The Aquatic Critter, Tennessee's premiere tropical fish store for
over 17 years, would like to announce the arrival of the GloFish
Zebra fish on, Wednesday, December 3rd. Zebra Danios have been used
in multitudes of biological and genetic laboratories the world over
because of their ease of genetic alteration. First developed by the
National University of Singapore, these fish have been introduced
to the aquarium industry for hobbyists and those that like
something a little different.
By injecting a naturally occurring fluorescence gene into the Zebra
Danio, these fish not only fluoresce under natural lighting, they
luminesce, or glow, when in darkness. It is important to realize
that this is a naturally occurring gene in animals such as squid,
not a dye or coloration. These fish are genetically healthy, live
their full life spans, can pass the gene on to their offspring, and
are harmless if eaten.
They were first developed to help detect the presence of
environmental pollutants in water. Their fluorescence gene will not
glow when in the presence of these pollutants. The National
University of Singapore has agreed to license these fish to the
aquarium hobbyist industry in exchange for a share of the proceeds
to go back to the university laboratory for further research in the
detection and alleviation of environmental pollution.
With only 200,000 fish being initially released, the Aquatic
Critter is excited to be one of the first hobbyist centers in the
nation to have these fish for display, as well a being the first
store in the state to offer them for sale. The Aquatic Critter does
not condone the sale of fish that are altered by way of dyes,
artificial colors, or by physical means just for the sake of
"creating" a more marketable fish. This is one reason why we find
this so exciting: this is an animal and environmental friendly
method of creating and offering something new and exciting for the
industry. These Zebra Danios have been affectionately dubbed,
"GloFish."
