The housing, care, and use of a laboratory three-spined stickleback colony

The three-spined stickleback (Gasterosteous aculeatus) is a common laboratory fish used across many scientific disciplines. However, little guidance is available on its housing and care in the scientific literature. Here we outline the methods to maintain a colony of sticklebacks based upon >20 years of experience at the Cefas Weymouth Laboratory. We also provide details on the application of common scientific procedures to the species. We believe that due to the stickleback’s inherent features, its use as a laboratory animal will continue and expand. There is a need to standardize care of fish in general (as with all laboratory species) to refine scientific use: production and maintenance in standardized conditions should reduce variability in responses to experimental treatments. Although the stickleback is robust and readily amenable to laboratory culture, we also identify areas where animal welfare could potentially be improved.