Glofish™ are genetically modified Zebra Danios. They have had genes added from other species to make them glow fluorescently. They were developed as a first stage of a project to produce fish that would glow only in the presence of pollutants. The Glofish™ glow in all sorts of water; in the present form they do not require pollutants to make them glow. The word ‘Glofish’ is a trademark and the rights to the fish is protected by law. Part of the purchase price goes into further scientific research.
Fluorescence
Fluorescence is visible light being produced from invisible ultraviolet light. There is enough ultraviolet light in natural daylight, or in normal aquarium lights, to make these fish glow quite brightly. If you use an aquarium tube with a higher proportion of ultraviolet light, the effect is even more striking.
There are some impressive videos of Glofish at http://www.glofish.com/video.asp. Note that Human, and fish eyes are more sensitive to blue light than the medium used in making these videos, so the aquarium would look lighter than these videos suggest.
These fish have had genes from other organisms added to their DNA. These breed true, in accordance with normal genetics. Apart from the fluorescence these are the same as normal Zebra fish.
Glofish™ are completely different from those fish that have had a dye injected into them.
Availability
Glofish™ are only available in the United States of America. Califonia currently does not allow the sale of these fish. Australia, Canada, and Europe prohibit the marketing of genetically modified organisms.
Pest Fish
There is no more risk of the Glofish™ becoming a pest than of normal Zebra fish becoming one.
According to the marketers of Glofish™ the Zebra fish has not become a problem in any part of the United States. They explain this apparent fact by saying that the Zebra Fish is a tropical fish and cannot survive in the temperate climate of the United States. Personally, I question this a bit. While the winters of the northern parts of the United States are fairly severe and would kill Zebra Fish, the southern most states, especially near the coast, would have winters within the temperature tolerance of Zebra Fish. However, the basic point made by the sellers of Glofish™ is still valid. If the normal Zebra Fish has not become a problem there is no reason to expect Glofish™ to become established in the wild.Glofish™ are genetically modified Zebra Danios. They have had genes added from other species to make them glow fluorescently. They were developed as a first stage of a project to produce fish that would glow only in the presence of pollutants. The Glofish™ glow in all sorts of water; in the present form they do not require pollutants to make them glow. The word ‘Glofish’ is a trademark and the rights to the fish is protected by law. Part of the purchase price goes into further scientific research.
Fluorescence
Fluorescence is visible light being produced from invisible ultraviolet light. There is enough ultraviolet light in natural daylight, or in normal aquarium lights, to make these fish glow quite brightly. If you use an aquarium tube with a higher proportion of ultraviolet light, the effect is even more striking.
There are some impressive videos of Glofish at http://www.glofish.com/video.asp. Note that Human, and fish eyes are more sensitive to blue light than the medium used in making these videos, so the aquarium would look lighter than these videos suggest.
Genetically Modified
These fish have had genes from other organisms added to their DNA. These breed true, in accordance with normal genetics. Apart from the fluorescence these are the same as normal Zebra fish.
Glofish™ are completely different from those fish that have had a dye injected into them.
Availability
Glofish™ are only available in the United States of America. California currently does not allow the sale of these fish. Australia, Canada, and Europe prohibit the marketing of genetically modified organisms.
Pest Fish
There is no more risk of the Glofish™ becoming a pest than of normal Zebra fish becoming one.
According to the marketers of Glofish™ the Zebra fish has not become a problem in any part of the United States. They explain this apparent fact by saying that the Zebra Fish is a tropical fish and cannot survive in the temperate climate of the United States. Personally, I question this a bit. While the winters of the northern parts of the United States are fairly severe and would kill Zebra Fish, the southern most states, especially near the coast, would have winters within the temperature tolerance of Zebra Fish. However, the basic point made by the sellers of Glofish™ is still valid. If the normal Zebra Fish has not become a problem there is no reason to expect Glofish™ to become established in the wild.
Sources
Zebra Danio Fact Sheet.
Glofish
