id my Glo - fish

[PlecoMan1234]

Ok I have Three Glo - fish and my friend bought them for my brother. And he says that they are genetically altered tetras but I think they are genetically altered Zebra danios. Also I don't really think it's right to inject them with the stuff they use for the colors. Idk what they do to make the colors but I don't like the sound of it!

Here's what mine look like

http://www.ec.gc.ca/EnviroZine/image...GloFish5_l.jpg


Thanks!

[JustOneMore20]

Those are genetically altered danios......aka Glo-fish. Glo-fish are always danios, not tetras.

http://www.glofish.com is a site with info about them.

[PlecoMan1234]

Ok that's what I thought

[fishbguy]

They are geneticly altered. They take genes from jellyfish and corals and inject it into the eggs or something. By doing this, the colors never fade, and suposidly, they breed true, tho I've never tried. At the lfs I work at, we keep them under a black light to help enhance the colors.

[PlecoMan1234]

sounds cool.

[TheOldSalt]

They breed true, alright. Hooboy... I'm up to my ears in them. Ordinarily that would be good news, but these fish are actually patented, so they're of no use to me, and I can't even give them away to anyone.

[it4lian]

Maybe try and give em back to the people who have em patended lol. I've been thinking of getting Glo-fish, their basically just like a zebra danio right? Just got the bright colors?

[Scuba Kid]

Originally Posted by it4lian

Maybe try and give em back to the people who have em patended lol. I've been thinking of getting Glo-fish, their basically just like a zebra danio right? Just got the bright colors?

Yes, they are just zebra danios. Their care requirements are the same.

Originally Posted by TheOldSalt

They breed true, alright. Hooboy... I'm up to my ears in them. Ordinarily that would be good news, but these fish are actually patented, so they're of no use to me, and I can't even give them away to anyone.

Now this, I'm interested in. Since they are patented, technically does "creating" more violate patent law? Or is it only illegal to then resell or distribute them?
I'm fairly sure that at the aquarium I work at that in the back they have a tank dedicated to breeding the Glofish danios. However this is only used as a way to restock the tanks, as far as I know. Although (as they do with most other animals), I'm not sure if they circulate them around (to other aquariums). I wonder, are larger institutions able to get around this because they manage to obtain permission from the company? Or are they in the same boat as any hobbiest?

[karazy]

personaly i dont support anything to do with the dying or injecting of fish. its just not natural and can hurt the fish

[Scuba Kid]

Originally Posted by karazy

personaly i dont support anything to do with the dying or injecting of fish. its just not natural and can hurt the fish

If you read up on it, you'd know that Glofish don't even come close to dying fish in terms of how humane the practices are. The flourescent glow of the Glofish is from altering the genes in said fish by "installing" coral genes. This is not harmful to the fish and it does not have harsh side effects like seen with fish that have been dyed. The gene only affects the color of the fish. In all other ways, the Glofish are the same and as healthy as any normal danio.

Not only that, but I don't believe the injection process even takes place now. Now, the Glofish are just bred, creating more Glofish. Those are the Glofish you see in shops now; Not ones that grew from injected embryos, but just from being bred from Glofish parents.

[karazy]

i still dont like the unnaturalness of them. if god made them, why should we try to change them when they r fine as they r (lolz, preachy much?)

[Scuba Kid]

Originally Posted by karazy

i still dont like the unnaturalness of them. if god made them, why should we try to change them when they r fine as they r (lolz, preachy much?)

Let's leave God out of it. Don't want this to turn into a religion battle.

I personally think that gene modification can go two ways: It can lead to inhumane practices, while on the other hand is a huge scientific step. With the ability to alter genes, the ability to cure or prevent diseases can also come about given the right technology.
Not all things are fine the "way they've been made."

[Clerk]

I believe the process is transgenic. The genes in question have the DNA separated and are added in a mixture with the eggs. The DNA is brought into the egg cells through transformation.

I am fairly sure no injection is involved.


I have done similar process with Jellyfish genes and E. Coli, easy peasy.

[TheOldSalt]

Creating them intentionally is a violation, so your aquarium may be asking for trouble.

Purple, green, red, orange, yellow, and electro-blue.. Glofish are starting to appear in a whole rainbow of colors. That's probably a bad thing. The first ones were made for completely non-aquarium reasons, but these new ones are being made for aquariums. That can only mean one thing: other species are sure to follow. That's gonna be a big mess. As mass production of various glo-species brings the prices down, it may become harder & harder to find the ordinary versions. If it is easier for the stores to sell the glo versions, they might cut back on carrying the normal ones.

Hmmm.. glo-weatherfish...I can see it happening soon.

[trashion]

Glo-oscars...hahahah.

[redpaulhus]

Originally Posted by TheOldSalt

They breed true, alright. Hooboy... I'm up to my ears in them. Ordinarily that would be good news, but these fish are actually patented, so they're of no use to me, and I can't even give them away to anyone.

I just read the marketing packet from the Glofish folks last weekend - I thought you were prohibited from intentionally breeding them, and/or selling the offspring -- you can give them away to friends

One of the guys in my club bred his, mostly the red but either a green or orange slipped into the mix -- red x red = red, but red x orange or red x green = albino zebra danio

[Clerk]

I saw some fry at one of the LFS not long ago, I shoulda asked what they were going to do with them

[Scuba Kid]

[quote=TheOldSalt]Creating them intentionally is a violation, so your aquarium may be asking for trouble.
quote]

They don't breed intentionally (if they even do, the ones in back up may just be on hold to go in the display) but if they breed on their own and the aquarium keeps them to put in the display, I can't imagine that would be violating anything.

[oliesminis]

never seen these before and think they look pretty cool, do they have any defects or problems caused by the change.

-olie

[redpaulhus]

Originally Posted by oliesminis

never seen these before and think they look pretty cool, do they have any defects or problems caused by the change.

-olie

I've found them to be a bit more 'inbred' than the typical zebra danio -- we see alot more genetic defects (especially bent spines) in these than we do in standard zebra danios (at least in the store I work at).