Affordable and Easy Alternative to Fin Clipping Zebrafish

Zebrafish Embryo Genotyper vs Fin Clipping

When it comes to deciding your approach to efficient genotyping consider time, cost and space.

Consider the amount of time it takes your lab to raise and maintain 6- to 8-week-old fish without knowing their genotype. The process of fin-clipping can be time consuming in order to ensure safe, and uncontaminated fin-clips. Instead of investing time into the unknown, use the Zebrafish Embryo Genotyper (ZEG) to know your zebrafish as early as 3-day old embryos and select the embryos for experimentation with confidence! Cut down on your labor cost and save the time it takes to fin-clip by utilizing the ZEG in your lab protocols.

The process of fin-clipping cost comes from raising and maintaining the zebrafish in your pre-genotyping. It also comes with risk because it can lead to extreme harm, damage and even death of the fish. On the other hand, the ZEG has no long-term detrimental effects, and the embryos can be raised to adulthood!

Save space by only storing the genotypes that you are selecting for!

Learn more about the differences between the ZEG and Fin Clipping protocols to identify where you will save!

Know your fish!Zebrafish Embryo Genotyper(ZEG )Fin Clipping
Age of Zebrafish72 hpf – 7 dpf Embryos6- 8-week-old fish
DNA Sample ExtractionCatch embryos at 72 hpf put on ZEG Chip
Vibrate using the ZEG for 7 minutes
Remove E3 for PCR
Put fish in 96-well plate
Monitor fish for recovery
Disinfect and prepare fish tanks
Tricaine adult fish
Transfer individual fish to petri dish
Fin Clip
Put fish back into receiving tanks
Monitor fish for recovery
Fish RecoveryLow-level acute stress response
No long-lasting effects on survival, morphology, or behavior
>95% survival rate
Raise post-ZEG embryos to adulthood
Potential adverse effects include:
Infection
Injury
Swimming failure
Abnormal eating behavior
Over-exposure to anesthetic agents
Rate of extraction96 embryos per 1 hour96 fish per 2.5 hours
PCR PreparationPreparation time: 15 minutes
Use E3 samples directly in PCR
Set up and run PCR
Preparation time: 60 minutes
Place sample in NaOH 95℃ for 20 minutes
Neutralize with Tris-HCL
Set up and run PCR
AnalysisMore sensitive
More efficient
Higher throughput
Great for selecting CRISPR knockouts!
Less sensitive
Fish might die before selection
Zebrafish SelectionMark your 96-well plate for Zebrafish selection
Select specific genotypes while embryos!
Only store the fish you need with confidence!
Wash Tanks
Retape Tanks and Store
Select fish for experimentation.
(Remember you already invested time and space
into raising these fish!)
Approx. Tank Ratio (depends on genotype selected for)1 tank needed for selected embryos.4 tanks for needed for selected zebrafish
Tank Cost ($0.22/tank/day)$0.88 (1 tank for 4 days)$37.84 (4 tanks for 43 days)
Time for Tank Transportation10 minutes40 minutes
TrainingLearn to use the ZEG in 10 minutes.
Learn now by watching the ZEG Demo Video
More experience the better results
Need initial training for fish handling
Need Health Monitoring Training
Total Time~1 hour 25 minutes~4 hours 10 minutes
Cost of Labor ($15/hour)~$21.25~$60.50
Note: all calculations are approximated only