Monitor and maintain the health and welfare of fish and aquatic animals in a Home Office designated establishment

This standard covers monitoring and maintaining the health and welfare of fish and aquatic animals such as Xenopus in a Home Office designated establishment. Fish could include Zebra or other fish species.

When working with research animals recognise humanity’s obligation to them and your responsibility for ensuring their proper care and treatment at all times.

It includes monitoring and maintaining:
• Systems – primarily recirculating
• Water quality – monitoring and parameters
• Feeding regimes
• Breeding
• Larval rearing, including water quality and feeding regimes
• Juvenile grow-out programme

This standard is for animal technologists in Home Office designated establishments.

It is essential that you work strictly within the limits of the relevant project licence.

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1. confirm that your work is carried out in accordance with the approved codes of practice and the organisation’s procedures and within the limits of your authority, expertise, training, competence and experience
2. carry out all work in accordance with the relevant environmental and health and safety legislation, risk assessment requirements, codes of practice and the organisation’s policies
3. assess the risks to health and safety before starting and throughout the activity
4. comply with legislation, codes of practice and the organisation’s policies relating to the care and welfare of animals in a Home Office designated establishment
5. use safe practices and the correct clothing and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the activity
6. maintain the required levels of hygiene and biosecurity in accordance with the organisation’s procedures
7. maintain communication with colleagues and all those involved in, or affected by, your work
8. monitor system and life support function for the fish or aquatic animals
9. perform routine maintenance on systems to ensure their optimal function
10. monitor water quality and other environmental parameters, to include pH, salinity, conductivity, temperature and nitrate, nitrite and ammonia levels
11. take the required action if water quality falls outside of set parameters
12. monitor and assess the health and welfare of the fish or aquatic animals, identify signs of ill health and take the required action in accordance with the organisation’s procedures
13. confirm a correct feeding regime, depending on species and age
14. prepare suitable diets for the fish or aquatic animals in your care
15. set up breeding systems in accordance with the organisation’s procedures
16. monitor and maintain a larval rearing programme in accordance with the organisation’s procedures
17. monitor and maintain a juvenile grow-out programme in accordance with the organisation’s procedures
18. keep accurate and up-to-date records as required by the relevant legislation and the organisation
19. conduct all activities within the provisions of the project licence

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1. the Home Office guidance notes, including the legal limitation of working roles and the delegation of tasks and the responsibilities of the personal licence holder
2. your responsibilities under the relevant environmental and health and safety legislation, codes of practice and the organisation’s policies
3. your responsibilities for the care and welfare of animals in a Home Office designated establishment under the relevant animal welfare legislation and Home Office codes of practice
4. the reasons for using animals in scientific research and humanity’s responsibilities to them
5. the importance and correct use of appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) when carrying out activities in a Home Office designated establishment
6. the importance of maintaining the appropriate levels of hygiene and biosecurity and the procedures for this
7. animal husbandry and animal management systems and workplace quality standards
8. the legal requirements and the organisation’s policy in relation to the treatment of animals
9. the principles of life-support systems in an aquatic environment
10. the principles of water filtration
11. the instrumentation involved in monitoring life-support systems and the calibration requirements
12. the effect of pH, salinity, conductivity and temperature on water quality
13. the nitrogen cycle and its component parts and the effect on water quality
14. the instrumentation involved in water quality monitoring and the calibration requirements
15. why certain water parameters are critical to the physiological wellbeing of the fish or aquatic animals
16. the basic biology of the fish or aquatic animals in your care
17. the basic signs of ill health in the fish or aquatic animals in your care and the possible causes
18. the basic nutritional requirements of the fish or aquatic animals in your care
19. why certain food types are fed at different stages of the life cycle
20. the different ways in which fish or aquatic animals can be mated and the situations in which these may be used
21. factors that can affect fish or aquatic animal mating
22. the physiology of the different stages of the larval form to juvenile and how this affects the husbandry requirements at each stage
23. the different physiological requirements of a juvenile compared to either a larval form or an adult and how this affects the husbandry requirements at each stage
24. the types of problems that may occur, their potential risks and the procedure for reporting concerns
25. the information that needs to be recorded and the organisation’s procedures for this
26. the provisions of the project licence

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2

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2030

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Current

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Original

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Lantra

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LANAT35

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Animal Technologist, Licensed Animal Technologist, Team Leader, Senior Animal Technologist

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6129

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zebra fish; xenopus

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