Mortell, D., Moores, S. 2017. Increasing survival rates in the Zebrafish (Zebra danio) at the University of Manchester. Animal Technology and Welfare 16(3), 214-215.

The average survival rate for our Zebrafish (ZF) embryos was 65%. When it was time to create our next generation of Wild Type (WT) (used for embryo production), we decided to run a trial focussing on the effects of feeding regimes and stocking densities on development and survival rates of juvenile fish in our aquarium. We looked at various feeding regimes with different variations of live and powdered feeds and the benefits of cutting down stocking densities at 1 month rather than the usual 2 monthsThis trial was conducted over the first 2 months of the life of the Zebrafish as this period is critical in the development of healthy fish. Survival rates were improved in tanks that were split at 1 month old when compared to tanks that were split at 2 months old. Some feeding regimes were clearly more beneficial to developing fish as less developmental issues were present and better survival rates noted. We saw a small number of fish with kinked tails and a small number of very small fish. We managed to improve our survival rates and get fewer developmental issues by splitting down into correct stocking densities earlier and finding the most beneficial feeding regime.

Year
2017
Animal Type