The zebrafish is an important model organism in developmental genetics, neurophysiology and biomedicine, but little is known about its natural ecology and behaviour. It is a small, shoaling cyprinid, native to the flood-plains of the Indian subcontinent, where it is found in shallow, slow-flowing waters. Zebrafish are group spawners and egg scatterers, although females are choosy with respect to sites for oviposition and males defend territories around such sites. Laboratory studies of zebrafish behaviour have encompassed shoaling, foraging, reproduction, sensory perception and learning. These studies are reviewed in relation to the suitability of the zebrafish as a model for studies on cognition and learning, development, behavioural and evolutionary ecology, and behavioural genetics.

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The European bitterling Rhodeus sericeus Pallas is a freshwater fish belonging to the Acheilognathinae, a subfamily that has an unusual spawning symbiosis with freshwater mussels. Female bitterling possess long ovipositors that they use to place their eggs onto the gills of a mussel through the mussels' exhalant siphon. Males fertilize the eggs by releasing sperm into the inhalant siphon of the mussel. The embryos develop inside the mussel for approximately a month, eventually leaving the mussel as actively swimming larvae. Because they use a discrete spawning site that can be readily manipulated they have recently been used in studies to understand oviposition choice with respect to mate and spawning site quality, host-parasite coevolution, alternative male mating tactics, and linking behavioural decisions with population dynamics. The current state of knowledge of bitterling reproductive ecology is reviewed and synthesized, and future directions for research on this species are proposed.

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