Modified Zebra Danios: Seized and destroyed.

[Drumachine09]

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/topic/story.cfm?c_id=220&objectid=10452555

[Zerileous]

wow, thats interesting,
I could see how that could cause some problems :(, but really I don't see why people can't just enjoy fish as they occur naturally. It seems to counteract the purpose of an aquarium (IMHO) to deviate from nature that grossly (of course, plastic plants, cheesy decor, etc is not the same deal).

[Drumachine09]

From talking with Unleashed, it seams that New Zealand has an extremely strict policy on animals. I guess these were seen as a security breach.

Ill never understand why people genetically modify animals. It could be to have the feeling that you are in control of something, or it could be because "red fish sell better".

It almost makes me sick.

[Lady Hobbs]

I have seen ads for red danios online and wonder if these are what I've been seeing.

[2manyfish]

These fish (GloFish) were modified not for the aquarium trade but for the scientific community as a way to detect certain pollutants in water. Sort of a biological test of sorts. The original eggs were gene spliced with jellyfish DNA to produce the red glow. There are also green and yellow ones too. I don't know the specifics of what tests they are/were doing or how the fish being a certain color would help them though....
I do know that these fish will breed true as long as both parents are genetically modified. These are also the only fish in the world that are trademarked too! So if you have a pair and they mate and you raise the fry, you cannot legally sell them!
I bought some when they first came out. Wanted to see what all the fuss was about. They were nice enough but to really see their color you have to use blacklight (which is not something I would recommend for long term use). Anyway, I put mine in my 40g which at that time my blood parrot Pinky was in. It was a heavily planted tank and already had a small school of danios in there. Pinky was at that time not so aggressive and had not bothered the danios at all. When I added the GloFish no problem at all. Later that night though all h*** broke loose! I guess at night fish can see maybe a bit of that glow and it was irresistable for Pinky! She was chasing them all night!! So in the morning I was missing two of them. I put all the danios in another tank and left it at that. Later on they bred but because the regular danios and the GloFish had mated the resulting fry were muted in color to say the least. I ended up giving them all away after awhile.
The point of the story is, even if some were to escape or be released, I doubt they would survive long in the wild. They seem to be quite a target!
Also in the story above, they said that the fish wouldn't survive unless kept in tropical waters which is not entirely true. These fish do very well in temperate waters but of course they could not survive a cold winter.
:c3:

[2manyfish]

Found the link to their website!

www.glofish.com/about.asp

[Drumachine09]

VERY good post barb. That clears it up. Thanks!

[Bill M.]

I looked at Barbs post, under thier photos... I am sick..... fuggin people need to leave color varations to mother nature.... leave them alone!

[gm72]

Disgusting. Just horrible. I am VERY anti-painted/dyed/modified fish. Or any animal that has been altered as such.

[MeganL3985]

Oh my god!!!! I saw those things at walmart (they have pink ones) and an LFS called Aqua Rama (had all the colors). I emailed the glofish website and told them that what they were doing was disgusting, they emailed me back and said that their fish were not dyed and that they were genetically altered in such a way that did not harm or do anything to the fish! That was I think 3 or 4 weeks ago. Grrrrrrrrrr................Thats irritating. I don't agree with any painted/dyed/modified fish either gm.

[Lady Hobbs]

300 species is a whole lot of fish to destroy. Experiments on animals has been going on for a long time, especially with dogs, cats, rabbits and monkeys. Thank God some of that cruelty has ceased but they put animals thru a lot for a long time in the name of science.

When I was just a kid I saw a cow at the fair on exhibit that had a window in it's side so you could see his guts. They thought people would find it interesting but instead found it repulsive and raised a stink about what this cow was going thru. Tell me why anyone has to see a critters guts? I remember just standing there crying along with hundreds of other kids which got the parents all complaining to the fair ground authority.

[hungryhound]

300 species is a whole lot of fish to destroy.

It was 300 fish not 300 species per the article.



Experiments on animals has been going on for a long time, especially with dogs, cats, rabbits and monkeys. Thank God some of that cruelty has ceased but they put animals thru a lot for a long time in the name of science.

You say in the name of science like it is a bad thing. You are generalizing all animal experiments as being cruel and that is not fair. Nor are you taking into the account how many people and animals were saved with those experiments. I understand that PETA likes to spread this rumor but it is un characteristically not true. Not all experiments are cruel and most are beneficial. This is not to say that some experiments are not bad, as it is imposable for anything that happens on a large scale not have a few bad apples.

As your following experience highlights.


When I was just a kid I saw a cow at the fair on exhibit that had a window in it's side so you could see his guts. They thought people would find it interesting but instead found it repulsive and raised a stink about what this cow was going thru. Tell me why anyone has to see a critters guts? I remember just standing there crying along with hundreds of other kids which got the parents all complaining to the fair ground authority.

I will admit that the showing of the cow ,with the window into its belly, as entertainment was wrong and crossed the line, but I don't however believe that making the cow was wrong. I have read about this being done and I believe that it was done to study the digestion of food. What they did at the fair was ethically wrong, but creating it was scientifically valid.

I guess my point is that you cannot automatically assume that ALL animal research is cruel and evil and that it should not be presented as a black or white topic.

[Lady Hobbs]

duh! Perhaps I need to smoke more to clear my head. LOL

[Incredulous_Ed]

I'm not rying to start an arguement or anything. But what is wrong with what they did to the glofish? As far as I understand it caused them no pain,and is it really much different than selective breeding to produce different color varieties? I'm not arguing, just want to know.

[gm72]

I think the posters are saying that they don't like people messing around with mother nature.

I do want to go back to the cow issue though. I went to WVU, and they had many cows out at the aggie farm with the window. It is able to be opened and allows students and researchers to examine how the cow digests different formulas of foods. They can then research how much more milk or meat this produces. Actually a good idea, but shocking when you don't expect it.

[Rocky06fx4]

Let me get this straight... The cows ALIVE right? The cow is ALIVE with a window for all to see whats going on inside?

[Cadavillac]

http://spike-washburn.vpscenter.com/research/FistulatedCows/