Is rotenone a selective pesticide?
A. Although rotenone has some toxicity to all oxygen breathing animals, it is selective to fish at the concentrations used by fishery biologists. In general, most common aquatic invertebrates are less sensitive than fish to rotenone but some of the zooplankton are equally sensitive. Snails and clams are quite tolerant. With respect to fish, trout and salmon are the most sensitive, sunfish are less sensitive and catfish are the most resistant.
