# Glofish Electric Green Tetra!



## gordonrichards (Jun 20, 2009)

Glofish is producing new fish, Electric Green Tetras!

I'm sure the darn things are going to be super expensive like the others, but keep an eye out for them in your local fish stores. :bounce:


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## Higher Thinking (Mar 16, 2011)

Nothing like genetically modified fish!


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## tetraontheedge (Dec 7, 2010)

Is it a tetra or a danio? Enquiring tetras want to know. :icon_mrgr


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## wendyjo (Feb 20, 2009)

I don't have a problem with glofish being genetically modified, but I do have a problem with them being rather unhealthy over the long haul. Myself and many other who have kept them have noticed an alarming number of problems with them compared to other fish we've owned. Not sure if it's too much in breeding or what.


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## gordonrichards (Jun 20, 2009)

Tetras, not danios this time. :^)


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## Cardinal Tetra (Feb 26, 2006)

Any idea what species of tetra we're talking about??


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## blacksheep998 (Jan 16, 2011)

Very cool, I hope they're hardier than the danio glofish. I had the same problem as wendyjo where they get sick and die much younger than standard danios. Inbreeding causes all sorts of problems like that.


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## zachary908 (Feb 12, 2011)

Interesting, I'll have to take a look at the wholesale lists at work. Thanks for the heads up. Glo-fish are hot sellers!


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## shinycard255 (Sep 15, 2011)

I thought I saw some neon Black Skirt Tetras at Walmart not too long ago... but I do know it was a tetra for sure. 

Can't stand those things. I don't understand why people would want them


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## WallaceGrover (Jan 15, 2011)

shinycard255 said:


> I thought I saw some neon Black Skirt Tetras at Walmart not too long ago... but I do know it was a tetra for sure.
> 
> Can't stand those things. I don't understand why people would want them


Meh, same as plants bred for brighter colors and such...


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## gordonrichards (Jun 20, 2009)




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## zachary908 (Feb 12, 2011)

Pretty sweet looking actually, not something I'd put in my tank, but they will be big sellers for sure! Hopefully they are on some of my wholesale lists at work.

It appears to be a whiteskirt tetra?


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## NWA-Planted (Aug 27, 2011)

zachary908 said:


> Pretty sweet looking actually, not something I'd put in my tank, but they will be big sellers for sure! Hopefully they are on some of my wholesale lists at work.
> 
> It appears to be a whiteskirt tetra?


 
Thats what I was thinking, except bred with the flourescent green gene. Personally I think these look better then the danio version!

As said before, probably wouldnt put any in my tank, but those are super cool looking!


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## williamsonaaron (Jan 27, 2010)

NWA-Planted said:


> Thats what I was thinking, except bred with the flourescent green gene. Personally I think these look better then the danio version!
> 
> As said before, probably wouldnt put any in my tank, but those are super cool looking!



Actually they look like zombies... Not for my tank personally... 

Unless you did an all zombie themed tank.. You could create a little cemetery at the bottom.. get some evil dead and return of the evil dead merchandise and plant it strategically around the tank.

You would have to have regular white skirt tetras as the main inhabitants and then get 5-7 of these as the zombified versions... could be fun for little while.


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## Studman0143 (Mar 20, 2011)

Does anybody have a list of Neon fish by chance? I know of the GloFish danio's (5 colors I'm aware of) and my local store had some bright red barbs for sale. I am wondering if it's by the same company or someone else?

These would great in my front entry tank!


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## fresh.salty (Jul 2, 2010)

Being from California I don't have to worry about these freaks from a test tube, our laws protect me from them. lol


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## TheJadeShrimp (Oct 13, 2011)

williamsonaaron said:


> Actually they look like zombies... Not for my tank personally...
> 
> Unless you did an all zombie themed tank.. You could create a little cemetery at the bottom.. get some evil dead and return of the evil dead merchandise and plant it strategically around the tank.
> 
> You would have to have regular white skirt tetras as the main inhabitants and then get 5-7 of these as the zombified versions... could be fun for little while.


Tempting....:hihi:

I actually kinda of like them.


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## NWA-Planted (Aug 27, 2011)

get some glass cats too or something... undead fish tank... I likes it...


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## TheJadeShrimp (Oct 13, 2011)

NWA-Planted said:


> get some glass cats too or something... undead fish tank... I likes it...


Those tetras, Glass Cats, and some GHOST shrimp. I like it. But not sure of what to do for decorations.


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## NWA-Planted (Aug 27, 2011)

TheJadeShrimp said:


> Those tetras, Glass Cats, and some GHOST shrimp. I like it. But not sure of what to do for decorations.


 
ghost shrimp good call!

Hmm home make like a little cemetary as mentioned above. Make little ceramic tombstone and such


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## TheJadeShrimp (Oct 13, 2011)

NWA-Planted said:


> ghost shrimp good call!
> 
> Hmm home make like a little cemetary as mentioned above. Make little ceramic tombstone and such


I was also thinkinga nice scary looking piece of driftwood for a tree. How would I do the little ceramic tombstones?
Maybe some Blue LEDs for a moonlight effect?


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## shinycard255 (Sep 15, 2011)

williamsonaaron said:


> Actually they look like zombies... Not for my tank personally...
> 
> Unless you did an all zombie themed tank.. You could create a little cemetery at the bottom.. get some evil dead and return of the evil dead merchandise and plant it strategically around the tank.
> 
> You would have to have regular white skirt tetras as the main inhabitants and then get 5-7 of these as the zombified versions... could be fun for little while.


That would be AWESOME! Might have to think about doing this one day


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## samamorgan (Dec 31, 2011)

gordonrichards said:


> Glofish is producing new fish, Electric Green Tetras!
> 
> I'm sure the darn things are going to be super expensive like the others, but keep an eye out for them in your local fish stores. :bounce:


These look like silver dollars. Looks like a photoshopped image.


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## TheJadeShrimp (Oct 13, 2011)

samamorgan said:


> These look like silver dollars. Looks like a photoshopped image.


What makes you say that?


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## samamorgan (Dec 31, 2011)

TheJadeShrimp said:


> What makes you say that?


The fact that absolutely everything is green on them, and the edges are pretty sharply defined like they used the selection tool and just messed with the color balance. Here's an example i did in about 2 minutes:









And then, the only information i can find on these is on these forums and on one other forum, only one picture of them can be found as far as i can tell anywhere on the internet, and the glofish website says absolutely nothing about these anywhere i can find.

More pictures or this is a hoax imo.


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## TheJadeShrimp (Oct 13, 2011)

Sorry I meant. What makes you think they are silver dollars?


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## samamorgan (Dec 31, 2011)

Ah, i just think they look a little more like them, dont white skirts usually have much larger anal fins?


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## TheJadeShrimp (Oct 13, 2011)

samamorgan said:


> Ah, i just think they look a little more like them, dont white skirts usually have much larger anal fins?


I think it varies. I thought silver dollars have a more pointed dorsal fin. And silver dollars don't have a Adipose fin, the little fin after the dorsal.


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## karatekid14 (Jan 16, 2011)

No they are real, I have seen these at my LFS. They had pink ones too. I do not like them, even though I am okay with selective breeding. I guess it seems like cheating rather than spending years to breed them. They should make some colors that are a bit more normal.


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## Naekuh (Oct 19, 2011)

u guys do know there is glow angelfish right?  

I wonder how long they last...


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## samamorgan (Dec 31, 2011)

karatekid14 said:


> No they are real, I have seen these at my LFS. They had pink ones too. I do not like them, even though I am okay with selective breeding. I guess it seems like cheating rather than spending years to breed them. They should make some colors that are a bit more normal.


I personally don thaver a problem with genetic tampering. But this is kinda stupid, these things are made like this to appeal to children who will kill the fish anyway. No adult fishkeeper ive ever met has any inclination to own these.

Genetic engineering to bring out mroe vivid natural colors or patterns though, now that would be cool.


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## TheJadeShrimp (Oct 13, 2011)

karatekid14 said:


> No they are real, I have seen these at my LFS. They had pink ones too. I do not like them, even though I am okay with selective breeding. I guess it seems like cheating rather than spending years to breed them. They should make some colors that are a bit more normal.


Doesn't sound like these. Sounds like Injected White Skirts.


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## gordonrichards (Jun 20, 2009)

Seriously, why would I be offering a photo shopped image to the forum?

http://www.glofish.com/


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## fresh.salty (Jul 2, 2010)

samamorgan said:


> No adult fishkeeper ive ever met has any inclination to own these.


My wife and I are in our 50's. If my wife saw these in our LFS she'd lobby for the purchase for sure. But in this case I'm lucky to be in CA. lol


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## Naekuh (Oct 19, 2011)

Dude... i dont see all the negative response to glow fish.

i think they are cool. 

We have been genetically modifying almost anything we can get our hands on. 
Even some of our antibiotics are from genetically altered bacteria and sorts. 

Monsanto has been doing it on fruits and vegetables for a long time now. 

Now if u told me these glow fish if released in the wild would overun the natural population, then i would say its evil.

But the raw fact is if a glow fish was to ever get released in the wild, it would be eatten faster then you can say OMGWTFBBQ because it couldn't hide from the predators which the normal breed would be able to. 

Also the reason why cali wont accept it is simple. 
They wanted an obscene amount of money to OK it.
The company then said FU to cali. 

Personally living in the state of cali sucks... our state is probably the most in debt out of all the states in the US, we also probably have the most illegals out of all the other states which we have to pay for, 
and our pre-university public education is absolute CRAP again compared to all the other states.
Sale Tax is at 9.75% in los angeles which ranks amungst one of the highest. 

Sure we got the nice weather, the beaches... but the state itself is messed up financially and also mentally.

Anyhow i was tempted next time i was in Las Vegas, to see if i could buy a couple for myself and bring them back. 
As i said i find these things cool and with moon lights they would add an awesome effect.. but once again... our idiotic state wants money for everything in obscene amounts because WE ARE BROKE.


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## wendyjo (Feb 20, 2009)

samamorgan said:


> I personally don thaver a problem with genetic tampering. But this is kinda stupid, these things are made like this to appeal to children who will kill the fish anyway. No adult fishkeeper ive ever met has any inclination to own these.
> 
> Genetic engineering to bring out mroe vivid natural colors or patterns though, now that would be cool.


I myself am an adult and I have kept glo fish. I also know quite a few other adults on another fish forum that have kept them. Your comment is a bit ridiculous.


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## SomebodySayJuan (Oct 2, 2011)

wendyjo said:


> I myself am an adult and I have kept glo fish. I also know quite a few other adults on another fish forum that have kept them. Your comment is a bit ridiculous.


Agreed. I currently have some in my random community tank and quite like the colors they add when I have the actinic light on.


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## toastedtoast (Nov 13, 2011)

if the tetras are real, it's interesting that they're branching out. Zebrafish are incredibly common in research, their genome is sequenced and making transgenics is a routine procedure. 

Since I'm sure the glofish company doesn't actually make these fish themselves, I wonder who's working on tetras--I imagine they're way less practical from a research standpoint then danios. tetras require warmer water, they're larger etc.


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## wrangler (Oct 14, 2007)

So these fish are genetically modified? I watched videos of the process and they were dipped in an acid bath to remove the slime coat then they were dyed. It was explained they were so expensive as the mortality rate was so high from the procedure. How is it they can genetically modify fish but haven't nailed down the genes for shrimp? Seems like there would be more money and interest in shrimp than fish. ESP enlight of the fact that rare and new colors go for thousands of dollars a shrimp.......


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## toastedtoast (Nov 13, 2011)

The actual "glofish" type fish are genetically modified and no dying is involved. the fish aren't harmed by the dye. Other brands/types do use the process you've described though and these should be avoided.

As for how the fish are made:
The colour isn't actually a fish gene that they're modifying, it's a gene for a fluorescent protein from jellyfish (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_fluorescent_protein). GFP has been extensively studied and modified to make other colours as well, yellow, red etc.
To make glowing fish, they can insert the GFP gene into the fish genome under control of a promoter element that's ubiquitously expressed(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Promoter_(biology)) so that all cells in the body will produce the green colour. This is easy to do for zebrafish since it's a common research model animal and the protocols are well-established. In fact, I suspect that the glofish company just called around to a bunch of labs and bought the fish lines they wanted.

In theory you can do essentially the same thing with any animal (in my lab we use a lot of transgenic mice that are made in a similar process) but the techniques need to be worked out and for species that aren't used extensively for research the tools just aren't available.


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## Fishies_in_Philly (Dec 8, 2011)

toastedtoast said:


> The actual "glofish" type fish are genetically modified and no dying is involved. the fish aren't harmed by the dye. Other brands/types do use the process you've described though and these should be avoided.
> 
> As for how the fish are made:
> The colour isn't actually a fish gene that they're modifying, it's a gene for a fluorescent protein from jellyfish (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_fluorescent_protein). GFP has been extensively studied and modified to make other colours as well, yellow, red etc.
> ...


they are cool and i almost got some of the danios for one of my tanks....

hmmmmm......glow mice??? now THAT would be cool!!!!LOL


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## TheJadeShrimp (Oct 13, 2011)

Fishies_in_Philly said:


> hmmmmm......glow mice??? now THAT would be cool!!!!LOL


Lots of animals that genetically glow including Mice, Rats, Axotlots, Angelfish, cats, most primates, pigs, and convict cichlids.


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## Eldachleich (Jul 9, 2011)

I love glow fish. I have no problem with genetically modified fish as long as its done responsibly. 
All of these fish are rendered sterile before being sold so that they do not mess up ecosystems if released. Also so you have to keep buying them from the one company.

I believe Glofish got everything they needed from a company based it Taiwan. they had alot more info on their site years ago when they were just starting up. I was rather disappointing they did not want to pay California's fees. Im also a bit suprised how un accepting america is of them. Apparently a goldfish bred to be deformed beyond belief is far more ok than a fish that glows via jellyfish DNA. I dont have problems with either personally I just think its weird that so many people are ok with things like veiltail betta's but not glowing fish.

I regret to inform the people in cali that do not like genetically modified fish that these things (at least the danios) are sold everywhere. I've found them in pretty much every mom and pop store I've been in.
Theres a local garden center that sells roses that have had the same thing done to them as well.. I planted some in my front yard. They just look like normal white roses until you shine the right light on them though.

I also know waaaaay more adults that own these fish than children. Thought the care level is about the same.


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## Alaizabelle (Apr 7, 2011)

We have glofish in California. I have three of the pink danios in my 55 gallon o__o


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## DarkCobra (Jun 22, 2004)

I am an adult, have kept a Glofish tank, and enjoyed it.

They are not dyed, injected, subjected to radioactive spider bites, or anything else cruel. Their genes have just been altered. They pass the genes on to their offspring, and they glow too. Yes, I've bred them; apparently they're not all rendered as sterile as the producer would have you believe. A hundred tiny fry glowing red under a blacklight is amazing.

But they are unusually fragile compared to normal zebra danios. Not sure whether it's excessive inbreeding by the producer, or the additional metabolic demands of producing the fluorescent protein. Having to worry about mass deaths at every water change eventually soured me on them.


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## gordonrichards (Jun 20, 2009)

These guys are probably going to be available for sale from $4.50 to $6.50 or so at your local fish stores. 

-Gordon


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## DogFish (Jul 16, 2011)

Do people keep these under a black light?


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## Aquarist_Fist (Jul 22, 2008)

wendyjo said:


> I myself am an adult and I have kept glo fish. I also know quite a few other adults on another fish forum that have kept them. Your comment is a bit ridiculous.


Well, there are plenty of adults who think wearing pink jogging suits in public is acceptable. That doesn't make it less abhorrent. 

Stupid jokes aside, the modifications don't seem to cause the fish any harm, and the fish are not meant to survive in the wild, so I don't see anything particularly cruel with the concept. My only real concern is that glofish further objectify living creatures by making them look like toys or fashion accessories. I'm, sure there are a few responsible fish keepers out there who enjoy them, like the people who have spoken up here. But the people I see congregating around glofish tanks at the LFS are the type that kill their fish within days.


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## gordonrichards (Jun 20, 2009)

Would look cool under black lights :^)

-Gordon


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## TheJadeShrimp (Oct 13, 2011)

*I Just Got Some!!!*

They are awesome little fish. I got regular and a long finned one! I only got 2 LARGE ones. I am planning on getting more. But they were $8! I my LFS said they are only here for Feb. until Glofish can make some more. They are going in my established tank until I can get the 40B.


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

I never liked Glo Fish, doesn't look natural 

Here's someone's Glo Fish setup:










:drool::icon_roll


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## decoman (Nov 2, 2010)

they just got them at my lfs http://a1.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hpho...113773_184605801594628_748473_314897937_n.jpg


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## thechibi (Jan 20, 2012)

I saw some of the big new ones!

Is it bad if I ever got these I would totally do a space themed tank? Dark gravel, dark background with stars and maybe a planet... little ceramic spaceship or cave?


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## TheJadeShrimp (Oct 13, 2011)

thechibi said:


> I saw some of the big new ones!
> 
> Is it bad if I ever got these I would totally do a space themed tank? Dark gravel, dark background with stars and maybe a planet... little ceramic spaceship or cave?


No. I am doing a Zombie tank for them. They look like Radioactive Zombies. haha


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## scokaw (Feb 21, 2012)

Just picked some up this weekend, $12/each. A little more than i expected, but they look kind of cool.


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## TheJadeShrimp (Oct 13, 2011)

scokaw said:


> Just picked some up this weekend, $12/each. A little more than i expected, but they look kind of cool.


Whoa! 

At Petco, they are 8.99.


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## thechibi (Jan 20, 2012)

I think they were about 7.99 for the new ones and a bit cheaper for the glowing Danios. I still want to do my space or STALKER themed tank. Everyone loves post apocalyptic fish.

From the Glofish site, it seems like a blue or lunar light would make them glow nicely too.


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## zergling (May 16, 2007)

Tempting to set up a small iwagumi-style tank, then have these fish in it! I'd probably be laughing for several hours reading all the hatred-filled comments hahaha!

......and no, I'm not really into these fish. I do like watching/reading people's reactions hahaha!


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## Jeffww (Aug 6, 2010)

Love that they chose nuclear hulk green as the first color.


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## evgeney96 (Jun 5, 2011)

yes they are real I just got one.. cost me 7 bucks haha
















carries interesting darty traits


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## Hcancino (Jun 18, 2011)

I'm not 100% sure but their original purpose was to detect pollution levels in water. They would be normal colored and then when the water levels started getting polluted they would glow to show the water was becoming contaminated. Then someone got the idea of selling them commercially to the fish trade and now here we are. While I don't think I will get any of them they do seem kinda cool


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## clw435 (Apr 13, 2012)

*green glofish*

*I have a school of a dozen of these I have had for about 2 months now. They are beautiful fish*. *Supposedly, they isolated the gene that makes a jellyfish flouresce & genetically altered white skirt tetras, which are supposed to be pretty hardy fish.* *You need an actinic light* *for them to show their true color but I just bought a tank for them that comes with an LED light & they do flouresce under the white LED light as well as looking amazing under the lunar light. *


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## GeToChKn (Apr 15, 2011)

We can't get them here in Canada which is really funny because Big Al's local store here sell Glofish starter kits with optimal lights for viewing them and everything and we can't get the fish to put in the tank. lol.


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## Psionic (Dec 22, 2011)

These remind me of the glow fish night lights from The Big Bang Theory that Sheldon makes. 


-Val


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