A fluviarium with controlled water quality for preference—avoidance experiments with fish and invertebrates

Abstract

The effect of environmental variables on movement of aquatic organisms can be examined using preferenceavoidance behaviors. Fluviariums have been used to examine such preference-avoidance behaviors in fish, including choices associated with various water quality variables. The sharp gradient in fluviariums provides aquatic organisms with a choice of (usually) two water qualities, sharply demarcated at a relatively narrow boundary zone. A detailed description of a recently constructed and up-dated fluviarium, however, is missing from the literature. The fluviarium described in this paper integrates hydrodynamic design and extensive control of water quality to provide consistent experimental conditions, while at the same time being affordable. The system described was designed and used to examine acid avoidance behavior in juvenile fish and prawns, as part of a larger study on migration barriers in aquatic environments. An assessment of the fluviarium with juvenile snapper, Pagrus auratus, showed that the system worked as desired. The design described here, however, can be used or modified to study behavioral responses of aquatic biota to a wide variety of environmental variables, including habitat quality or combinations of two or more environmental variables.

Preferred pH of silver catfish Rhamdia quelen acclimated to different pH levels

“…The effect of environmental variables on movement of aquatic organisms can be examined using preference and avoidance behaviors (KROON & HOUSEFIELD, 2003). Water pH is usually regulated by the carbonate -bicarbonate system, generally remaining between 6.0 and 8.0.…”

Alarm substance recognition and predator avoidance by chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tschawytscha) following exposure to an organophosphate pesticide

“…This design is similar to the one used by Kroon and Housefield [17] and, though rectangular in shape, is classified as a type of Y-maze because of its single entry with two separate arms and independent water flows. The four, two-choice Y-maze tanks were constructed using white opaque acrylic plastic.…”

“…Two-choice (Y-maze) fluviariums and olfactory scents Fluviariums have been used for decades to test preferenceavoidance behavior in fish [17] and are typically modified versions of the design used by Höglund [20]. This design is similar to the one used by Kroon and Housefield [17] and, though rectangular in shape, is classified as a type of Y-maze because of its single entry with two separate arms and independent water flows.…”

“…All experiments included tests with control fish not exposed to pesticide for comparison. In one set of experiments, avoidance of putative alarm substances (chinook skin extract or L-serine) was examined through the use of two-choice Y-mazes or fluviariums [17] to determine whether diazinon exposure affected salmon olfactory-mediated behavior. Other groups of diazinon-exposed and control salmon were introduced to troughs containing predator fish (rainbow trout) to see if pesticide exposure altered the susceptibility of the prey.…”

Preference behavior of silver catfish, Rhamdia quelen, juveniles in waters with pH gradients: laboratory experiments

“…The usual pH range for fish growth is 6.0 to 9.0; lower pH can occur due to the presence of acidic cations, humic and fulvic acids, and more alkaline pH can be due to high levels of carbonate and other ions (Parra & Baldisserotto, 2007). Water quality may elicit a preference or avoidance response in fish (Kroon & Housefield, 2003), and several studies have demonstrated that fish preferred a specific pH (Jones et al, 1985;Nakamura, 1986;Peterson et al 1989;Åtland & Barlaup 1996;Åtland, 1998;Ikuta et al, 2003;Kroon & Housefield, 2003, Kroon, 2005, Scott et al, 2005, Riffel et al, 2012.…”