The oxygen consumption of common carp and rainbow trout larvae exposed to mercury, cadmium and copper was measured. The experiment was performed on seven-month-old common carp (0.9-1.39 g) and one-month-old rainbow trout larvae (1.2-1.5 g) reared under laboratory conditions. The fish were treated for one hour with solutions of a single metal or mixtures of Hg+Cd, Cd+Cu or Hg+Cu. The concentrations of single metals or mixtures were 0.025,0.05,0.1 and 0.2 mg l⁻¹. Both single metals and mixtures reduced oxygen consumption in a concentration-dependent way. The results indicate that the oxygen consumption rate is a reliable indicator of metal toxicity to fish. The levels of oxygen consumption decrease indicate that the rankings of metal toxicity for the given nominal trace metal concentration are Hg+Cu > Cu > Cd+Cu > Cd+Hg > Cd for common carp and Hg+Cu > Cu > Cd+Hg > Hg for rainbow trout. The results show that copper is most toxic to both fish species. The mixtures are more toxic than single metals are and cause a greater reduction in oxygen consumption. Common carp larvae are apparently more sensitive to cadmium, while rainbow trout is more sensitive to mercury.
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