need adivce about ailing zebrafish

[Genya Popova]

To Whom it May Concern:

I am writing from the Karlstrom Laboratory at the University of
Massachusetts, Amherst.  Professor Karlstrom has recently gone away on
vacation and we are unable to contact him.  We are having an epidemic with
our zebra fish facility, and we need advice as to how to remedy the
situation before it becomes a major problem.  The facility has been running
for only a few months, but we have experienced no problems until now.

Yesterday afternoon and last night several fish died, all from separate
tanks.  Several more have died today.  The fish in one tank seem to be
particularly ill and have be isolated from the system.   Most of the fish
show red irritation around the fins and along the posterior midsection.
They tend to be sluggish and rest on the bottom, or they get stuck in the
outflow current.  Quite a few fish in the system appear sickly.  We are all
relatively new to zebrafish in his lab, and do not know what could be
causing the problem, or how we can treat the fish.

All of the fish in the system have come from  New York University.  We
introduced a new batch of fish from NYU this past weekend, but have never
experienced a problem when introducing new fish in the past.  We just began
regular feedings with brine shrimp last week as well.  The pH, temperature,
and salinity of the system is normal, and all the filters and UV lights are
functioning.

Profesor Karlstorm will return in a few days, but we are not sure if the
situation can wait.  Any adivce would be greatly appreciated.  Thank you
for your time.

Sincerely,

Jay Culverwell