What makes glofish glow

As GloFish make a bright splash in aquariums around the country, will we soon be seeing other glowing species on the horizon? Blake says he does not expect pet owners to start clamoring for a hot-pink poodle anytime soon. I think because of this, GloFish look natural to people. You can learn more about the science of GloFish at the official GloFish site.

Ready to buy a GloFish of your own? You can find them locally here. What Are GloFish? Written by: PetMD Editorial. Published: April 29, By Carol McCarthy Fireflies flicker and flash as they dart through their mating dances, all the while transforming a lovely summer night into a magical evening.

Help us make PetMD better Was this article helpful? Yes No. Share this article. They can be kept together, eat the same food, and will reproduce successfully. Given their popularity many manufacturers now offer specialty foods and ecosystems designed to show their glow to best effect! How about keeping Glofish with other fish? However some studies have shown that female Zebra Danios actually prefer glowing males to normal specimens! How the young turn out depends entirely on the randomness of genetics.

Breeding Glofish together will result in Glofish young. Breeding Glofish with normal color morphs can result either in a mixture of both Glofish and normal morphs or fish that look like a cross. Hybrid Zebra Glofish tend to have bolder stripes than their Glofish parents but still fluoresce. This means you can build your aquarium using both fluorescent and non-fluorescent versions of the same species!

The most important thing you need to know about GloFish is that they are freshwater aquarium fish. Like their non-fluorescent counterparts, they are schooling species that prefer to be kept in groups with five or more of their own kind.

They also tend to do best in community tanks with other mild-mannered fish and no aggressive or carnivorous species. Proper setup for a GloFish tank is no different than any other freshwater aquarium. You should plan to set up the tank, fill it, and let your equipment run for at least one week, ideally two, until the tank fully cycles.

This is simply the process of building a colony of beneficial bacteria which help maintain ideal conditions in the tank. Making sure your tank has cycled before you add any fish is the best way to ensure that the introduction and acclimation process goes smoothly. When you do introduce your GloFish, float the bag you get from the pet store in the tank. This allows the water temperature in the bag to adjust to the temperature in the tank.

After 30 minutes, open the bag and add a cup of tank water every 10 minutes so your fish can adjust to any differences in water chemistry. When the bag is full, release the fish into the tank with a net and discard water from the bag. Once your GloFish are acclimated to their new home, all you need to do is treat them like any other freshwater aquarium fish. Feed your GloFish small amounts of food once or twice a day—only as much as they can consume in 5 minutes.

Look for a high-quality tropical fish food. As is true for all aquarium fish, the higher the quality of the diet, the healthier and more colorful your fish will be. You should also supplement their staple diet with live, frozen, or freeze-dried foods several times a week. You should also check the water level on a weekly basis and replace water lost to evaporation once a week.

You may also want to test your tank water on a weekly or monthly basis to make sure there are no sudden changes in water chemistry. To make sure your GloFish tank runs smoothly, be sure to invest in high-quality equipment. Old-timers will remember a song made famous by the Mills Brothers in the s called "Glow Worm. Is this a bad thing? A biotechnology company in Austin, Texas has given the little glow worm a shiny new rival.

Yorktown Technologies has started selling a limited number of genetically engineered aquarium fish that glow in the dark. The company says these critters will be available nationwide Jan. The genetically engineered fish is a zebra fish that has a gene found not in a worm but in a kind of coral. The company can snip the "glow gene" out of the coral and stick it into the genes of a zebra fish embryo. This produces an animal that will definitely get your neighbors talking about your aquarium.