Zebrafish have become a dominant model organism in biomedical research, with unique welfare challenges arising from their small size, social nature, and aquatic environment requirements.
Zebrafish welfare has historically received less attention than mammalian research models despite growing evidence of their sentience. Small size has been incorrectly interpreted as reduced welfare significance. Appropriate temperature, water quality, social housing, and enrichment dramatically improve zebrafish welfare and often improve data quality by reducing chronic stress.