Guidelines for Obtaining Strains

• We prefer to ship embryos because they travel better than adults, but for some lines we may also be able to provide adult fish. We usually send 100-200 embryos but can send more if you make a special request. Prices are listed on another page.
• Note: ZIRC bleaches all embryos that are shipped. A tough chorion can be a by-product of the bleaching procedure. If the embryos do not hatch on their own by 96 hpf, the chorions will need to be removed manually. The procedure for removing the chorions can be found in the Zebrafish book or at the following web address: http://zfin.org/zf_info/zfbook/chapt4/4.1.html.
• We want each shipment to be successful. We typically ship animals early in the week to avoid travel during a weekend. You will be notified of their expected time of arrival. Depending upon your location, you may need to obtain special permissions, make customs arrangements, or pick up the package at the airport or shipping service office. You should make these required arrangements before requesting shipment. Please inform us of any problems you have with the shipment.
• You should be ready to care for the fish, either embryos or adults, before they are shipped. Procedures for doing this are in The Zebrafish Book, A guide for the laboratory use of zebrafish (Danio rerio), Monte Westerfield, ed. available on-line or for a nominal fee you can order hard copies from the Resource Center.
• If you have not grown zebrafish before, you might want to practice before we ship you fish. You can obtain detailed information on maintaining and breeding adults and raising babies from the The Zebrafish Book. We can then send you fish with some confidence of their being grown and maintained properly.
• We encourage you to propagate the fish in your facility after you receive them from us because the Zebrafish International Resource Center still has a limited capacity to fill orders.

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