Evidence-based environmental enrichment to improve welfare for zebrafish used in biomedical research.
Zebrafish environmental enrichment improves welfare while simultaneously enhancing the quality of research data produced by these animals. Stressed, unstimulated zebrafish have abnormal baseline physiology and behavior that introduces variability into experimental results. Enrichment that allows zebrafish to express natural behaviors in a less stressful environment produces animals that are both better off and more scientifically informative. This dual benefit — welfare and science improvement — makes enrichment adoption one of the most straightforward 3Rs refinements available in zebrafish research, and its widespread adoption should be considered a standard expectation rather than an optional enhancement.