Zebrafish (Danio rerio) are small tropical freshwater fish that do not grow larger then 6.0 cm in length. While zebrafish are found in Pakistan, India Bangledesh, Nepal and Myanmar, they are also found in Columbian waters (www.fishbase.org, 2004). Zebrafish are generally found to inhabit streams, canals ditches and other slow-moving or stagnant bodies of water (www.fishbase.org, 2004).

Some general characteristics that make zebrafish easy to distinguish are five uniformly, pigmented horzinotal stripes extending from the anterior to posterior end of the body, including the caudal fin rays (www.fishbase.org, 2004). Usually feeding on worms, small crustaceans of insect larvae, zebrafish are sometimes used for pest control (www.fishbase.org, 2004).

Another general use of zebrafish is for studying developmental within the field of developmental biology. Zebrafish are a prime candidate for research, since they are a model organism, meaning they reach sexual maturity quickly, have large amounts of offspring and are easy to manipulate by using various research methods. Finally, since zebrafish organs are easily seen during their embryonic state it allows researchers to study organ development with ease.

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