This document is a summary of the Fish Husbandry chapter taught by Dries Knapen for the LAS:FISH course.
This document contains slides, notes, images and any exam questions.
❖ Indoors, outdoors, mesocosm
o Indoors for small fish
o outdoors for larger fish or small fish that need to be kept under certain ecological parameters →
combined with other fish, plants,…
o Mesocosm = hybrid situation where for example you have natural light/dark cycles or an open roof,
green house,…
❖ Size, number of tanks, volume
o stacked tanks → Lighting is important: what is the intensity? How is the lighting positioned when
looking at the tanks? You do not want the bottom tanks to receive less light than at the top
❖ Water type and water supply
o water always runs downhill, but for a facility it is not always the case → if your lab is on the 3th floor,
you need strong pumps or waterproof environments
❖ Water drainage
o Some fish facilities are built in basements → you need pumps to get rid of the water !
❖ Wastewater treatment ~ toxicants
o Sometimes water needs to be treated before entering the sewage if you worked with toxic elements
o costs a lot if it is not available in the current infrastructure
❖ GMOs
o You need permission to work with GMO → this should not get out in the environment, you need
regulations on how to get rid of it
o GMO = fluorescent models, disease models,…. You can also feed the animals food with GMO in it →
this leftover food in the water needs management
❖ Invasive species
o fish can escape and end up in the natural environment → some of them survive and invade the
other species. The risk is usually fertilized eggs in the water that goes to the sewage and hatch
o For zebrafish there is not a high risk of the fish surviving in our natural environment
INDOOR ZEBRAFISH / SMALL FISH FACILITY
Lighting
❖ Serves two roles: ensure health and welfare of the animals, and ensure safety of personnel
❖ Light intensity: max. 300 lux (algal growth, impaired fish vision)
❖ Light source: LED, fluorescent lamps
❖ Light colour: impact on zebrafish growth, development and behavior due to red-light inclusion
❖ Light cycle
o Most zebrafish rooms have a 14:10 lights on:off cycle
o Dimmers to provide a slow on and a slow off of lights to model dawn and dusk
o Matching light cycle in incubators, housing of embryos and larvae
o Personnel working hours: gradually change to/from daylight saving time
❖ light color and zebrafish survival
o The temperature of the light also has an effect on the fish ~ temperature is dependent on the
color/wavelength
o Fish perform much better in cold light than warm light
1
The benefits of buying summaries with Stuvia:
Guaranteed quality through customer reviews
Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.
Quick and easy check-out
You can quickly pay through credit card or Stuvia-credit for the summaries. There is no membership needed.
Focus on what matters
Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!
Frequently asked questions
What do I get when I buy this document?
You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.
Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?
Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.
Who am I buying these notes from?
Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller student2018BMW. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.
Will I be stuck with a subscription?
No, you only buy these notes for $4.31. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.
