Influence of dihydrotestosterone on sex determination in channel catfish and blue catfish: period of developmental sensitivity.

Treatment of channel catfish with 0.2, 20, or 200 mg/liter of dihydrotestosterone (DHT) in the water during the egg stage or during egg and sac-fry stages did not alter the expected 1:1 sex ratio of the progeny. Feeding DHT at 200 mg/kg of feed for the first 21 days after yolk sac absorption resulted in 80% females; this proportion was increased by combining feeding with treatment of 200 mg DHT/liter in the sac-fry stage (90%) or in the egg and sac-fry stage (97%). In contrast, treatment of blue catfish sac-fry with 200 mg DHT/liter, with or without the combination of feeding DHT at 200 mg/kg food, resulted in 100% female populations. Neither clomiphene citrate, an estrogen-receptor blocking agent, nor clofibrate, an inhibitor of hepatic synthesis of cholesterol, affected the sex ratio of channel catfish, and neither of these compounds altered the feminizing effect of 200 mg DHT/kg when fed in combination with DHT. The nonaromatizable androgen DHT is not as effective as many other androgens in producing paradoxical female populations of channel catfish. However, feminization of blue catfish by treatment of sac-fry indicates that this species is more susceptible to hormonal manipulation and that the period of sex determination may occur earlier in development than in channel catfish