Largemouth and smallmouth
bass, as well as bluegill and green
sunfish, are resistant to high
nitrite concentrations. The
Centrarchids apparently are able
to effectively prevent nitrite from
entering the gills, but most other
warmwater fishes grown in the
Southeast apparently concentrate
nitrite in the blood. Catfish and
tilapia, for example, are fairly sensitive
to nitrite, and trout and
other coolwater fish are sensitive
to extremely small amounts of
nitrite. Goldfish and fathead minnows
fall in between catfish and
bass in their susceptibility to
brown blood disease resulting
from high nitrite levels. Striped
bass and its hybrids appear sensitive
to nitrite, but little is known
about the relative sensitivity compared
to other species.