Anyone heard of GloFish?

[UrbanHavok]

Ok I was at PetSmart today picking up some goodies for Spike n Spud. and I came across fish that I have never seen before called GloFish. I did some reading, they are genetically altered fish from my understanding. I'm thinking about getting them. Does anyone have GloFish? Has anyone heard of them? O_O I feel like I've been living under a rock LOL

[purplemuffin]

Yeah, I've heard of them! They are just like whatever the fish they are altered from. I've heard they are slightly more prone to disease, but less from the altering, more because they were from a small original stock, so they are all very very inbred now, so you have to be careful about making sure they don't get sick! That's my friend's experience with them anyway!

[UrbanHavok]

Interesting... would you happen to know exactly what they are prone to getting? They look so cool when they are put under a black light. I'm seriously considering getting them.

[purplemuffin]

They get some danio disease more often that leads to a bent spine and a shorter life from what I've heard.

It's possible the original stock was just poorly bred--they were never meant to be pets, so care was not taken into the breeding of them. And inbreeding increases the strength of whatever issue the original parents had. So it just seems like the majority is more likely to get issues that would be rarer in others. Some do just fine, and some don't. It's sort of like how doubletails are more prone to deformities than other tail types, though not all

[UrbanHavok]

That makes perfect sense. The inbreeding makes me a little nervous. I don't understand why they would let them be pets if they had such a short life span with such a big chance of getting sick. I'll take my chances, I'd like to broaden my horizon, I have an extra tank and nothing to do with it. I was thinking about getting a couple of them to have. Hopefully it will go well.

[purplemuffin]

It's not really much of a difference, and some live longer. It just seems more common I think. If you researched them, you know their original purpose, so then just the extras turning into pets is just something that happens. I don't think the original people noticed the issues, since the regular fish have the same ones.

It's like trying to prove a certain tail type is more likely to die early. Some are going to live a long time, and some other tail types are going to die early. So it's hard to prove, but it seems this way. Seems most people have good luck with these guys, but they go into it knowing and expecting problems, so are able to prevent them!

[Pitluvs]

They are Zebra Danios, but altered. I personally am against owning animals that are altered, including Glofish. They are actually illegal to own or sell in Canada. I'm happy with my Danios :)

[purplemuffin]

^Interesting. So are gfp axolotls also illegal?

[Pitluvs]

Axolotls are not, I am not sure what gfp is?

[purplemuffin]

gfp is jellyfish protein, it is what makes these animals glow. The original stock gets a small dose of the protein in their system, and then it becomes genetic, and the gene for gfp is passed down from generations to generations.

GFP axolotls glow in blacklight, and have a slight glow of green in their eyes. They don't have any health problems, since they are bred amongst other axolotls and not inbred like these guys!