Building and Managing a Tropical Fish Facility: A Do-It-Yourself Guide

TL;DR

This paper provides a detailed guide on designing and operating a specialized aquatic facility for cichlid fishes, facilitating research and breeding with a comprehensive, scalable setup adaptable to other tropical teleosts.

Contribution

It introduces a novel, detailed design for a versatile aquatic research facility tailored for cichlids, enhancing research infrastructure for aquatic biology.

Findings

Designed a 10,000-liter facility with 42 aquaria and multiple specialized components

Demonstrated the facility's capability to support all cichlid life stages

Provided a scalable model applicable to other tropical fish research labs

Abstract

At the core of most research in zoological disciplines, ranging from developmental biology to genetics to behavioral biology, is the ability to keep animals in captivity. While facilities for traditional model organisms often benefit from well-established designs, construction of a facility for less commonly studied organisms can present a challenge. Here, we detail the process of designing, constructing, and operating a specialized 10,000-liter aquatic facility dedicated to housing cichlid fishes for research purposes. The facility, comprising 42 aquaria capable of division into up to 126 compartments, a flow-through rack for juveniles, egg tumblers for eggs and embryos, and a microinjection setup, provides a comprehensive environment for all life stages of cichlid fishes. We anticipate that a similar design can be also used also for other tropical teleost fishes. This resource is designed to promote increased efficiency and success in cichlid fish breeding and research, thereby offering significant insights for aquatic research labs seeking to build or optimize their own infrastructures.