worries about in vivo tests

[banana k]

hi all, new to the forum... i'm just getting started on a venoms biology graduate thesis which is pretty heavy on the use of fish as models. the project itself involves 80 fish including pilot study and dose-response curves for two different venoms. the science has got me absolutely captivated, and fish actually injected with venom die quickly enough that i'm not freaking out about that yet. BUT, the number is rapidly increasing from 80 due to problems with technique. i'm still getting the hang of landing a needle in the hemal sinus of a fish to inject venom, and every time i "practice" with a fish, whether just to draw blood or inject test saline or use one for the pilot study or simply put one in the test apparatus (a holding cell with a doppler cardiac ultrasound probe i have to practice with), i have to kill that fish. usually they die anyway within 24 hours after being manipulated like that, and my advisor suggests euthanising straight away instead. not to mention that practice fish get held down or stuck in a holding cell and probed with ultrasound gel and/or a syringe.

anyway i suppose my question has to do with karma, seeing as i'm going to be bumping off a fair few fish. is this appropriate, or getting into the realm of unnecessary animal cruelty? i *think* i can come to terms with this stuff since i SO love the science behind it, but i am having some creepy bleeding-fish dreams... any thoughts? other people having issues like this?

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