Zebrafish are widely used in biomedical research. Proper anesthesia and analgesia protocols protect zebrafish welfare during procedures, reflecting their recognized sentience.
Zebrafish have been used as a convenient research organism partly because they were historically assumed to be simple systems rather than sentient animals. Evidence now indicates they possess the neural architecture for nociception and show behavioral responses consistent with pain experience. This recognition demands proper anesthesia for any procedure causing tissue damage, appropriate recovery protocols, and consideration of analgesic use post-procedure. Research institutions should ensure zebrafish welfare standards match those applied to mice and rats, not those historically applied to invertebrates.