicity.

Four diets, each containing different levels of ascorbic acid were fed to duplicate groups of steelhead trout (Salmo gairdneri) in two four-week periods. Tolerance to nitrites increased when the concentration of ascorbic acid was high. Flow-through bioassays in fingerlings showed that when the temperature increased the percent of methemoglobin in their blood also increased. The tolerance to nitrite toxicity was less in large fish than in those smaller fed the same concentration of ascorbic acid. Possibly ascorbic acid acts in the reduction of methemoglobin to hemoglobin, and also it has a protective effect against stress in the fish. A "safe" level of 200 mg/kg of ascorbic acid in practical diets was reached.