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.”