How social housing requirements for laboratory zebrafish affect both welfare outcomes and research quality in biomedical science.
The rapid rise of zebrafish as a research model has outpaced the development of welfare standards specifically tailored to their needs. The social requirements of zebrafish are not incidental - isolation from conspecifics causes physiological stress responses that alter the very biological parameters researchers are trying to measure. This creates an alignment between welfare and research quality: better zebrafish welfare through appropriate social housing produces more valid research data. The welfare case for group housing zebrafish is reinforced by scientific arguments, yet individual housing remains common in practice. Welfare advocacy in the zebrafish research community has both ethical and scientific dimensions.