Oldfield Ronald G
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA.
J Appl Anim Welf Sci. 2011;14(4):340-60. doi: 10.1080/10888705.2011.600664.
Many species of fishes are aggressive when placed in small aquaria. Aggression can negatively affect the welfare of those individuals toward whom it is directed. Animals may behave aggressively in order to defend resources such as food, shelter, mates, and offspring. The decision to defend depends on the distribution of resources and on ecological factors such as number of competitors, amount of available space, and amount of habitat complexity. This study tested the effects of these factors on aggression in a common aquarium fish, the Midas cichlid (Amphilophus citrinellus). The study found that time spent behaving aggressively was not associated with small-scale differences in group size or available space. Aggression was significantly lower in a large aquarium with a complex habitat. Aquaria of sizes typically used in the companion animal (pet) hobby did not provide optimal welfare for cichlids housed with aggressive conspecifics. The public should be aware that this and similar species require larger aquaria with complex habitat, which elicit more natural behavior.
许多鱼类品种被放置在小水族箱中时会具有攻击性。攻击行为会对其针对的个体的福利产生负面影响。动物可能会表现出攻击性以保卫诸如食物、庇护所、配偶和后代等资源。保卫资源的决定取决于资源的分布以及诸如竞争者数量、可用空间量和栖息地复杂程度等生态因素。本研究测试了这些因素对一种常见水族箱鱼类——迈达斯丽鱼（Amphilophus citrinellus）攻击性的影响。研究发现，表现出攻击行为所花费的时间与群体大小或可用空间的小规模差异无关。在具有复杂栖息地的大型水族箱中，攻击性显著更低。伴侣动物（宠物）爱好者通常使用的尺寸的水族箱，对于与具有攻击性的同种鱼类饲养在一起的丽鱼来说，无法提供最佳福利。公众应该意识到，这种及类似品种需要更大的、具有复杂栖息地的水族箱，这样能引发更自然的行为。
