Fish Disease Treatments Prior To 1900     Andrew J. Mitchell   Harry K. Dupree Stuttgart, National Aquaculture Research Center, P. O. Box 860, Stuttgart, Arkansas 72160   What do asphalt, muck, brandy, and salt have in common?  They were all used to treat fish in the United States before 1900.  Incidentally, the brandy was actually given to the fish and not the applicator.  Twenty-one authors reported about 30 different chemical treatments that were tested or applied to fish or fish eggs with fungal or parasitic problems.  Salt, reported by 18 of these authors, was the most common treatment. Livingston Stone, a pioneering fish culturist, first reported its use in 1872 for the treatment of fungal infections on fish and fish eggs.  Also common were treatments of earth, mud or muck that were thrown into the water to eliminate parasites.  Digitalis, tar, electrozone, kerosene, salicylic acid, and bi-chloride of mercury also made the list of attempted fish treatments.  Charles W. Stiles, a prominent parasitologist for the U. S. Department of Agriculture, tested 18 chemicals for their effectiveness against Ich in 1893.  Included in this group were the first fish treatment applications of the familiar chemicals, copper sulfate, potassium permanganate, and hydrogen peroxide.  Although details on the application of most of these 19th century treatments were sparse they provided the basis for the use of fisheries therapeutants today.