C3: BASIC AND APPROPRIATE BIOLOG Y OF ZEBRAFISH – LUCIA VERGAUWEN
PHYSIOLOGICAL TOLERANCE RANGE
NATURAL HABITAT AND DISTRIBUTION
Zebrafish can deal with a wide range of physicochemical conditions and have been reported at
❖ elevations of 0–1600 m
❖ temperatures between 6–38°C
o They are tropical fish species but they can also deal with low
temperatures → high temperature is better !!
❖ pH levels of 5.9–9.8
o They can live in acidic and alkane pH levels
❖ conductivities of 10–271 µS/cm
o They are often found in small pools where the rain has a lot of influence on the water condition →
rain will change the amount of salt in the water
In a laboratory environment:
❖ See how they live in nature and translate this in the lab because we assume that the natural habitat is the
best living condition
❖ In experiments you can vary all these factors if they are relevant to your study without ‘harming’ the animal
❖ keep the contaminants in the water as low as possible → use filter to get them out of the water
o fish produced faeces and ammonia which should be removed
❖ high oxygen concentration and high temperature is needed to make them feel as comfortable as possible
Distribution
❖ Zebrafish are tropical fish species that naturally live in Asia and more specifically in India, Bangladesh,…
❖ In Europe a zebrafish is used the most as a lab animal, in the US and Asia they use other fish
TEMPERATURE RANGE
❖ Natural occurrence: 6°C in winter to 38°C in summer
o They can tolerate very low temperatures, but this does not mean they
are comfortable, low temperatures are still not ideal for them
❖ Eurythermal with broad thermal tolerance: 6.7-41.7°C
❖ Temperature influences sex ratio
o If you breed fish in certain temperatures, the sex ratio can change → the sex is for a large part
environmentally determined !
❖ Rapid temperature changes should be avoided
o Rapid temperature changes can give stress to the fish and they cannot acclimatize fast enough to
cope with the change
❖ Larval growth is fastest at 28°C = breeding
❖ Temperature for raising zebrafish in most facilities: 28.5°C
❖ Temperature for keeping adults in most facilities: 26-28°C
1
PHYSIOLOGICAL TOLERANCE RANGE
NATURAL HABITAT AND DISTRIBUTION
Zebrafish can deal with a wide range of physicochemical conditions and have been reported at
❖ elevations of 0–1600 m
❖ temperatures between 6–38°C
o They are tropical fish species but they can also deal with low
temperatures → high temperature is better !!
❖ pH levels of 5.9–9.8
o They can live in acidic and alkane pH levels
❖ conductivities of 10–271 µS/cm
o They are often found in small pools where the rain has a lot of influence on the water condition →
rain will change the amount of salt in the water
In a laboratory environment:
❖ See how they live in nature and translate this in the lab because we assume that the natural habitat is the
best living condition
❖ In experiments you can vary all these factors if they are relevant to your study without ‘harming’ the animal
❖ keep the contaminants in the water as low as possible → use filter to get them out of the water
o fish produced faeces and ammonia which should be removed
❖ high oxygen concentration and high temperature is needed to make them feel as comfortable as possible
Distribution
❖ Zebrafish are tropical fish species that naturally live in Asia and more specifically in India, Bangladesh,…
❖ In Europe a zebrafish is used the most as a lab animal, in the US and Asia they use other fish
TEMPERATURE RANGE
❖ Natural occurrence: 6°C in winter to 38°C in summer
o They can tolerate very low temperatures, but this does not mean they
are comfortable, low temperatures are still not ideal for them
❖ Eurythermal with broad thermal tolerance: 6.7-41.7°C
❖ Temperature influences sex ratio
o If you breed fish in certain temperatures, the sex ratio can change → the sex is for a large part
environmentally determined !
❖ Rapid temperature changes should be avoided
o Rapid temperature changes can give stress to the fish and they cannot acclimatize fast enough to
cope with the change
❖ Larval growth is fastest at 28°C = breeding
❖ Temperature for raising zebrafish in most facilities: 28.5°C
❖ Temperature for keeping adults in most facilities: 26-28°C
1
