ANIMAL BEHAVIOR LABORATORY

NOTES FOR TEACHING ASSISTANTS

DISPLAYS OF PARADISE FISH

SUPPLIES

  • 30 Paradise Fish (Paradise Gouramis), separated and visually isolated for 2 weeks before lab

  • 8 or 9 mirrors (replace any that are scratched or broken)

PROCEDURES

  • Paradise Fish are facultative air-breathers.   They don't need aeration.

  • Do not overfeed the isolated fish.   The small holding tanks do not have surfaces (gravel, sponges, etc.) to hold bacteria, so ammonia will build up quickly.   Feed them one flake every two days while they are in the holding tanks.   They might be a little hungry, but they will remain alive longer with less food!

  • (Spring Semester especially) Be sure the room temperature does not become too cold. Close windows over the weekend before lab.   Otherwise, the fish will be too lethargic to display!

    POINTS TO EMPHASIZE IN THIS LAB

    • variability and discreteness of action patterns

    • habituation as a general property of most behavior

    • measurements of the rate, latency, and duration of action patterns.

    This lab introduces the most basic issues in studying behavior. You might get students to develop hypotheses or clear questions about behavior and to design data sheets for recording their observations as systematically as possible. To design a good data sheet, you of course need to have a clear hypothesis in mind.

    It can also provide an opportunity to introduce some simple statistics, but the exercises on fish schooling are a better place to start using statistics!