Reusing zebrafish facility equipment: Planning, investment and what we have learned

The purpose of this study is to provide a detailed account of our successful experience in establishing a functional zebrafish holding facility by repurposing materials from a previous installation. On the eve of the start-up of our new animal facility we were notified that a research centre was putting part of its zebrafish holding facility (29 racks, accessories, water treatment unit) up for sale. Although the originally planned room was designed for six double racks, but encouraged by the increasing use of the zebrafish model, we decided to seize the opportunity, purchase the equipment and utilize it to create a larger configuration and an independent quarantine to protect the main facility. This decision inevitably led to extra expenses and situations, such as reinforcing the floor in the new location for the main facility, constructing an adjacent shelter for quarantine and adapting the racks. In spite of the additional costs, we consider the purchase and adaptation of this second-hand equipment for our facility to have been a success, and it has proven to be much more advantageous than acquiring brand new equipment. We trust that our experience will be of benefit to colleagues undertaking similar initiatives.