Aquatic facilities & services

At a glance 

• Facilities include both conventional and AA-compliant aquarium spaces
• Services include colony health, water quality, feeding, and equipment maintenance
• Conveniently located near surgical spaces, organoid facilities, microscopy and imaging equipment
• Dedicated Aquatics technicians provide full-service support and 24/hour on-call facility care
• Basic and advanced training support and services available

The BR-Aquatic Facilities supports large-scale research into zebrafish and other aquatic species with a combined holding capacity of approximately 500,000 animals (various locations). Designed to facilitate a broad range of research disciplines—including developmental biology, disease modelling, cognitive and behavioural studies, and computational biology—the facility is equipped with both conventional and AA-compliant aquatic systems.

Comprehensive standard support is provided through the Biological Resources team, including equipment and Life support (LSS) operation, larval nursery care, feeding, water quality monitoring, tank cleaning, and colony health management. Basic training in aquatic husbandry is also included under the User Agreement. For advanced research needs, services such as microinjection, in-vitro fertilization, fin clipping, and experimental setup assistance are available at direct cost.

Prospective research groups 

Please complete the online form, and we'll be in touch at our earliest availability. (To be updated). 

Inductions

Bookings 

Bookings - Microinjector (IMB access required). 

Facility metrics

Current users can use the below facility information to report in enough detail facility information. Reporting animal research in adherence with the ARRIVE guidelines ensures transparent and thorough reporting. This enables readers and reviewers to scrutinise the research adequately, evaluate its methodical rigour, and reproduce the methods or findings. Research groups considering non-standard caging (opting out of a standard cage), should consider the following article to support understanding about indirect impacts to research design Reproducibility and Rigor in Animal-Based Research. 

These documents cover housing, light cycle, water quality/exchange, feeding details to be used for publication references. 

BR-Aquatics Facility Metrics 2023-2025.  (PDF, 152.5 KB)

Health reports (Zebrafish focus)

• Pseudoloma neurophilia
• Microsporidia (unknown species, not notifiable risk)

Current Negative screening for:

• Edwardsiella ictaluri
• Pseudomonas aeruginosa
• Pseudocapillaria tomentosa
• Mycobacteria
  • Chelonae
  • Fortuitum
  • Haemophilm
  • Marinum
  • Aeruginosa
  • Lesser known species

BR-Aquatics Zebrafish OTTO and Seddon Health Report 2022 (PDF, 142.3 KB)

BR-Aquatics Zebrafish OTTO and Seddon Health Report 2023 (PDF, 162.2 KB)

BR-Aquatics Zebrafish OTTO and Seddon Health Report 2024 (PDF, 161.8 KB)

For other species reporting please contact us. 

Operational documents

To view our local published procedures visit Operational documents. 

To view our AEC approved SOP visit Animal Ethics SOPs > Other Laboratory Animals.  

Pricing

The Biological Resources Aquatics facilities operate on an agistment direct cost recovery system. This system is divided into 3 main categories:

• Zebrafish Tank Agistment
• Xenopus Animal Agistment
• Exotics Tank/Animal Agistment

Agistment costs for an exotic model is variable and dependent on the animal, the animal's basic requirements and level of care, as well as the usage or acquisition of any special equipment.

Agistment costs are calculated based on direct use per tank / animal (as relevant to species / agistment list above), and cover housing, husbandry and standard operational costs (includes weekend care). Weekly usage is tallied and billed monthly, with costs able to be directed to particular group / shared funding as required.

Additional services outside of basic daily operations are billed as proportional cost per hour / unique consumable upon prior agreement.

See UQBR Agistment rates published here. 

Contact us

Team email - For enquiries or assistance for existing users email br-aquaticteam@uq.edu.au.  

Team administration - For inductions, prospective users, or ethics matter please email br-aquaticadmin@uq.edu.au. 

Phone - This is a direct line to reach the team, including for after-hours emergencies only on 07 3346 2164 (diverts to a mobile). 

UQBR Facility Manager - Gillian Lawrence g.lawrence1@uq.edu.au