# id my Glo - fish



## PlecoMan1234 (Mar 17, 2008)

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/images/Issue67/GloFish5_l.jpg


Thanks!


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## Guest (Mar 17, 2008)

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.


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## PlecoMan1234 (Mar 17, 2008)

Ok that's what I thought


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## Guest (Mar 17, 2008)

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.


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## PlecoMan1234 (Mar 17, 2008)

sounds cool.


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## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

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.


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## it4lian (Mar 4, 2008)

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?


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## Guest (Mar 18, 2008)

it4lian said:


> 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.



TheOldSalt said:


> 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?


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## karazy (Nov 2, 2007)

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


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## Guest (Mar 18, 2008)

karazy said:


> 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.


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## karazy (Nov 2, 2007)

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?)


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## Guest (Mar 18, 2008)

karazy said:


> 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."


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## Clerk (Nov 22, 2006)

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.


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## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

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.


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## trashion (Aug 24, 2007)

Glo-oscars...hahahah.


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## redpaulhus (Jan 18, 2005)

TheOldSalt said:


> 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 :mrgreen:

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


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## Clerk (Nov 22, 2006)

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


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## Guest (Mar 19, 2008)

TheOldSalt said:


> 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.


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## oliesminis (May 7, 2007)

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

-olie


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## redpaulhus (Jan 18, 2005)

oliesminis said:


> 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).


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## 207lauras (Jan 28, 2009)

I have a couple in with my zebra danios and they get along great. I dont have enough for them to school at this time but they get around pretty well together. Also if you get white gravel and a white background they really pop because it seems to affect how they re-emit the light and makes the color way more vibrant. The black light idea is cool but would probably only work at night where the white will showcase the color all the time. The whole idea is a little weird but my kids seem to love them. Right now we only have 1 orange and 1 red but I was at the store the other day and saw some green ones. Will probably go back to get some more after the tank upgrade. It will be pretty neat to watch them swim around in a school!


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## justintrask (Jun 29, 2008)

at the store that I work at, we only carry the red ones, and the owner makes sure we know they are NOT dyed or injected... but rich... this threat was almost a year old


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