Chemical cues play a crucial role in aquatic environments, with most research focusing on cues related to injury and stress. However, there have been limited studies on identifying specific chemical components within these cues, unveiling a knowledge gap in chemosensory biology. Our previous studies have demonstrated that heat stress can likewise prompt the release of olfactory cues, that propagate within a group and induce stress in naïve developing zebrafish (Danio rerio). Using metabolomics, we identified glucose, phosphocholine, and 3-mercaptolactate as potential components of heat-induced stress metabolites. Hatching was impaired by stress metabolites. In this study, we verified whether 3-mercaptolactate and phosphocholine are indeed potential stress metabolites by assessing their impacts on hatching rate and gene expression in control metabolite (CM) and thermal stress metabolite (SM) groups. Indeed, both compounds significantly impaired hatching and as a result were found to cause bent tails in zebrafish larvae. Genes associated with the metabolism of these compounds (prg4a -phosphocholine; ldha and mpst – 3-mercaptolactate) were differentially expressed, with the expression of mpst, associated with the metabolism of 3-mercaptolactate, trending downwards in metabolite receivers. While further research into the mechanism of action is ongoing, these results indicate how lipid and sulfur-containing compounds can be used for heat-induced stress communication in developing embryos.