• Question: WHAT ARE ZEBRA FISH

    Asked by ecofreeko to Alberto, Michelle, Jennie, Emmanuel, Chris on 18 Jun 2013. This question was also asked by lawmac, birdl009.
    • Photo: Alberto Lapedriza

      Alberto Lapedriza answered on 18 Jun 2013:

      The zebrafish is a freshwater fish that has been used in research for the last 15 years or so. It is only 3 or 4 cm long. Its main feature is that they have 5 black or bluish horizontal stripes on the side of the body going from the head to the tail. It reminds to the zebra’s stripes, hence its name. Besides being used in research, it is also quite popular as an aquarium fish. You can see a picture in this link:

    • Photo: Chris Whittle

      Chris Whittle answered on 24 Jun 2013:

      Zebrafish are really important fish in biological sciences. They are a good model of development because they grow quickly and can be grown outside the mother’s body.

      They are able to regenerate limbs and certain organs, sometimes even when they adults, so this probably helps to understand why they have been used in a number of studies, such as cancer.

      They are called zebrafish because they have stripy markings on their sides.

    • Photo: Emmanuel Amabebe

      Emmanuel Amabebe answered on 24 Jun 2013:

      Zebrafish is a freshwater fish found in the tropics. They are coloured like the zebra, hence there name. It is an important vertebrate model organism used by scientist for research. It can also be found in aquariums.

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