Design and Husbandry Considerations for a Containment Level 2 Aquatic Facility

The greatly increased use of aquatic species to study disease over the past 20 years necessitates understanding their husbandry and housing requirements to optimize research and welfare and to ensure compliance with regulations. To achieve these goals, aquatic systems have expanded from pet shop and home aquaria to research-grade systems incorporating designs and features to increase their robustness, practicality, and flexibility. Moreover, these last decades have seen the increasing use of aquatic animals for infectious disease research using containment level 2 (CL2)/biosafety level 2 pathogens. In this study, we discuss the facility design requirements and modifications, which must be considered for the planning, construction, and use of an aquatic facility for zebrafish infected with CL2 pathogens. These include decontamination of water and equipment, racking and filtration design, personal protective equipment, and husbandry procedures. This guidance is based on our experience in the design and ongoing management of such facilities.