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Guidelines
Suggested parameters and sets of instructions outlining best practices and standards for accomplishing specific animal care and use research duties.

This Copy Was Generated On: April 24, 2025

Guidelines on Zebrafish Care and Veterinary Oversight

Unit for Laboratory Animal Medicine

| Approval Date:

January 10, 2025 12:00 am

This Document Has Been Recently Updated

Information Only Research Staff ULAM Staff Review Recommended Labs May Have Questions

Summary of Changes

This document has undergone the following changes:

  • Procedure Section 1: Removed the information in part a as the information is seen in part b
  • Procedure Section 5:
    • Removed the information that says veterinary staff that visits every fish housing facility will have to record the visits on the room log.
    • Removed the information that lists one example of situations requiring immediate reporting as prior to the implementation of any laboratory-managed treatment not explicitly outlined in IACUC-approved standard operating procedure (in 5.c.iii)
  • Clarified wording throughout the document for clarity and accuracy

Who is Impacted

Research personnel and ULAM Staff.

Impact

Review of updated information as it is relevant to your duties.

This document defines the minimum standards of care for zebrafish. It also outlines the veterinary oversight of aquatic species at the University of Michigan. Laboratories may exceed these minimum standards of care, but cannot do less than what is described unless the deviations are described in their IACUC-approved protocol(s).

 

Glossary Definitions

Clean

To remove visible soil (organic and inorganic material) from objects and surfaces.

Related Terms: Sanitize, Disinfect, Decontaminate, Sterilize

Sanitize

To reduce the number of bacterial contaminants on an object or surface.

Related Terms: Disinfect, Clean, Decontaminate, Sterilize

Procedures

1. Required Documentation

  1. Caretakers: Maintain logs in the animal housing room with the following parameters. Always include the date and initials or name of the person(s) conducting the assessment on the room log. Record actual values where applicable. Check marks or an “x” can be used when a range of normal is available for reference. While ULAM Room Log templates are preferred, laboratory personnel can use other versions as long as the following information is included:
    1. Animal health status
    2. Deaths
    3. Feeding
    4. Temperature of system/tank water
    5. Water quality parameters (ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, conductivity, pH)
    6. Water change if applicable (for static systems)
    7. Tank change/cleaning
    8. Equipment cleaning/sanitization
    9. Floor mopping/sanitization
    10. Room parameters (temperature, humidity, pressure)

2. Details for Required Documentation

  1. Health Checks
    1. Record at least once per day.
    2. Includes a visual inspection of each tank to identify sick or dead fish.
    3. Typically conducted concurrently with feeding times.
    4. Report health concerns to veterinary staff as detailed below (see Procedures Section 5).
  2. Death Logs
    1. Record daily.
    2. Includes animals found dead or euthanized due to health concerns, but do not include animals that were euthanized for experimental purposes or excess progeny not needed for studies. Record the following information:
      1. The system and tank location of animal(s)
      2. The animal condition or clinical signs (if applicable)
      3. The number affected if multiple in a tank or system
      4. The date of assessment and initials of responsible party
    3. Report deaths or morbidity exceeding 5% of the system or colony within 1 month to veterinary staff as detailed below.
  3. Feeding
    1. Feed fish a minimum of once daily, unless otherwise stated in the approved animal use protocol.
    2. Record the date, time, and initials of the responsible person on the room log.
  4. Temperature and Water Quality
    1. Record water temperature for each system. Acceptable temperature range is 80-84°F.
    2. Record pH, ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, and conductivity  at least weekly. This is done according to laboratory-specific SOPs.
    3. Report any parameters that are outside laboratory-specified normal ranges for more than 24 hours to veterinary staff as detailed below.
    4. Perform water change, if applicable (e.g., for static systems) at least weekly and record.
  5. Tank and Equipment Cleaning/Sanitization/Changing
    1. Change and clean/sanitize tanks housing fish as often as necessary to allow for visualization of all fish housed in the tank. Record changes, cleaning and sanitizing on the room sheets when the lab utilizes a tracking system for regular interval tank changing.
    2. Algae growth is acceptable providing it does not prevent visualization of the fish for health assessment.
    3. Steps for cleaning/sanitizing tank components
      1. Ensure that all cleaning supplies (e.g., scrub pads) are in good working order. If they are not, discontinue use and replace with new.
      2. Ensure that all caging and equipment are in good working order. If they are not, discontinue use and replace with new.
      3. Remove gross debris from tanks.
      4. Choose a sanitizing method from the table below.
        Sanitizing Methoda Description Contact Time
        1:8 Bleach Solution Soak in bleach solution and scrub with sponge if needed 24-hours with bleach solution, then soak in deionized (DI) water for at least one hourb
        Mechanical washer Exposure to hot water only Length of washing cycle

        aIf these sanitizing solutions are incompatible with your research or you already use another sanitizing method, contact ULAM so that the method can be evaluated.

        bUse freshly prepared bleach solution and fresh DI water each time.

      5. Rinse and air-dry items that are sanitized with bleach.
      6. Mechanical washers
        1. Rinse and dry as part of the wash cycle.
        2. Validate function and temperature at least once a week and maintain results in an easily accessible location within the facility.
    4. Follow validation of sanitization practices as stated in the Guidelines for Validation of Mechanical and Manual Sanitization of Caging and Equipment.
    5. Follow expiration dates of sanitizing chemicals being used.
      1. If chemical solutions are prepared in a separate container, label the container with:
        1. Chemical name
        2. Concentration
        3. All occupational hazards (e.g., respiratory irritant, skin irritant, corrosive)
        4. Expiration date
          1. If there is no expiration date for the chemical, label the container with the date the solution was prepared. Date on the container must clearly state whether it is a made date or an expiration date.
    6. Perform cleaning, sanitizing, or changing of other equipment and system components (e.g., filters, UV bulbs) according to specific laboratory SOPs and record on the room sheets.
  6. Floor Mopping/Sanitization
    1. Mop room floors with a suitable disinfectant at least every 2 weeks.
    2. Record mopping on the Room Log.
  7. Room Conditions
    1. Record room temperature.
    2. Where fish are housed in static tanks for more than 24-hours, report room temperature values outside 78-86°F for more than 24 hours to the Plant Operations Call Center at (734) 647-2059.
      1. For Brehm and Kellogg Eye Center, call Hospital Maintenance at (734) 936-5054.
    3. Maintain rooms in a tidy and organized manner without excessive clutter.

3. Environmental Enrichment

  1. All vertebrate animals, including fish, receive environmental enrichment to ensure their health and well being. Details regarding acceptable forms of enrichment for fish are described in the Environmental Enrichment for Animals SOP. Group housing is not considered environmental enrichment.
    1. Provide each tank of fish at least 1 form of enrichment daily.
    2. Provide singly housed fish 2 forms of enrichment daily.

4. Singly housed Fish

  1. Identify fish that are singly housed with a blue Post-It flag or sticker and label with the appropriate exemption code as described in Identifying Single Housed Animals SOP.

5. Emergency Reporting and Veterinary Oversight

  1. Veterinary staff visits every fish housing facility in accordance with Guidelines on Veterinary Oversight of Animal Facilities. This visit serves to assess the overall health status of the colony and review death logs, feeding logs, water quality parameters, and other room sheets.
  2. The veterinary staff encourages communication regarding any health concerns at any time. However, laboratories must contact the veterinary staff immediately (within 24 hrs from time of identification), for significant colony health concerns and prior to the implementation of any laboratory-managed treatments not approved in the IACUC protocol. This communication may be via email, phone, the electronic health reporting system, submitting an ATR (Animal Treatment Report), or an in-person conversation.
  3. Examples of situations requiring immediate reporting include:
    1. An acute mortality or morbidity event affecting greater than 5% of the total colony animals.
    2. An acute mortality or morbidity event affecting greater than 5% of the animals in a single system.
    3. Prior to the implementation of any laboratory-managed treatment not explicitly outlined in the approved animal use protocol.
    4. Any water quality parameter that is outside normal range for more than 24 hours.
  4. For any animal health report, include the name of person reporting the concern, building and room number, Principal Investigator (PI) name, protocol number, species, and a brief description of the issue or concern. Submit a separate colony health report for each aquatic room and for each species. However, multiple PIs and animals on different protocols can be combined into one report if all are using a shared housing system.

SPECIES: Fish, Amphibians, and Reptiles

Questions?

Questions or concerns about the content of this document should be directed to the Unit for Laboratory Animal Medicine (ULAM) at (734) 764-0277 or [email protected].