Assessment of behaviour in groups of zebrafish (Danio rerio) using an intelligent software monitoring tool, the chromatic fish analyser.

Background: Zebrafish (Danio rerio) are an increasingly popular model species within a variety of biomedical and neurobiological contexts. Researchers are required to prevent any negative states, such as pain, when using experimental animals to optimise fish welfare but analysis tools for zebrafish are lacking.

New Method: The chromatic fish analyser (CFA) is a computer-based monitoring system that has the potential to identify changes in fish behaviour via spatial chromatic analysis of video images.