Aquarium hobby research topic?

[redmare]

Hi fish friends!

So I have an opportunity to do my honours thesis next year working in a fish lab (how cool is that???) This will involve designing my own research project, carrying it out, and publishing a paper on my findings. I think this could be such a cool opportunity to try and mythbust some aquarium lore or learn more about the things that affect us as hobbyists. My question to you is... what are some big questions you have about the way fish work? What would you love to find out but don't have the resources (or time or energy) to test? I have some ideas already but there's such a smart science-based community here I thought I'd see what cool ideas the nerms have. 

Some of the things I've thought of: How different diets affect growth/reproduction, how temperature affects sex ratios of livebearers, SOMEthing to do with salt and it's medicinal properties... there's honestly so many things. So many potential topics in breeding, in growth and development, and in disease treatment. The possibilities are a bit overwhelming! 

[Zenzo]

It seems like there are infinite topics that you could study. Some may be quite fascinating. 

Things that I would be interested in learning more about:

- Hormones in the water and their impact on growth, reproductive rates, sex of fry, etc.

- Aerobic vs anaerobic bacteria and their ability to convert ammonia/nitrite (like which scenario is optimal and which was most effective).

Whatever you choose, I am sure it will be interesting! 

[Streetwise]

This is cool. I am thinking about some ideas, and will edit this post. Don’t quote me.

[CT_]

On 11/8/2021 at 6:31 PM, Streetwise said:

Don’t quote me.

Will do...  oops!

I've always wanted to know (in a controlled study!):

Will dechlorinators really detoxify ammonia/nitrite.

 

 

[OnlyGenusCaps]

So, I want to state right away this is a really cool opportunity!  I'm not trying to be a wet blanket here, but I'm curious what does the lab you'll be working in study?  I could be way off base, but in my experience, the PI has a direction for a lab and you kind of have to stay within that realm (often based on grant funding, etc.).  You could be at a different type of institution, with a different setup, or in a country other than the States with a different system.  But my expectation would be that if you are going to be in say a fish genetics lab, you might not get a good reception with a suggestion to study how salt impacts disease.  This is why I am curious.  If you know the type of work that goes on there, perhaps suggestions could be more directed, and then of more use? 

[CT_]

On 11/8/2021 at 7:48 PM, OnlyGenusCaps said:

So, I want to state right away this is a really cool opportunity!  I'm not trying to be a wet blanket here, but I'm curious what does the lab you'll be working in study?  I could be way off base, but in my experience, the PI has a direction for a lab and you kind of have to stay within that realm (often based on grant funding, etc.).  You could be at a different type of institution, with a different setup, or in a country other than the States with a different system.  But my expectation would be that if you are going to be in say a fish genetics lab, you might not get a good reception with a suggestion to study how salt impacts disease.  This is why I am curious.  If you know the type of work that goes on there, perhaps suggestions could be more directed, and then of more use? 

It may also depend on the kind of and amount of funding they have and the attitude of the PI.  If an undergrad comes with a specific idea, that is sound, and we can make it happen for not too much money we are excited to do it!  The other end of the spectrum is very top down, in which case the PI will probably say "do this", and that's it. 

 

Have you already met with the PI?  Do you know the scope of what you're allowed to do?

[Guppysnail]

On 11/8/2021 at 9:24 PM, Zenzo said:

Hormones in the water and their impact on growth, reproductive rates, sex of fry, etc.

I will second this suggestion as things I would be most interested in definitive information in regards to the aquarium hobby. 
How very exciting that you have this opportunity. I know you will be very busy but I do hope you find minutes here and there to share glimpses into your progress with us. 

[gardenman]

Hormones have interested me for some time. I had a discussion with one of the chemists for Chemi-Pure (I think. It's been a while ago.) about whether their product removed hormones from the water.  I was specifically interested in cortisol and other stress hormones at the time. He couldn't provide a solid answer but assumed the product wouldn't hurt and might help.

A lot of breeders now are keeping livebearers with other fish they're trying to spawn in the belief that sex hormones released by the livebearers during spawning/live birth encourage breeding by other more difficult fish. Hormones are also used extensively in fish farming. They often use estrogens and androgens to alter the sex of the fish they're raising if one sex outproduces the other in terms of meat production. (I wonder if some of the human gender confusion issues that seem more common now are a result of some of those hormones finding their way to consumers through the food chain? A different study for a different day though.)

If you could identify a hormone secreted by livebearers that would trigger breeding in other fish, it could be a valuable product. Fish live in a sea of hormones and it's likely they use those hormones to trigger spawning.

 

[redmare]

On 11/8/2021 at 10:48 PM, OnlyGenusCaps said:

So, I want to state right away this is a really cool opportunity!  I'm not trying to be a wet blanket here, but I'm curious what does the lab you'll be working in study?  I could be way off base, but in my experience, the PI has a direction for a lab and you kind of have to stay within that realm (often based on grant funding, etc.).  You could be at a different type of institution, with a different setup, or in a country other than the States with a different system.  But my expectation would be that if you are going to be in say a fish genetics lab, you might not get a good reception with a suggestion to study how salt impacts disease.  This is why I am curious.  If you know the type of work that goes on there, perhaps suggestions could be more directed, and then of more use? 

It's a very open opportunity! The prof I'll be working for does population ecology mainly, but he says he's happy to help me design just about any experiment I'm interested in. We've been talking about doing some behaviour based studies since that's something particularly interesting to both of us! We were talking about perhaps temperature and spawning behaviour/aggression

On 11/9/2021 at 5:02 AM, Guppysnail said:

I will second this suggestion as things I would be most interested in definitive information in regards to the aquarium hobby. 
How very exciting that you have this opportunity. I know you will be very busy but I do hope you find minutes here and there to share glimpses into your progress with us. 

I will 100% come back to share along the way! I think there's such a wealth of knowledge here that could be so useful in designing and troubleshooting a project like this! Along with my supervisor of course 🙂

On 11/8/2021 at 11:45 PM, CT_ said:

Have you already met with the PI?  Do you know the scope of what you're allowed to do?

Yes! He has been my fish ecology prof this semester and that's how I found out about the opportunity. He knows my interest is in aquarium fish, and his research is in native populations, but he's down to help me design a hobby-based experiment!

[CT_]

On 11/9/2021 at 5:14 AM, gardenman said:

Hormones have interested me for some time. I had a discussion with one of the chemists for Chemi-Pure (I think. It's been a while ago.) about whether their product removed hormones from the water.  I was specifically interested in cortisol and other stress hormones at the time. He couldn't provide a solid answer but assumed the product wouldn't hurt and might help.

A lot of breeders now are keeping livebearers with other fish they're trying to spawn in the belief that sex hormones released by the livebearers during spawning/live birth encourage breeding by other more difficult fish. Hormones are also used extensively in fish farming. They often use estrogens and androgens to alter the sex of the fish they're raising if one sex outproduces the other in terms of meat production. (I wonder if some of the human gender confusion issues that seem more common now are a result of some of those hormones finding their way to consumers through the food chain? A different study for a different day though.)

If you could identify a hormone secreted by livebearers that would trigger breeding in other fish, it could be a valuable product. Fish live in a sea of hormones and it's likely they use those hormones to trigger spawning.

 

Apparently hormones are so commercially relevant that you can just buy them:

https://syndel.com/product/ovaprim/

They're sold as an IM injection probably because that's more cost effective vs dumping a ton into the water.

 

[OnlyGenusCaps]

On 11/9/2021 at 9:43 AM, redmare said:

It's a very open opportunity! The prof I'll be working for does population ecology mainly, but he says he's happy to help me design just about any experiment I'm interested in.

That is indeed a great opportunity!  Not one that comes along everyday.  I couldn't be happier for you!

On 11/9/2021 at 9:43 AM, redmare said:

We've been talking about doing some behaviour based studies since that's something particularly interesting to both of us! We were talking about perhaps temperature and spawning behaviour/aggression

That's cool.  My wife is a professor of animal behavior.  She helps her 150 undergrads design projects every year for their semester lab projects (they work in groups with is easier for everyone). 

Sounds like you have a good mentor there.  I'll be excited to see what you come up with and how it all shakes out!

[Tanked]

I've always been curious about the relationship between fish and noise in the aquarium world. If I drop a book on the floor do the fish react to the noise or the transmitted shockwave .  Does the tv/ vacuum cleaner bother them or can they tune it out, does that big glass panel separating them from our world enhance or filter some sounds...

A second subject would be: Do some fish appreciate/enjoy physical contact with us, or are they training us to feed them again?  Did my pleco really like that belly rub?