A new research by the scientists at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee has found that fish that are exposed to Prozac, also known as fluoxetine, aggressive and even homicidal behavior.
According to Daily Mail, the fish were exposed to varying doses of Prozac to study the ecological effects of drugs that end up in waterways.
Ecologist Rebecca Klaper presented the results of the research at the meeting of the North American division of the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry in Long Beach, California.
The fish chosen for the study is the fathead minnow, a common fish in the waterways of the Midwest. Klaper said that Prozac was administered to the fish in low concentrations to imitate the concentration that is found in wastewater.
The fish responded differently according to gender. Male fish increased the time that they spent alone, hunting and ignoring females. Females seemed to be unaffected except for the production of fewer eggs.
The scientists raised the concentration of fluoxetine in varying levels, and with each increase the effects became more severe. After a certain point, according to The Week, the male fish started killing the female fish and the minnows stopped reproducing.
The study also found that if the females were introduced to the males a month after the males are exposed to the drugs, the males don’t attack the females, though they still don’t reproduce.
Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons/Fluri
