Meeting Abstract
Do mosquitofish actively seek substrates of particular colors within their environment? Previous research on wild Western species of mosquitofish (Gambusia affinis) has demonstrated that fish prefer specific substrate colors and that the ability to choose substrate colors in their habitat may have a significant impact on the health and reproduction of this species. We examine, in a captive setting, whether the Eastern mosquitofish (Gambusia holbrooki) will respond to different colors of substrate by changing their color (through melanophores) and if this species will actively seek out particular colors of substrate in their environments. For our experiment we observed fish swimming behavior in an aquatic environment over a period of time (weekly video recordings over 1.5 months) with various substrate (aquarium gravel) colors and patterns. Specifically, our study not only observed whether or not there is a preference for a specific substrate but also whether the essentials for an aquarium (filters) had any effect on their behavior. Overall, this study allowed us to see that while mosquitofish change to coincide with the surrounding substrate in their environment, they have no behavioral preference (actively seeking to spend time in certain areas) for substrate color. In addition to better understanding how these fish respond to changes within their environment, such as changing colors of substrate, understanding the influence of substrate color on mosquitofish is an important factor to consider in captive animal husbandry as a review of animal care protocols does not currently designate or take into account the preference of fish for particular substrate color.
