Do You Agree With Glofish?

[Nordk]

Yes, it's an American thing which I have never really understood.

 

[ncguppy830]

well i dont understand it and im in the us , go figure.

 

[wrightt3]

Nope. They take the wild type zebra fish as it would be naturally and insert a single extra gene for florescent proteins. Genetically is its still 99.9999999+% the wild type fish. A domestic platy doesn't even carry a species name unless it from a decent breeder IMO, only the genus should be applied. Too many fish sold as platies are hybrids these days (at least in the US). They are not as bad as swordtails, but still not something I would give a species name unless I knew it was a true strain(ie not anything coming from a LFS). A single tank bred mutation doesn't give a red wag platy it takes multiple mutations to get that color expression and is more or less impossible without line breeding(or inbreeding if done poorly). To gain something you usually must give something up, tank strains are usually not as robust as wild strains, this is especially true for fancy guppies. Show guppies are very sensitive fish while feeder guppies are not. Its basic genetics. A good breeder can make a new strain that is about as robust as the wild type, but it requires more outbreeding which can slow the process down. For those breeding or developing for profit its something that isn't done as much as it should be, the result is a weaker strain. With glofish none of that is applicable since they are the wild strain with just a single additional gene. That gene being from a jellyfish doesn't make much of a difference in my book since hybrid genes aren't exactly something that you will find in the wild either when two species don't naturally overlap populations.
 
No matter how much you hate it fish like the glofish are great for drawing kids into the hobby. They pose no risk of polluting the aquarium hobby with hybrids like a lot of the fancy/misc livebearers, rainbowfish, and cichlids do. Too many of which are sold as a species when they are hybrids thus damaging aquarium strains. They are more physically and genetically fit then said hybrids I personally think glofish are more ethical then majorly mutated goldfish and bettas so weighed down by their fins they can hardly swim properly along with many other ethically questionable fish this hobby has created. 

To be fair, injecting a specific gene into a fish is far more brutal than line breeding. I don't really see the problem with fish being less hardy due to breeding. There are plenty of wild species such as rams, altum angelfish and discus which are far less hardy than the common platy or guppy. 
 
Personally, I think glofish would be the worst fish to entice newcomers to the hobby. They are extremely active and require a 3ft tank minimum but many will not even receive half that size.

 

[GetItSahn]

I just researched this but i noticed that alotta people keep saying it's cruel to inject a fish with a needle....I read that the green fluorescent protein was injected into an embryo. How is injecting an embryo cruel and torturous to a fish?

 

[ncguppy830]

well, its not but its changing the fish from its natural form to a something completely different and now trying to make a profit of it.

 

[GetItSahn]

well, its not but its changing the fish from its natural form to a something completely different and now trying to make a profit of it.

and i agree that turning a profit from it is wrong. I just don't understand why people who dislike it say it's because of how cruel it is and the poor fish have to endure such pain. If you are against something that is fine but don't be against it for things that aren't even happening. 

 

[Tiny7]

(Newbie here .....!!)
 
 
So i take it a glofish is a wide caught fish that are injected to glow?

 

[ncguppy830]

its basically a zebra danio whoses eggs were injected with genes to make it glow if it detected toxins and now its turned into a pet.

 

[Tiny7]

its basically a zebra danio whoses eggs were injected with genes to make it glow if it detected toxins and now its turned into a pet.

Cheers..... Messing about with nautre i see, Not my cup of tea then like things as natural as possiable

 

[ncguppy830]

yea thats what most say.

 

[ncguppy830]

still not getting the connec tion to the topic never the less

 

[TallTree01]

Why would you say that though?

 

[ncguppy830]

i guess glofish partake in drug using while in a small tank.....

 

[the_lock_man]

I might be being oversensitive here, but we've had abuse of people's nationalities in this thread, and now we're having references to illegal substances.
 
Thread locked.