Other Fish

Looking beyond the shoal: Fish welfare as an individual attribute

Welfare is an individual attribute. In general, providing captive nonhuman animals with conditions conducive to good welfare is an idea more easily applied when dealing with few individuals. However, this becomes much harder—if not impossible—under farming conditions that may imply...

Year Published: 2022Topics: PersonalityAnimal Type: Fish, Other Fish, Salmon, Tilapia, Trout, Zebrafish

Citation: Torgerson-White, L., Sánchez-Suárez, W. 2022. Looking beyond the shoal: Fish welfare as an individual attribute. Animals 12(19), 2592.

The effect of substrate on water quality in ornamental fish tanks

Almost all home aquaria contain substrate, either as intentional enrichment or for aesthetic purposes. For fishes, benefits of structural enrichment have been well considered, particularly in research and aquaculture settings. However, our understanding of the impacts of tank substrate as...

Year Published: 2022Topics: Husbandry & ManagementAnimal Type: Fish, Other Fish, Salmon, Tilapia, Trout, Zebrafish

Citation: Vanderzwalmen, M., Sánchez Lacalle, D., Tamilselvan, P. et al. 2022. The effect of substrate on water quality in ornamental fish tanks. Animals 12(19), 2679.

Finding the “golden stocking density”: A balance between fish welfare and farmers’ perspectives

The effects of stocking density on fish welfare are complex and involve many interacting parameters. This complex relationship between fish welfare, stocking density and influencing factors make it challenging to define a specific optimal (“golden”) stocking density. Indeed, previously published...

Year Published: 2022Topics: Stocking DensityAnimal Type: Fish, Other Fish, Salmon, Tilapia, Trout, Zebrafish

Citation: Saraiva, J. L., Rachinas-Lopes, P., Arechavala-Lopez, P. 2022. Finding the “golden stocking density”: A balance between fish welfare and farmers' perspectives. Frontiers in Veterinary Science 9, 930221.

Preliminary investigation into developing the use of swabs for skin cortisol analysis for the ocean sunfish (Mola mola)

The ocean sunfish (mola; Mola mola) is the heaviest bony fish in the world. This slow-moving fish often is injured by fishing boats that use drift gillnets attributing to its listing as Vulnerable by the IUCN. The Monterey Bay Aquarium...

Year Published: 2022Topics: Biological Sampling & Physiological MeasurementAnimal Type: Fish, Other Fish

Citation: Santymire, R. M., Young, M., Lenihan, E. et al. 2022. Preliminary investigation into developing the use of swabs for skin cortisol analysis for the ocean sunfish (Mola mola). Animals 12(20), 2868.

Exploiting animal personality to reduce chronic stress in captive fish populations

Chronic stress is a major source of welfare problems in many captive populations, including fishes. While we have long known that chronic stress effects arise from maladaptive expression of acute stress response pathways, predicting where and when problems will arise...

Year Published: 2022Topics: PersonalityAnimal Type: Fish, Other Fish, Salmon, Tilapia, Trout, Zebrafish

Citation: Prentice, P. M., Houslay, T. M., Wilson, A. J. 2022. Exploiting animal personality to reduce chronic stress in captive fish populations. Frontiers in Veterinary Science 9, 1046205.

What is it like to be a bass? Red herrings, fish pain and the study of animal sentience

Debates around fishes' ability to feel pain concern sentience: do reactions to tissue damage indicate evaluative consciousness (conscious affect), or mere nociception? Thanks to Braithwaite's research leadership, and concerns that current practices could compromise welfare in countless fish, this issue's...

Year Published: 2022Topics: Biological Sampling & Physiological Measurement, Emotion, Pain, & SentienceAnimal Type: Fish, Other Fish, Salmon, Tilapia, Trout, Zebrafish

Citation: Mason, G. J., Lavery, J. M. 2022. What is it like to be a bass? Red herrings, fish pain and the study of animal sentience. Frontiers in Veterinary Science 9, 788289.

Point for enrichment, point for welfare—Testing use of a laser pointer with Arapaima gigas

The arapaima (Arapaima gigas) is one of the largest freshwater fish species, known to exceed 3 m in total length. It is listed as Data Deficient by the IUCN. A. gigas is native to the Amazon River basin where they...

Year Published: 2023Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Fish, Other Fish

Citation: Matrai, E., Chan, H. Y. A., Leung, F. M. et al. 2023. Point for enrichment, point for welfare—Testing use of a laser pointer with Arapaima gigas. Animals 13(8), 1370.

Social deprivation in maternal mouthbrooders Tropheus sp

Early offspring separation from mothers causes social deprivation. Mouthbrooding, when eggs and fry are incubated in the buccal cavity of the parent, is one of the reproductive strategies in fish. The mother is the incubating parent in African lake cichlids...

Year Published: 2023Topics: Rearing & Weaning, Reproduction, Social Housing & CompanionshipAnimal Type: Fish, Other Fish

Citation: Novák, J., Frynta, D., Nováková, D. et al. 2023. Social deprivation in maternal mouthbrooders Tropheus sp. “Caramba” (Teleostei: Cichlidae) decreases the success rate of reproduction and survival rate of fish fry. Scientific Reports 13(1), 8284.

Use of male-to-female sex reversal as a welfare scoring system in the protandrous farmed gilthead sea bream (Sparus aurata)

Gilthead sea bream is a highly cultured marine fish throughout the Mediterranean area, but new and strict criteria of welfare are needed to assure that the intensification of production has no negative effects on animal farming. Most welfare indicators are...

Year Published: 2023Topics: Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Fish, Other Fish

Citation: Holhorea, P. G., Felip, A., Calduch-Giner, J. À. et al. 2023. Use of male-to-female sex reversal as a welfare scoring system in the protandrous farmed gilthead sea bream (Sparus aurata). Frontiers in Veterinary Science 9, 1083255.

Social behaviors as welfare indicators in teleost fish

Animal welfare is a key issue not only for aquaculture industry and food production, but also for daily husbandry practices in research topics related to physiology in wild and farmed animals. In this context, teleost fish constitute interesting models to...

Year Published: 2023Topics: Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Fish, Other Fish

Citation: Cavallino, L., Rincón, L., Scaia, M. F. 2023. Social behaviors as welfare indicators in teleost fish. Frontiers in Veterinary Science 10, 1050510.