How to Breed Glofish

The Glofish is a genetically modified strain of zebra danio, enhanced with the genes of unrelated species. These beautiful, futuristic creatures have flourescent scales that glow under a black light. As the first genetically modified pets available to a mass market, Glofish are controversial but also very popular.

If you are interested in breeding Glofish, understand that you can not legally sell the fry. Glofish are patented, and can not be sold except by the company that initially created the breed. Breed Glofish only if you have the space to accommodate dozens of glowing adult danios. NEVER release Glofish into the wild.

If you are prepared to breed Glofish, follow these steps.

1. Find a healthy breeding pair of Glofish. You can try starting with one male and two females.Males have slim, narrow bodies and female Glofish are plujmp and round. They should be young but mature; an ideal time to begin trying to breed Glofish is when they have reached 3/4 inch in total length. Breed only Glofish of the same color.

2. Feed your Glofish hig-quality foods such as tubifex, frozen brine shrimp, commercial flakes and daphnia. They will be able to breed more prolifically if they have eaten a healthy diet prior to conception.

3. Place your pair in a well-cycled breeding tank of at least 3 gallons.The substrate should be either gravel or smooth marbles; these provide crevices for the eggs to land so that the parent Glofish will not eat them.

4. Watch your Glofish for several hours for signs of breeding. In a well-established tank, the breeding pair will usually begin chasing one another and engaging in spawning embraces.

5. After several hours, take your adult Glofish out of the tank and examine the substrate for eggs. They may be so small that you can't see them.

6. Watch your tank carefully for the next 48 hours. If your Glofish breeding was successfulo, there should be fry after about a day. The babies cling to the sides of the tank and are extremely small.

7. When your fry are free-swimming, which takes a few days, you can begin feeding them commercial fry food. These are usually fine powders or liquids, which provide near-microscopic particlse that your baby Glofish can eat. Feed according to the manufacturers instructions.

8. Check your water parameters three times per week. Do not allow your nitrate levels to spike above 10 ppm, and keep your ammonia levels undetectable. Otherwise, you could lose your newly-hatched Glofish fry.

9. Begin feeding your Glofish fry ground flake food when they reach 2 weeks of age.After they reach one month of age, their care and water requirements are the same as adults.

10. Remember that you must provide new aquariums after breeding your Glofish.Under no circumstances is it acceptable to sell Glofish to pet stores or private fishkeepers. It is a criminal offense (and potential ecological disaster) to release Glofish into wild ponds or streams.

Glofish: Genetically Modified Aquarium Fish

You're at your local fish store (or your not-so-local corporate pet store) and you catch a glimpse of some rather tropical-looking oddities swimming around in a freshwater tank. These surreal, alien-looking beauties are fluorescent neon swimmers, dancing around a tank in flashes of gold, green, and red.

Lit by black lights, they appear to actually emit light like fireflies, and shelves of pet stores are lined with aquarium kits made to accentuate the fluorescent feature of this strange fish variety. Owing to the unusual and exciting nature of these creatures--a trademarked variety called the GloFish--they have become extremely popular among teens, children, and young adults.

But just what are they? What brilliant act of nature created a hardy freshwater fish with the stellar colorations of a deep-sea beauty? Disappointingly, the GloFish was not created by any act of nature--it is a creation of humanity, trademarked in 2002 by YorkTown Technologies as the result of genetic modification.

The GloFish was the first genetically modified organism to become widely available as a pet, although it wasn't originally created for that purpose. In the late 1990's, a group of researchers at the National University of Singapore extracted a flourescent protein gene from a jellyfish. They inserted the gene into the genomes of the zebra danio, and found that it produced a lively, strange variety of fish.

The goal of the original GloFish project was to develop a fish that could detect pollution by glowing only when exposed to certain toxins. Although this project fell through, it succeeded in creating a variety of fish that now dominates the aquarium market in the United States, and may potentially be a risk to other strains of zebra danio.

Despite protests from consumers and environmental activists, the Food and Drug administration--the only United States organization to regulate genetically modified organisms--released a statement in 2005:

"Because tropical aquarium fish are not used for food purposes, they pose no threat to the food supply. There is no evidence that these genetically engineered zebra danio fish pose any more threat to the environment than their unmodified counterparts which have long been widely sold in the United States. In the absence of a clear risk to the public health, the FDA finds no reason to regulate these particular fish."

In other words, because the GloFish is not intended to be used as food, our government made no effort to regulate the production and sale of the fish. The long-term effects that the new jellyfish gene may have on the zebra danio species and other aquarium fish remains unknown and unstudied.

The only state to thus far ban the sale, reproduction, or ownership of the genetically modified GloFish is California, which has banned the sale and trade of all genetically modified fish since January 2007. Canada, Australia, and the European Union have instituted bans on the GloFish, as well.

Although some find the appearance of the GloFish unsettling with consideration to the natural state of the zebra danio, the fish commands a second look. Almost no one can look at the trademarked "Starfire Red", "Electric Green" and "Sunburst Orange" genetically modified fish without finding themselves awed (and perhaps a bit startled) by the powers of modern science.

Glofish Care Fact Sheet

The Glofish is a trademarked, genetically modified, highly controversial strain of zebra danio. Although environmentalists and animal rights activists have criticized the genetic modification of pets, Glofish now dominate the industry as the world's first and most popular GMO fish. If you are interested in keeping these beautifully fluorescent "frankenfish" in your own home, know these important facts about Glofish care.

Size

Like the standard zebra danio, Glofish grow to approximately 2.5 inches in length.

Tank Size

Glofish are active swimmers. Provide them with at least 20 gallons of open space for swimming.

Strata

Zebra danio strains, including the Glofish, are most active in the middle and top strata of the fish tank.

Water pH

These hardy fish can thrive at any pH between 5.8 and 8.0.

Water Parameters

Glofish will tolerate nitrates as high as 40 ppm, but lower is always better. Keep ammonia and nitrite levels undetectable. They do not need or benefit from salt.

Temperature

Your fish tank temperature should remain between 72-83 degrees to accommodate your Glofish.

Tank Set-Up

Black lights are a trendy way to emphasize the bright colors of this fish, but they are happiest in bright, fluorescent lighting. Maintain good circulation and plenty of open space for your Glofish to swim.

Social Behavior

Glofish and other zebra danios are inherently social animals. Keep them in schools of 6 or more individuals. Different colors of Glofish will school with one another, and they will also shoal with standard, gold, albino, blue and spotted zebra danios-- as well as long-finned varieties of each strain.

Feeding

Glofish enjoy dry flakes and live food, provided they are of fine grade. Remember that these fish have small mouths.