Glofish Here In The Uk ?

[Bloo]

I just popped into Wholesale Tropicals today (my lfs here in London, UK) and they have what I am fairly certain of, Glofish!! The are selling them as Red Zebra Danios - and apparantly that's what they bought them as from the wholesaler. They are certain that they are not dyed. Which to the best of my knowledge only leaves the option of Glofish.

However I was under the impression that they are not available outside the USA ??

Could anyone shed some light on this - or has anyone seen them there (there are in the little fishtanks on the left hand side - in the same tank as some baby longfin Ancistrus)? I'm curious. Not that I want any, but would just like to know what exactly they are selling there.

 

[black angel]

http/www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/pfk/...ign_details.php

Scroll down a bit to the GM fish article.
It mentions medaka with the gene and ive seen them in Aberdeen. They had a blue flash added to the back half of them and i reckon would be glowing in the dark. I wish I had got some as i could have shown them to you all. It also says that you need a licence which no one has and if seen then they are illegal.

 

[Bloo]

Interesting.... so are these guys indeed dyed then? I wonder. I didn't think WST would stock dyed fish. But then again, neither did I think they'd stock anything illegal.

If any of you guys go in there, check them out and let me know what you think. They are definitely pink as pink - or red(ish).

 

[fuman_chica]

Are Glofish concidered "dyed"? I asked in the Dyed fish pinned topic but no one has bothered to answer me. I just got three Glofish a week or so ago. I like them alot. But I won't buy any more if they are infact dyed. I know the process to make glofish is by injecting stuff from jellyfish into the eggs. But I don't know if it's the same.

 

[black angel]

Glofish have the genes injected into the eggs but other fish are dyed and arent labeled as glofish.
At least thats how i understand it.

 

[Themuleous]

I think they have these in the goldfish bowl, Oxford as there are some very red looking danios in there at the mo. The manager did query it with the supplier who said they weren't dyed, but I forgot to mention about glofish, so will do when I'm next in there.

If it is, is there anything banning GM stuff like this in the UK?

Sam

 

[Bloo]

is there anything banning GM stuff like this in the UK?

Indeed - see that link that BA provided. I'd be very interested to hear what the Goldfish bowl have to say about them too - if in fact they are not dyed.

 

[Teelie]

Glofish aren't dyed and not considered dyed. Despite what some people might claim or think, the process doesn't harm the fish in any ways unlike dyeing, irregardless of your opinion of genetic modification being acceptable or not.

I've seen Glofish up close and the best way to tell short of sticking them under a blacklight (they do not glow in the dark) is to look for a faint glow or sheen coming off of them. They look exactly like a regular Zebra Danio but are red in color. I have spare 10g I might stick a few in actually and will take some photos of if I do. At $4 a fish, they're still expensive but not as bad as the $6-8 they were selling for.

 

[OohFeeshy]

I'm not entirely sure on the current legislation, but either they're imported illegally (as many fish are, with the buyer unknowing) or there's a loophole. Being that these fish are problably generations since the original GM danio egg, that could be a possible loophole, but without actually asking someone from, say, DEFRA, it's impossible to know.

 

[The-Wolf]

OATA has contacted all UK wholesalers and asked them to not sell their stocks of these danios to any retailer.
I have no idea why OATA have taken this stance, so don't ask me.

 

[Teelie]

I've decided to go and buy a half dozen or so of them and stick them in a 10g. I remembered I have an old black light bulb and it's the right size for a 10g fluorescent hood. Should be interesting to see them.

 

[Bloo]

OATA has contacted all UK wholesalers and asked them to not sell their stocks of these danios to any retailer.
I have no idea why OATA have taken this stance, so don't ask me.

So are you saying these are indeed glofish ?

 

[The-Wolf]

no what I'm saying is they are belived to be an illegal import of a rip-off of a trademarked product.

 

[Teelie]

Glofish are hard to get good shots of. I'll try again later to get better shots. Anyhow, from these pictures you should be able to at least tell a true glofish apart from a dyed one.

What they normally look like.

Glowing, sort of, in the black light.

 

[carpus]

are you sure their not Nannostomus mortenthaleri (ruby red pencil fish) which are very hard to get hold of

Daz