Glo fish where does it end????

[Mikeyboy123]

I'm in the same boat with Parrot fish, & balloon fish...

unfortunately I do have some glo fish in a theme tank, which is way out of my normal wheelhouse... my normal is natural looking tanks

Personally, I like my fish to be as close to the wild type as possible. I can't think of any fish that I have kept that were noticeably different form their wild ancestors. Whilst I would never buy glofish, I actually find them to be less offensive than many other fish in the hobby, which, whilst they may not have been produced by introducing foreign DNA, still give rise to fish that are, in my opinion, abhorrent in form - balloon this, bubble that, goldfish with huge sacs around their eyes etc.

 

[sharkweek178]

The EU bans glofish outright, and so they should. The hobby scientific side does not approve of modified fish whatever they are. The only way to stop this nonsense is not to buy them. Those developing/selling them are making money, and care nothing for the rest of it. All this effort and money should be spent to save the natural habitats and species. And the hobby, since this only adds fuel to the fire of animal rights organizations.

I agree completely that the only way to stop this practice is to stop buying the animals that are produced by it. But the problem is that we are a minority in the hobby. Sadly, there just aren't that many people who do a deep dive to learn about fishkeeping. To them fish are, more or less, just an ornament. Glo-fish are a pretty ornament. So sadly (again), enough people continue to by glo-fish that stores dedicate entire sections to them.

 

[Magnum Man]

so... tagging on my own thread here... how are they breeding all these albino fish??? curious, if that is done chemically or??? seems to be albinos of every king out there right now... I even have some albino cory's

 

[Colin_T]

Albinos are naturally occurring mutations that occur in virtually all animal, bird, fish and reptiles. Once they get an albino, they simply cross it with others to get the albino genes into more fish, then cross them back with the albino.

 

[Magnum Man]

was thinking that a lot of albino animals are sterile ( thinking larger animals, maybe not fish )... so at the very least, there is a limited gene pool, so there could be a high incidence of mutations or shorter than normal lives???

I've never bred albinos... are there often quite a few throw backs with color???

 

[TwoTankAmin]

Albinos for the hobby are line bred. While albinism is a natural occurrence, I am not so sure whether it is a blessing or a death sentence to a fish in the wild.

As for other traits that can be accentuated and fixed in terms of breeding, a lot of these raise the same Qs. I highly doubt fish with very long fins can compete as well in nature as their more "normal" brethren. And then I keep a fish like the Montezuma swordtail. I know the males with the huge tails eventually cannot compete with their shorter tailed counterparts who are still more agile.

In my tanks if a fish is born deformed but able to live a decent life as long as it is not being picked on, then I try to give it that opportunity. But there is no doubt in my mind that were this fish in the wild it would have been eaten long before it can make it to adulthood. So where nature would doom this fish to an early death. I give it a longer life and a better quality one that it would get in the wild.

The problem with humans as a species is that we seem to think because we become able to do something that we therefore should. The answers are not so easy. It is how we got atomic bombs and glofish and everything in between.

 

[emeraldking]

I won't buy glofish, blood parrots, modified gouramis, and a bunch of other petrie dish fish.

Me neither. But as long as there's a market, the demand for such fish will exist. And there are too many people who do like such unnatural looking fish. That's a fact and will remain no matter if we would stop buying such fish. It's an unfortunate case we're dealing with. Especially in Asia, such modified fish are a hype overthere.

was thinking that a lot of albino animals are sterile ( thinking larger animals, maybe not fish )... so at the very least, there is a limited gene pool, so there could be a high incidence of mutations or shorter than normal lives???

No, albinos are not less infertile and neither complete infertile. Albinism does occur in free nature as well, but most will be a prey for predators. And they do have a sight problem when it comes to light. Bit it also depends on what kind of albinism we're talking about to find out if they're easy preys in the wild. For if they're only ocular albino, they will have a normal skin color like the normal eyed specimens. But if they're oculocutaneous albinos, then their skin is also lacking pigment (or a big deal of it).

 

[10 Tanks]

Was browsing at one of my on line fish suppliers, and now there are glo orange Cory’s…. A while back, there was a thread about dyed Arrowanas… what’s next glo angels???

Hello Magnum. Actually, the Glo Fish variety of Barbs, Tetras, Pristellas and Dwarf Hybrids of Bala Sharks are quite popular and are very hardy fish. They're a little pricey for me, I have the standard color versions of some of these in some of my tanks.

10 Tanks (Now 11)

 

[Magnum Man]

well there are orange bodied Koi angels already... so bring on the neon green

 

[OnlyGenusCaps]

The hobby scientific side does not approve of modified fish whatever they are.

I suspect that is painting with a bit of a broad brush. I am a scientist. I am a hobbyist. I have no moral objections to Glofish per se. Indeed, I know one of the folks who worked to insert the genes for the early commercial strains. While scientists often come to consensus on the data, rarely do scientists agree on the moral/political implications of what is done with the data. Indeed, that is the realm where they step from being scientists into being private citizens with their own opinions; for science can elucidate the nature of reality, but it can not tell us what to do with that information.

Albinos for the hobby are line bred.

This is an excellent point! About the fish we keep in general. There are no koi angles in the wild. No fancy guppies. I find it interesting when people draw bright lines between what is right and what is wrong when the grey area seems to occupy at least as much of the spectrum. "Glo-Fish are morally worng, and I won't have fish that humans have manipulated in my tanks!" - stated in front of aquariums with any sort of goldfish or fancy guppies or fancy-finned bettas. I don't personally find highly manufactured fish to be as engaging. But for whose who do, go for it. It's the pearl-clutching, moralizing that I find most entertaining.

 

[raylove]

Was browsing at one of my on line fish suppliers, and now there are glo orange Cory’s…. A while back, there was a thread about dyed Arrowanas… what’s next glo angels???

I actually though Glo angels were a thing so I googled it and there are plenty of pictures!
I wouldn't have any modified fish in my tanks, except perhaps albinos and colour morphs, which do occur in nature.
The general consensus seems to be that glofish can lead perfectly normal lives, unlike fish with modified bodies or fins which can suffer internal problems, be more susceptible to disease or have mobility issues. I therefore view glofish as less of an issue than those, even though they may have been created entirely artificially as opposed to line breeding naturally occurring deformations.

 

[GaryE]

I once bought a pair of albino Pelvicachromis subocellatus. Since that fish is extremely rare in the hobby, I was surprised at an albino form being available. So I bred them to see, and got a lot of normally coloured fry, as well as albinos. As I suspected, they were Pelvicachromis pulcher, the common krib, and that's what I sold both the albinos and non albinos as.

I've bred a lot of fish, and have had a couple of albinos show up. I imagine large scale breeders like fish farms get them showing up often enough to work with them.

I used to get very upset at fancy forms and GMO fish in the hobby. Now, I just think your fish are boring if they're linebred, though I will politely call them "interesting". This will never be an ecologically responsible, oriented toward science and learning pastime. It's an ornamental fish trade, and only a small percentage of hobbyists care about wild form or not.

If you have a neon green angelfish, it's no worse than a pearlscale deformity, or a veilfin. Enjoy it. You can even try to sell it to me, and I promise I'll say it's interesting.

 

[emeraldking]

I once bought a pair of albino Pelvicachromis subocellatus. Since that fish is extremely rare in the hobby

We see them overhere more often these past years. Last week when I was at a friend's lfs, he had some displayed.

 

[Nuttawet]

I love glo fish since it glow in the dark. And u can watch happily when in light or in dark.

 

[GaryE]

We see them overhere more often these past years. Last week when I was at a friend's lfs, he had some displayed.

You would think with the larger number of hobbyists in North America, and the reasonable standard of living that a lot more fish variety would be available, but for odd or interesting fish, the hobby here borders on being a wasteland compared to small countries like the Netherlands. There are half a dozen high end online sellers of interesting rarities, but there is a lack of interest in the interesting over here. When it comes to fishkeeping, most of us only go to fastfood places and get what's predictable on the menu.

That makes glofish appealing, and feeds a hobby of 'frankenfish', The near monopoly chains can get them cheap and sell them high, and no one asks for anything else. If they do ask the stores don't know what they are asking for, and things aren't on the stocklists.

I'm leaving soon to visit a wholesaler friend who specializes in oddballs, as a step in my travels. It's a 10 hour drive each way. For retail with unexpected choices? 9 hours to one, and 17 hours to the next (which I have never gone to for obvious reasons). We have huge cities here that don't support any even mid-sized quality aquarium stores. I guess I could fly to the Netherlands and do a fish store tour. It would take less time than going my "local" alternatives!