Behavioral responses of zebrafish depend on the type of threatening chemical cues.

In fish, defensive reactions are induced by different chemical cues that emanate from sense-related stresses [physical, chemical, and visual (visual contact with predator)] or food stresses (acute fasting and chronic food restriction). Using a shuttle box with a two-chamber unmixed laminar flow that allowed fish to remain or flee from a chemical cue, we showed that the avoidance response depended on the type of the chemical cue. We show that zebrafish (Danio rerio) retreated from water conditioned with chemical cues released by chemically or physically stressed fish and acutely fasted fish, but not from water with cues from fish experiencing visual contact with predatory fish or fish suffering from chronic food restriction.

Waterborne psychoactive drugs impair the initial development of Zebrafish.

The contamination of rivers and other natural water bodies, including underground waters, is a current reality. Human occupation and some economic activities generate a wide range of contaminated effluents that reach these water resources, including psychotropic drug residues. Here we show that fluoxetine, diazepam and risperidone affected the initial development of zebrafish.

Effects of waterborne fluoxetine on stress response and osmoregulation in zebrafish.

The presence of fluoxetine in aquatic environments has been reported for decades. Here, we investigate the effects of exposure to fluoxetine on the stress response and osmoregulation in zebrafish. We show that stress response alters osmoregulation and that fluoxetine inhibits these stress-related changes in osmoregulation.

Acute exposure to waterborne psychoactive drugs attract zebrafish.

Psychotropic medications are widely used, and their prescription has increased worldwide, consequently increasing their presence in aquatic environments. Therefore, aquatic organisms can be exposed to psychotropic drugs that may be potentially dangerous, raising the question of whether these drugs are attractive or aversive to fish. To answer this question, adult zebrafish were tested in a chamber that allows the fish to escape or seek a lane of contaminated water.