I'm the caretaker of a Glowfish & Goldfish that was passed to me because a kid simply incapable of keeping it alive. As a kid I put 20 wild caught fish in a bucket & see nothing wrong with it. I'm convinced that fish is not a suitable pet for kids.
I understand where you're coming from: but imo kids shouldn't be discouraged from adopting fish into their homes. Many fish are domesticated non-wild caught creatures that make great pets. The problem is... society doesn't really care about fish. Which is dumb, because they are sentient creatures according to many studies. So what we need to do, is educate children on how to raise fish, like how you teach them how to raise a puppy. We should start treating fish like animals instead, that way we can resolve many issues that come with giving fish to kids :)
@@VisceralFossa Absolutely. Kids can care for animals but they need a helping hand to learn how to and to keep behind so the kid will do the pet care regularily and not forget about it.
They’re advertised more like toys than living beings. I got 5 for my birthday when I was like 7 and they all died, it’s so cruel to sell animals to children like toys Edit: to add to this, all fish are really treated like toys/decorations it’s just pushed to hard on glow fish, like their entire existence is to be bought by idiot 7 year olds like me
I work at a Petco in California, and GloFish are by far the most popular fish we sell. Usually, its little kids who beg their parents to get them some GloFish in their favorite colors, but I've also seen middle aged and elderly people who are just as infatuated in them. I have never owned GloFish before and I don't think I ever will. Personally, I don't like the look of them at all, and knowing they come with all sorts of other issues only gives me more reason to avoid them.
it sucks how they're marketed towards kids especially, when most of the fish they're selling are definitely not super beginner friendly and/or need a LOT more care than they'll ever let on. not to mention, they sell special food and i'm honestly not even sure if that's just a gimmick or if it's genuinely something that keeps th glow going (which...also sucks LOL)
@GruntoSkunko wasn't talking about elderly bettas also it's not uncommon bit it's also not almost every betta with the standards. Glo bettas have a high rate had 3 all blind know other people who tried them they all went blind as well. There's a reason alot of places won't sell the bettas.
My 27 year old severely autistic son wanted a fish tank for his room, he loved Glofish so we got a ten gallon set up and bought 4. They all dropped dead within a week. We broke down that tank and started over with an even more well cycled tank, we now have 10 neon tetras and a mystery snail, I love them much more than the artificial looking glofish. 🐟
What people have done with dogs, particularly cruel, pure breds. it is cruel. Boxers, pugs, other breeds suffer their whole lives. They are often inbred but pure bred. People would get glodogs. :(
Thankfully, last I checked for whatever reason the fluorescent pigments are only in the skin, not the fur of mammals, so there hasn't been much demand. There have been glocats and glomice, but they're not sold as pets and are instead used for genetic research. In fact the original purpose of the genetic engineering that created glofish was genetic research, tying the fluorescent colors to certain genes being turned on or off to be sure that the gene really was activated. And then someone decided that these fish would do great as pets.
People once tried to breed Twisty Kats on purpose, which are cats with severely malformed front legs that force them to hop on two legs like a kangaroo.
I personally don't like them But from my understanding the glofish were originally bred by scientists to learn about genetics and water pollutants. (Kinda cool) They also don't seem less healthy than other fish and may actually be pretty healthy compared to a lot of other fish. I also think this is an issue with a lot of fish to a greater extent even. Corydoras, Bettas etc
@@ChrisCkarke yes they where you can’t find them in stores. They also are not on the website. Just checked the are not there. Sooooo you kinda stuck your foot in your mouth there. Why don’t you fact check next time?
@@ChrisCkarke I check went on their website and they aren’t available. I’ve been doing some reading online and people are saying that they didn’t sell well. I’m assuming the combination of the already steep prices and the general unappealing look lead to a market failure.
Glofish have less health issues than the many body and color morphs that are generally accepted in the hobby and that are the result of inbreeding. I dont see GMO as worse ethically than inbreeding, and I i appreciate you highlighting this. On the topic of tackiness, everones taste is different, but it is weird that people dont have the same complaint about all the different colors of neocaridina shrimp. I dont have them, but think a setup with a dark substrate and odd colored live plants would be really cool with them. I do think there are problems with the company that makes them.
My opinion for genetically modified organisms as a whole is that they are fine especially for research, medicine, agriculture and various other industries to improve efficiency and various aspects but when it comes to cosmetic changes I think the technology should be perfected more so they can be more precise to avoid the hazards it can have for animals such as glofish
Follows a similar suit to what I was saying as if there is something of value I can give it more credit rather than it just being used for a cosmetic appeal
I want to work in genetic engineering. This sort of video will help me avoid pitfalls when genetically modifying an animal, even if I do disagree somewhat. You do have good points and a well-put together video.
Well, for me, glofish looks so un natural, their color look like "man-made" product. I'd rather to use fish that still have their appereance like their wild cousins
i think glofish are one of the main reasons little kids pick up the hobby these days. here in singapore you have some retailers who plaster the storefront with tanks of glofish to catch kids' eyes. obviously because they sell extremely well. it's nice to see more people getting into the hobby but also sad that the price we have to pay is funding the trade of these "disabled" fish. while i do acknowledge that good care for a glofish can lead it to have a happy life, and vice versa for normal fish, it doesn't sit right with me to buy a fish that has been intentionally modified to seem more flashy. if anything, i'd rather go for a natural 'scape.
100% agree, at the end of the day I truly believe if you care for them right glofish still can live happy, but it’s more challenging to do. And you can’t really do that with a lot of the glofish brand tanks/equipment. But at the end of the day this is just mostly my opinion
hello from my fish room channel in Chicago, where I am a subscriber to yours. This was a solid video essay with sound facts and thoughtful opinions. My opinion is like yours. I do not want my fish to "look like a highlighter."
Yeah definitely a fan of the natural fish… I’ve always found them kinda ugly too with them really only being one bright, overexposed color. With all the beautiful fish out there (with more than one color) I’ve never understood the need for them. Especially with them being as expensive as they are
I’ve always strayed away from Glowfish due to their controversy, but I remember as a kid I had a few and this one green danio lived a lot longer than all of the other fish in the tank did. I never named them but I just remember how much of a trooper they were
The sole reason I don't keep glofish is cuz they look ugly af. I'm really just not a fan of fish with one solid color. I would take patterning and shape over color.
I definitely agree! Some of the fish you can get have easily 4-5 separate colors on them and others have really cool patterns! Look at leopard danios for example
@@Fishman2114 Tiger barbs have so many cool colour morphs and all of them are natural/good looking. But one thing that is crazy is that half of the glofish are not realy beginner friendly like the betta, Angel fish, rainbow shark and to some extent tiger barbs.
I’m just going to say that Glofish got me back into the fish keeping hobby. I respect everyone’s opinion on the subject and to each their own. I do know with the ones I’ve kept I have done everything in my power to give them an amazing life.
I have a friend that has some glofish, they are beatiful and are very healthy, in a giant beatiful planted tank, honestly they are probably some of the luckiest glofish
The "demographic" for "glofish" and "glofish aquariums" isn't just little kids. I just turned 58 years old and I am a grandmother to a 2nd year university student and recently I decided to set myself up with a new aquarium and 6 glofish as a birthday present to myself. I love it! I love them!.. and I love that after almost 35 years, I've gotten back into the hobby. Also, everyone I've shown them to loves them.
im a koi and goldfish breeder, fancy goldfish are more predisposed to get things like swim bladder, but its not like they live in pain 24/7 they are not quite comparable to pugs whose breathing is forever impacted due to the short muzzle they live good normal lives, some do get swim bladder disease at wich point medical treatment would be required and in severe cases euthanasia would be necessary I would definitely consider strapping chopsticks or sponges to said goldfish to be cruel. they have perfectly happy lives provided they are cared for properly. yes fancies have sensitive features and some may swim slower, but they where not meant for the wild , to release them would be cruel under good human care their existence is not cruel. the same cant be said for backyard breeders, but I take great care to look after my genetics to make sure I produce animals with good bodies for proper muscle development and organ space within the breed standards
I think GloFish are fine, and the debate should only be limited to "I like them vs. I don't like them." They're the same as purchasing an albino variant of your favorite fish. Most of the demerits provided by aquarists aren't failures of the GloFish, but failures in husbandry. We have to remember that GloFish attracts new hobbyists, and most new hobbyists sadly don't know what they're doing. The same experience would be had whether they kept GloFish or their non-Glo counterparts. I have a trio of Glo tiger barbs that I've intermixed with my school of normal/green/golden tiger barbs, and they're going on 8 years now. I would like to mention that the demerits you mentioned regarding GloFish are either false or moot points. GloFish are not sterile/sterilized. The only place I can find that mentions that is a blog post with no source cited. It's also been widely discussed that if you want to, you can mass-produce GloFish on a hobby level. That's why they have a clause asking hobbyists not to sell homebred GloFish (note that you can breed them and give them away, but not sell them for profit). The point about the fluorescent protein requiring more energy to maintain isn't really an issue-it's our job to provide the energy needs for our fish. Glo bettas have been discontinued for almost two years now, and remember that Glo bettas aren't the only bettas with health issues. I've seen the same problems reported in bettas regardless of their Glo status. Personally, I think if you see GloFish as unethical, you must see fishkeeping/pet husbandry as a whole as unethical.
i’m fine with that, knowing even our fellow humans do lots of unethical things to ourselves too, esp. in workforce or job demands, yet it’s still leaning on being legal anyway
Well yes but actually, no. I believe this guy said repeated times that it's not only the glo part of fish he's against, rathet the genetic modifications/selective breeding in general. I'm not gonna confirm/deny the sterile (or whatever) part as I dont feel like researching for it, yet I believe it would make sense for it to be true. As of to glo bettas, I see them in my local aquarium everyday, and lastly my own view of it all is basically the same as the person who made the video. Glo fish, genetically modified fish and selectively bred fish I'm neutral about. But the second this affects the fish's health in question Whether this means it gets a little or a lot less energy on the daily life of the fish, or plain on lower survuvavility overall, I'm against it.
All the points u raised r absolutely right..i personally don't like them just because they look unnatural in a nuture inspired setup..currently m having so many of them and never had any issue with them.. Most of the facts shared in this vid seems to b illogical as i have never heard that they r sterile neither i found them any different from other fishes in any level be it behavior or energy ... They r just like albino version of any other man made species.. I think he has never seen a fancy goldfish specifically bubble/baloon eye..ryukin and pearl scales
Glowfish are not the same as purchasing an albino fish at all. Albinism and most pet variants are naturally occurring traits in animals and while does have downsides depending on the species and environmental it does not come with the complications that gowfish have. Albinism even in humans doesn't typically effect fertility, lifespan, etc and simply makes someone more sensitive to the sun which for most fish isn't an issue anyways if they're kept indoors. Glowfish are not naturally occurring and is a literal commercial brand of genetic modification that is not only completely unnatural but you are monetarily supporting the procreation of to continue. Nature will continue producing occasionally albino fish regardless of human input. Glowfish only will be produced by humans because you and others continue to purchase them. Therefor all of the health issues and quality of life problems these fish have that are related to this are being unnecessarily created by humans simply for the aesthetic purposes as pets. This is what you're saying your fine. Don't paint it as a matter of opinion or downplay it. Also no, you can't just provide fish more energy as if that undoes their metabolic issue. Either you don't understand the nuances of metabolism but you can't just feed the fish more and therefore that undoes the energy wasting cost of their bioluminesce. There is a limited amount of food a fish can eat and if the bioluminsce is so inefficient (because the species it was artificially modified into did not evolve to be bioluminescent in the FIRST place and had no natural selection for fitness. Bioluminesce is often found in less active species like deep sea animals. Not beta fish etc. This is a biomechanical issue. You can't just provide more energy. They're unhealthy. You're coping) these animals are being given a trait that has no original in their biological fitness. This is literally just so people can see them as "pretty". Lastly the one thing I do agree with is that the kind of people who would buy these fish would be novices and less likely to provide proper husbandry in the first place, exacerbating their already lower statistical fitness. This is a part of the issue. Creating artificial traits that catch the eyes of impulsive human novelty seeking to make more money is not a trend anyone who cares about animals should support. This is fine to you that we support the creation and trend to modify animals with unnatural traits just to make money at the cost of the animal? There really is no ethical defense of this tbh. And yes the fish husbandry practice does have an issue. People in general see fish as "disposable" lives compared to dogs and cats who only exist to look nice or to give to a child and they will play trial and error instead of researching how to best care for the animals longevity and this is a problem. So again, none of these things are a matter of "do you like it" just to sidesweep the facts. The only reason people who defend glowfish take the route of its opinion is because theres have no factual or moral grounds to support it.
Thank you for actually explaining why this modification harms the individual animals instead of just fearmongering about gmo as a whole. What people dont realize is that all forms of domestic breeding of any species is "gmo" in some way because of the human involvement factor. I wish there was more easily available information about the negatives of florescent protiens in axolotls and mammals as well because this topic is important to me but its never really spoken about in layman's terms.
I didn’t know any of this I got glofish for my birthday and I did not know how they would act but mine are still alive and it’s been a few years since I got them
I recently bought a bright pink Angelfish GloFish from Petco for $30, before leaving the store I had them feed the tank to see how they were reacting to food, NONE of them ate. Employee said if it doesn't eat then I can return it. Sure enough it never ate and died. Petco was really nice about it when I returned, my water tested fine, and the manager even told me that GloFish tend to have problems. But like you said there is a market for them so they're not going anywhere, we can only hope more research goes into them to be able to live longer.
@@Fishman2114 yess, right after getting my money back from petco I drove straight to my local mom and pop fish store and got myself a regular platinum Angel with a yellow face. I love it.
I bought twenty GloFish tetras in various colors and they are thriving in my 300-gallon aquarium that I set up with continuously flowing water. The GloFish are extremely active, in robust health, and prone to feeding on powdered shrimp voraciously alongside dozens of larger tropical fish while exhibiting NO signs of weakness unlike the Koi I buy that suffer a 30% mortality rate in the first few weeks following their purchase. I love the brilliant colors of GloFish tetras and they remind me of a marine species, yet are so much easier to keep since they are a freshwater species. While in general terms I view genetic modification as an imperfect science that is fraught with unforeseen risk, I have no such reservations about genetically modified GloFish. Matter of fact, I am building a new pair of 300-gallon tanks that will house hundreds of GloFish by the time they are complete. I eagerly look forward to any new species of fish that emerge from the Frankenstein labs to join the GloFish family. With utmost respect to Fish Man 2114, I hereby declare myself to be a die-hard GloFish fanboy who is well on the way to becoming a glassy-eyed, arm-waving fanatic devotee of the genre.
I'm from Colombia, where widow tetra are native to, and it's so sad to see how many Colombians have these fish as pets and most Colombians think they're natural.... Most people no longer want the original widow tetra from the Colombian rivers but the imported Glo Tetras.... GloFish look so ugly plus I had 3 of them and they all died quickly. I also have a goldfish, and how curious, the goldfish is still alive!
I have three red tetra glowfish, they are alive since the pandemic when I got them, surpassing lifespan of other species I had and they always seem to be very active and acting normal. And about Europe, they are sold everywhere here.
I agree with everything you’ve said In this video and you seem like a very educated person. Although, Europe is not a country it is a continent. This should be common knowledge but I guess to you and many other Americans it is not. This is not directed just at you but I hate the utter indifference that many Americans show to maps. Just to be clear I am from the USA but this stuff just bugs me a lot and it only seems to happen here.
@@handsomememevirus968 Trust me I am aware just durning recording/editing I guess I missed it 😅. I did mention it in the description of the video but I definitely get why you missed it in there
I was going to get some fish (while also being well informed and knowing what fish I desired) back then in my birthday and my aunt was already mesmerized by the Glofish. She wanted to buy those Glofish for me, but because I wanted just the Cherry Barbs and I didn't want to risk potentially having fish die because of overstocking an aquarium that was questionably cycled (it was not, I realized), I just took my two cherries into the 50-55 gallon. Some people were loud critics because they were either "too small" or "I had no fish" (from someone that doesn't bother to look at the aquarium for more than 5 seconds), I think ditching Glofish entirely was my best decision. The result: Aquarium is fully cycled with no casualties and my cherries were even thriving. Now I'm waiting for more cherries to ship to Petsmart so I can get a male at minimum, and hopefully give them a school of 5 healthy cherry barbs. Also, I can sometimes feel that there is something off with the Glofish, and it's not just the weird black eyes that most varieties have. This video helped a bit more with how much more difficult it is for Glofish to maintain their artificial coloring and explained why I saw the "colorful fish" as a child die faster than the others. That was aside overstocking, overfeeding and potentially having either an uncycled aquarium or incompatible fish, common mistakes I avoided this time around.
There is so much more to fish than a color! I recently bought and set up a 30 gallon aquarium that I bought secondhand. Previous owners included everything, including cheesy artificial plants, gravel, and decor. It was already a riot of color before I plopped in a single fish. The fish I eventually placed in the tank now offer a place to rest your eyes when you look at the aquarium: spotted sterbai and julii corydoras, black neon tetras, white skirt tetras...My husband of all people floated the idea of getting some glo-fish because he thought we should have something more colorful. I told him to wait, that glo-fish would clash with the plants and decor, and that the white skirts he likes so much actually have a little bit of pink to them along with some cool transparency that lets you see their insides. It only took a day of appreciating the more natural-looking fish for him to realize the glo-fish idea was pretty careless.
My son and I started with a couple of glow fish, not really knowing what we were doing. Now, we have a peacock cichlid tank, an Mbuna tank, a father-son fish tank, a turtle tank, an American cichlid tank, and we even grow a bunch of Daphnia in the backyard. Thank you, glow fish, for getting us into this hobby!
You would have got into the hobbies without the experience of the Glo fish. Million of people have been in the hobbie for many many years without Glo fish.
@@marleneburns7389 no we wouldn’t have. I just told you that it was the gateway to the hobby. and being from San Diego I love orcas because of the late great shamu who taught all of us that killer whales are awesome and should be respected. Thank you shamu for that you were a great ambassador
I bought these for my son he actually picked them out himself and I knew going into it I was going to be the one responsible for taking care of it and I do well they've been healthy and thriving for almost a year now we added some mystery snails and live plants we have 6 glowfish and 3 snails in a 35 gallon.
I’ve gotten them a few times. They are very susceptible to ich in my experience. The ones that survived still didn’t live very long. I think about a year max is all. I think they look cool. Probably won’t get any again, but still don’t hate them like so many people do.
I’ve never really cared for glow fish The only reason I got one is because my sister really wanted one so I got it and so far it’s actually gone strong for around two years
I appreciate your points, however, I am a mature woman who never had an aquarium before and now have had a collection of nine glofish for the past five years. I love them. I think they're beautiful. They seem happy and healthy.
The fish shops near me won’t stock glofish, rightfully so! But there are SO MANY beautiful naturally colored fish that I don’t see the point in torturing the fish used for “glofish”… we have a tank set up with many different tetra types. Colombian, neon, black skirt, cardinal and bucktooth… they all have their gorgeous coloring that with different lighting (in my humble opinion) look immensely better than the neon glofish
I'm surprised you didn't raise concerns about the part where we're letting companies trademark genes and the production of living organisms. I've heard stuff about farmers getting sued because their crops cross pollinated with GMOs whose seeds contaminated their fields. Normalizing that kind of thing opens the door to some really unpleasant stuff.
Living in the UK I’ve never really heard of “Glofish” until I went online and shared my love of fish, and animals as a whole with others. I met a friend online that had a group of bright, radioactive looking barbs that looked straight out of Fallout’s wasteland, intrigued, soo I did some research. Turns out they are banned in the UK due to them being a genetically modified animal, which, is strange when GFP axolotls are allowed. Ether way, I can’t say I’m a fan, even before knowing how it affects the fish themselves. Green tiger barbs will always be prettier than any sharpie fish could ever be anyway (and yes I am bias)
Our little daughter picked out a glofish for our community tank. I’m surprised it’s still alive after 3 years. And that includes a 2500 mile move across the country. I don’t use special lighting or anything. I figure lighting that would irritate my migraine isn’t something I want for my pets.
It's true that Glofish are not allowed in EU countries and prohibited to sell. But it happens that private individuals try to sell them. I personally don't like Glofish. Animals should not be genetically modified.
I had a tank full of glo fish as a kid… One day my brother and I were playing in a creek we found a crawfish thought it was the coolest thing ever so we took it home with us had no place for it so we put it in the fish tank the fish were gone in a week
@@og.shadefur We all start off making mistakes. What matters is that we learn from them and move on. So that we can give our aquatic animals the best lives’ possible.
They _were_ banned in California from 2003 to 2015 when the ban was lifted. This transitory state is likely the source of the confusion and conflicting ideas. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GloFish#:~:text=Sale%20or%20possession%20of%20GloFish%20was%20made,2015%20due%20to%20a%20growing%20body%20of
@@SamuelSmithJirikiha Ok see that makes a lot of sense. So I must have seen some of the older sources telling me this fact while the newer ones never mentioned it. Thankyou for the clarification
I prefer wild minnows. It's not about cost, it just makes me feel better and I appreciate them more, because I have a piece of local nature in my home. It's more interesting to me also. I buy a variety of foods so that they can eat different things, so the pet market still gets lots of sales from me.
As a glofish owner, I can clearly understand why they don’t make good pets; they die easily, don’t get along with others, and they are shy (which is not a big deal but come on). They are EXTREMELY sensitive so even a thump can scare them. Even with female fish of the same species, they do not mate at all. Glofish are fine for elders who do not care about attention, but for the majority of us fish gurus I recommend getting the normal versions of them. And no, glofish are not banned in CA bc I live there and not a single police guy knocked on my door…
@@maggietran5170 They used to be illegal in CA but they removed the ban some years ago. Do you keep glofish with their natural variants? I’m just curious if they display different behaviors than they do
Do we know for a fact that the Glo-bettas are blind because they are Glo-fish. There are traits that make regular Bettas blind, typically Platinum Dragonscale, Metallic and Marble bettas.
I have some glow tiger barbs mixed in with some natural colored tiger barbs, out of all the glofish I think they look the best because they still keep those black stripes. I didn't know about any of the health issues before watching this video, in fact I had read the opposite online from other sources so I guess I'll just have to figure out for myself how they end up doing compared to the natural color ones in the same tank. I don't use the glo light, just a regular fluval aquasky and I don't think they look crazy unnatural when they are in normal light.
@@Thund3rfist I will say I would agree with you that the glo tiger barbs look the best (or at least one of the best) because they still retain their cool stripes. Still not really a fan, but I get it.
As a person who lives in California, and fish keeps. Nope. They are unfortunately not banned here. I see them in every fish shop, pet smart, and Petco I go to.
@@HowiTheOneAndOnly Yes, a couple mentioned that they WERE banned for a period of time but that ban has since been lifted so when I was making this video it lead to some confusion. But thankyou for letting me know :)
I believe they are not allowed in Hawaii. I work at Petco, and whenever we get a shipment in, there’s a slip of paper that says “Do not send GloFish to Hawaii”. So at the very least they aren’t being shipped there.
To be honest, I’m glad they’re more expensive. It sometimes discourages people from buying too many, which as you probably know happens a lot. People want a bunch fish in a small tank.
I’m from the UK and glowfish are illegal/not a thing here. I’ve been keeping fish for about 25 years and when I was a little kid I had goldfish first (in a good sized setup) and then a small tropical tank with mountain minnows, danios etc
another thing i would like to add on is that they are marketed beside those unnatural blacklights and are often encouraged to leave them on all day in order for their glow to have the "full effect". i don't know about you personally, but if i am in a room with those type of lights for even five minutes i start to get a headache. imagine having to live with those things for half your life! that cannot be comfortable to any animal!
I agree with every point. This is an incredible video essay. I literally was just arguing with someone about glofish and convincing them to not get them last week.
yeah uhh about this all of the ones i bought friggin died mainly those blackfin glofish they aren't that hardy but i think im just bad at this well except for one of my zebra danios i named blue gatorade he survived me accidentally putting soapy water, multiple tank cleanings where we put them in a different container to clean the tank and hes going strong till this day. hes literally zooming around but to be honest he never really had too vibrant of colors jsut the regular dull danio blue now i realise that he was probably not a glow danio cus all the others the more vibrant ones died long ago my hardiest and tankiest fish is definetly my pleco johnny hes really big but not bigger than the tank quite yet. He stayed out of water for 30 minutes because we didn't notice him and survived with only a wound he is so frickin tanky
We seem to live in a plastic world where natures creations just aren’t good enough for some people. This disconnect will lead us down a road we really don’t want to go.
I own 6 glofish in California and ive had them for about 7 months none have died got them at petco but i do maintain my tank and use the best products like seachem prime/stability/stress coat and always do my water changes👍
Come on guys like, fish are astonishingly colorful beautiful and interesting on themselves but like you gotta actually use your brain to know what fish you like and what if I don't want to care for it huh? Yeah let's make that one fish species have random unnatural colors that make them look like freaking confetti. What? You gotta CARE for these and even more than their non-glo versions? Nuh uh nerd, I do NOT have to care for them as they will probably get some random glo-fish exclusive disease and die after 2 days anyway. That's what glo-fish owners would probably say if their thoughts were read out loud.
I understand using them to monitor water and I get the appeal of them as pet but personally I wouldn't want them. I like natural looking fish. I'm not against breeding them but honestly I don't think glofish being sterile is a bad thing because I honestly wouldn't recommend certain fish like guppies and mollies because they breed like crazy and a beginner wouldn't know how to manage that. I'm not against pugs and goldfish in general either though but over time they have had some bad selective breeding. Pugs actually used to have longer snouts and less bubbly eyes. Granted I wouldn't get a pug either because if I 'm going to pay for a dog, I'm getting a working breed like a terrier if I'm trying to get rid of some rats or a Rottweiler or a German Shepard if I'm looking for a guard dog or a hound if I'm looking for a tracking dog for hunting. I'm also not crazy about goldfish in general. I think they're overrated even when they don't have the balloon crap or the big eyes.
Ethics of genetic modification to me is a weird question because he never asked the question if it was ethical to keep fish to begin with? WTF dude how does ethics apply with glow fish yet not with regular fish?
I would rather show my kid why creating a small universe in your home is so great than just buy some colored fish so the kid can put his atention on them for 5min. But i get it. It gloes!
I personally think crayfish are one of the best aquatic pets for first time owners or kids. They’re easy to care for, forgiving about mild changes to the water, are perfectly happy solitary, and intimidating enough to most kids that they won’t stick their hands in the water to try and “pet them” like I’ve seen before.
@@AlexPeace246 If you have them by themselves I agree. They definitely aren’t the best for beginners looking to get into a community tank. In fact I put them in the top ten worst community list (part 2) simply because they eat whatever they can catch. I do some people have success but it’s usually with larger more predatory fish so 🤷♂️
I’m not saying I agree with genetically modifying things but wow the colors are stunning. Now back to your video. It’s day glo crayons swimming around.
Is their high mortality rate really a result of the glowing and not a side effect of the sterilisation procedure? Offspring of the few fertile ones should show if that is the case
I'm not convinced on the high mortality rate being the glo genetics part, but more the target market (kids), that's often people that want fish, but not actually fish people, also mass production so inbreeding, I question the low fertility based on the number out put, where they are available, there is many. Once the fish eggs are spliced with the glo genetics (corals & anemones), the further stock is from them breeding as fish do, i've seen many bred on YT with a respectable fertility outcome.
@@zebedeemadness2672 there are many factors that could produce low survival rates. Diseases in pet store tanks and poor distribution routes are also an option since there are no local breeders. Just central breeding that ships everywhere
For me as a breeder .. First you need to master the livebearers. Molly,platy guppy.. And to keep in mind about , swimming behavior, food, water change, water parameters and Water change
as someone who's had many betta fish before, they're already a fragile fish - many of mine have died for seemingly no reason despite doing everything right. I imagine the glofish bettas die even easier. I've also heard it's illegal to actually sell glofish if you've bred them yourself, because theyre copyrighted, at least my local fish store told me so. that's beyond messed up.
In first world country, your statement might be true. But in third world country like mine where Glofish copyright is given a big middle finger, then nah. $1 for 10 fish sounds like a great deal 😂 especially because they're locally breed in ‘natural way’ (we simply let the nature do their job). Which means there's no further *intentional* genetic modification other than what their ancestors went through. Also regarding energy expenditure, people here tend to overfeed our fish (like feeding them 3 times per day), so… yea, pretty sure they don't care about energy efficiency.
@@souffle420 Ahhhhh that makes a lot of sense! I’ve heard other people say they were cheap but never really as to why. So thankyou for the explanation, I’ll be sure to remember that from now on 👍
I had a glofish as a kid it was the last survivor out of the 3 that me and my siblings got but was eaten by a pleco that choked on mine (one of the others also got eaten as well, the other froze to death)
Speaking of 3 gallon tanks I got one and I keep three mosquito fish in it each about 1 inch I’ve had them for around two years and they were also wild caught, caught them myself
Not a fan of Glofish but there is a place In the hobby for them... They can be a gateway into the hobby and a lot of kids grow into the hobby more.... Consequently I'm not a fan of what the lifestyle we are forced to live in has done to use humans.. lol
I was against genetically mutated, such as painted glass fish. But I think I'm starting to turn against genetically modified too. They should probably be left natural regardless if it's good for them or not
Finally someone who properly explains it. Until now I thought they are banned where I live because the Government People are little Crybabies. At least there are proper Reasons
Y'know, even as a kid, I felt bad for the glowfish. And I still feel bad, I don't think we should carry on this legacy of fish meant for water testing.
I have a Yellow/Gold Zebra Danio that kind of glows under blue light. I think it might be a half breed because it wasn't sold to me as glofish. I'm trying to breed my fish so yeah 😫
Because it originally breed for research purpose. Somehow after the research this mutant fish with very unnatural color started to be sold toward public, despite not all of them have good health. Worse some people even deliberately injected dye toward natural coloured zebrafish
I dont agree that glofish are more fragile. Its all about yhe husbandry of the fish. Most deaths are likely from new keepers not knowing what they are going and/or the store selling them is low quality. Get yourself a good store with a good and they are hardy fish, the tetras especially.
To be fair I definitely don’t disagree with the quality/care of the tank being the most important aspect. But stress from moving environments definitely plays a big effect into survival rates. I personally just don’t think they are as hardy as their natural counterparts. Just my experience though 🤷♂️
@@exxuus6260 I’m glad you enjoy your glo betta. What matters most at the end of the day is that you are taking the best possible care of your fish (or pets in general)
Yeah i never really liked the concept of them. But then my dad bought some for my aquarium. And i know he was coming from a good place cause he thought it would look pretty with my other fish schools and plants. So ive just been inadvertently caring for like a cluster of glofish for a while. There has been some babies that managed to surive into adulthood, but compared to the other schools in my tank i do see more dead glofish deapite my best efforts 😢😢😢.
@@victoriadimaunahan3283 Well I’ve said this to couple of other people but what matters is that you’re trying your best to care for them. Whether you like them or not you have some now but you’re still giving them solid lives’ :)
8:00 are fantail goldfish deformed? Starting off in this hobby and only have one fantail goldfish so far. Would not want to get any other fish that are constantly suffering 😢
I don’t particularly care for them but I don’t think they are nearly as bad as some of the other goldfish. For example the pop eye goldfish is one that would absolutely say is suffering.
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Leave a comment down below if you like to see a part 2 of this video! I definitely think I could make a part 2 if you guys wanted to see that
Glo Angelfish are available now, but from what I know the offspring develop slower but require more protein to be healthy.
@@jor6933that’s really interesting. Especially since everyone is talking about these new glo angel fish and I haven’t even seen one yet
You could talk about goldfish modification
@@michalpetrik4291 I feel like that would be its own video. Which I’ve thought of doing
Hmmm... Please continue
I'm the caretaker of a Glowfish & Goldfish that was passed to me because a kid simply incapable of keeping it alive.
As a kid I put 20 wild caught fish in a bucket & see nothing wrong with it. I'm convinced that fish is not a suitable pet for kids.
I understand where you're coming from: but imo kids shouldn't be discouraged from adopting fish into their homes. Many fish are domesticated non-wild caught creatures that make great pets. The problem is... society doesn't really care about fish. Which is dumb, because they are sentient creatures according to many studies. So what we need to do, is educate children on how to raise fish, like how you teach them how to raise a puppy. We should start treating fish like animals instead, that way we can resolve many issues that come with giving fish to kids :)
@@VisceralFossa Absolutely. Kids can care for animals but they need a helping hand to learn how to and to keep behind so the kid will do the pet care regularily and not forget about it.
They’re advertised more like toys than living beings.
I got 5 for my birthday when I was like 7 and they all died, it’s so cruel to sell animals to children like toys
Edit: to add to this, all fish are really treated like toys/decorations it’s just pushed to hard on glow fish, like their entire existence is to be bought by idiot 7 year olds like me
They only die easily if they’re not being properly taken care of.
As many things that there are "bad" about glofish, they are actually some of the hardiest fish in the hobby when taken care of properly
They don’t die easily say “I can’t keep glofish alive” next time
@@LightYagami-xl1wzI've had them for almost a year 10 in total and haven't lost one. The video is very propaganda-ish.
@@BobBombadil I had no idea, my glofish usually live three to five years
I work at a Petco in California, and GloFish are by far the most popular fish we sell. Usually, its little kids who beg their parents to get them some GloFish in their favorite colors, but I've also seen middle aged and elderly people who are just as infatuated in them. I have never owned GloFish before and I don't think I ever will. Personally, I don't like the look of them at all, and knowing they come with all sorts of other issues only gives me more reason to avoid them.
it sucks how they're marketed towards kids especially, when most of the fish they're selling are definitely not super beginner friendly and/or need a LOT more care than they'll ever let on.
not to mention, they sell special food and i'm honestly not even sure if that's just a gimmick or if it's genuinely something that keeps th glow going (which...also sucks LOL)
They don't have any issues.
@GruntoSkunko glo bettas are prone to blindness. Pristella tetras commonly develop spinal deformities. Haven't seen issues with white skirts.
@@sewerrat7612 It's not uncommon for bettas in general to develop blindness as they age.
@GruntoSkunko wasn't talking about elderly bettas also it's not uncommon bit it's also not almost every betta with the standards. Glo bettas have a high rate had 3 all blind know other people who tried them they all went blind as well. There's a reason alot of places won't sell the bettas.
My 27 year old severely autistic son wanted a fish tank for his room, he loved Glofish so we got a ten gallon set up and bought 4. They all dropped dead within a week. We broke down that tank and started over with an even more well cycled tank, we now have 10 neon tetras and a mystery snail, I love them much more than the artificial looking glofish. 🐟
@@charlottesmom Nothing wrong with neons! I know they are a very common fish but I personally love them. Hope your son is enjoying them :)
@@Fishman2114 Yup he and I are both loving the tank, they are such cute fish. 🐟
the idea of a fish being patented is so dystopian
What kind of horror is this. Theyre living being but why got patented like purely human made product.
@@prasetyodwikuncorojati2434 They are a human-made product. We made them.
@@GruntoSkunkoNot purely tho.
Imagine if a breed of dog was patented by a company.
@@GruntoSkunko not from the ground up
What people have done with dogs, particularly cruel, pure breds. it is cruel. Boxers, pugs, other breeds suffer their whole lives. They are often inbred but pure bred. People would get glodogs. :(
Thankfully, last I checked for whatever reason the fluorescent pigments are only in the skin, not the fur of mammals, so there hasn't been much demand. There have been glocats and glomice, but they're not sold as pets and are instead used for genetic research. In fact the original purpose of the genetic engineering that created glofish was genetic research, tying the fluorescent colors to certain genes being turned on or off to be sure that the gene really was activated. And then someone decided that these fish would do great as pets.
Sadly, there actually are “glow-dogs” in South Korea. Frankly, I think it’s an abomination to do this to pets.
People once tried to breed Twisty Kats on purpose, which are cats with severely malformed front legs that force them to hop on two legs like a kangaroo.
I personally don't like them
But from my understanding the glofish were originally bred by scientists to learn about genetics and water pollutants. (Kinda cool)
They also don't seem less healthy than other fish and may actually be pretty healthy compared to a lot of other fish.
I also think this is an issue with a lot of fish to a greater extent even.
Corydoras, Bettas etc
So? Glowing dogs wouldn't be less healthy, necessarily.
It’s good the bettas were discontinued. They are already a very colorful fish. All the globettas looked very sickly.
They're not disconnected wtf are you talking about 😂 go on glo fish website. Know what you're talking about
@@ChrisCkarke yes they where you can’t find them in stores. They also are not on the website. Just checked the are not there. Sooooo you kinda stuck your foot in your mouth there. Why don’t you fact check next time?
@@ChrisCkarkedude the bettas where discontinued. They aren’t even on the glofish website.
@@ChrisCkarke I check went on their website and they aren’t available. I’ve been doing some reading online and people are saying that they didn’t sell well. I’m assuming the combination of the already steep prices and the general unappealing look lead to a market failure.
I just saw some glo bettas the other day at the store. Weird if they’re supposed to be discontinued
Glofish have less health issues than the many body and color morphs that are generally accepted in the hobby and that are the result of inbreeding. I dont see GMO as worse ethically than inbreeding, and I i appreciate you highlighting this.
On the topic of tackiness, everones taste is different, but it is weird that people dont have the same complaint about all the different colors of neocaridina shrimp. I dont have them, but think a setup with a dark substrate and odd colored live plants would be really cool with them.
I do think there are problems with the company that makes them.
Yeah,Betty's for the Market are also bred to be certain colors, same with a lot of other fish.
Never did I expect getting jumpscared in a educational fish video
@@josh_aqua_arts Hey pug skulls are scary, and you know gotta create my niche somehow 😂
My opinion for genetically modified organisms as a whole is that they are fine especially for research, medicine, agriculture and various other industries to improve efficiency and various aspects but when it comes to cosmetic changes I think the technology should be perfected more so they can be more precise to avoid the hazards it can have for animals such as glofish
Follows a similar suit to what I was saying as if there is something of value I can give it more credit rather than it just being used for a cosmetic appeal
what type of hazards are in aquarium?
I just hope we leave things natural how about that
I want to work in genetic engineering. This sort of video will help me avoid pitfalls when genetically modifying an animal, even if I do disagree somewhat. You do have good points and a well-put together video.
You should be on a list buddy
Yeah FBI this mf right here
In b4 dog cat hybrid
I tend to think there are some souless, heartless and mindless people behind this.
Spectrum Brands is actually one of the most charitable companies in the aquarium industry
Well, for me, glofish looks so un natural, their color look like "man-made" product. I'd rather to use fish that still have their appereance like their wild cousins
Live in a muddy hole in the ground in the woods if you don't like the look of "man made products".
Which is hardly any fish variety now sold.
i think glofish are one of the main reasons little kids pick up the hobby these days. here in singapore you have some retailers who plaster the storefront with tanks of glofish to catch kids' eyes. obviously because they sell extremely well.
it's nice to see more people getting into the hobby but also sad that the price we have to pay is funding the trade of these "disabled" fish. while i do acknowledge that good care for a glofish can lead it to have a happy life, and vice versa for normal fish, it doesn't sit right with me to buy a fish that has been intentionally modified to seem more flashy.
if anything, i'd rather go for a natural 'scape.
100% agree, at the end of the day I truly believe if you care for them right glofish still can live happy, but it’s more challenging to do. And you can’t really do that with a lot of the glofish brand tanks/equipment. But at the end of the day this is just mostly my opinion
hello from my fish room channel in Chicago, where I am a subscriber to yours. This was a solid video essay with sound facts and thoughtful opinions. My opinion is like yours. I do not want my fish to "look like a highlighter."
Yeah definitely a fan of the natural fish… I’ve always found them kinda ugly too with them really only being one bright, overexposed color. With all the beautiful fish out there (with more than one color) I’ve never understood the need for them. Especially with them being as expensive as they are
I’ve always strayed away from Glowfish due to their controversy, but I remember as a kid I had a few and this one green danio lived a lot longer than all of the other fish in the tank did. I never named them but I just remember how much of a trooper they were
The sole reason I don't keep glofish is cuz they look ugly af. I'm really just not a fan of fish with one solid color. I would take patterning and shape over color.
I definitely agree! Some of the fish you can get have easily 4-5 separate colors on them and others have really cool patterns! Look at leopard danios for example
@@Fishman2114 Tiger barbs have so many cool colour morphs and all of them are natural/good looking. But one thing that is crazy is that half of the glofish are not realy beginner friendly like the betta, Angel fish, rainbow shark and to some extent tiger barbs.
@@julianswinton5355 Both very solid points
The same applies with guppies (google "wild guppy" and/or "Endler's livebearer").
I like them. They look goofy. (My pfp gave it away probably 💀)
I’m just going to say that Glofish got me back into the fish keeping hobby. I respect everyone’s opinion on the subject and to each their own. I do know with the ones I’ve kept I have done everything in my power to give them an amazing life.
@@Coyne.Wilcox thats what’s important at the end of the day
I have a friend that has some glofish, they are beatiful and are very healthy, in a giant beatiful planted tank, honestly they are probably some of the luckiest glofish
Angelfish are now in the GloFish lineup. My local pet store has them. They're charging $30 of fish
I’ve heard a lot of people say that too! Still never actually seen one, but 30 dollars is definitely an expensive price
I recently heard about them, When i started keeping fisb 9 years ago i used to love glofish, if i saw that back then id loose my mind
Why would anyone buy it when the normal ones look so good already
@@Mancityfan2468...because they are red.Thirty dollars is ridiculous, though.
The "demographic" for "glofish" and "glofish aquariums" isn't just little kids. I just turned 58 years old and I am a grandmother to a 2nd year university student and recently I decided to set myself up with a new aquarium and 6 glofish as a birthday present to myself. I love it! I love them!.. and I love that after almost 35 years, I've gotten back into the hobby. Also, everyone I've shown them to loves them.
im a koi and goldfish breeder,
fancy goldfish are more predisposed to get things like swim bladder, but its not like they live in pain 24/7
they are not quite comparable to pugs whose breathing is forever impacted due to the short muzzle
they live good normal lives, some do get swim bladder disease at wich point medical treatment would be required and in severe cases euthanasia would be necessary
I would definitely consider strapping chopsticks or sponges to said goldfish to be cruel.
they have perfectly happy lives provided they are cared for properly.
yes fancies have sensitive features and some may swim slower, but they where not meant for the wild , to release them would be cruel
under good human care their existence is not cruel.
the same cant be said for backyard breeders, but I take great care to look after my genetics
to make sure I produce animals with good bodies for proper muscle development and organ space within the breed standards
I am mostly fine with fancy goldfish up until a point; do you think celestial goldfish and bubble eye goldfish can live happy lives?
I think GloFish are fine, and the debate should only be limited to "I like them vs. I don't like them." They're the same as purchasing an albino variant of your favorite fish. Most of the demerits provided by aquarists aren't failures of the GloFish, but failures in husbandry. We have to remember that GloFish attracts new hobbyists, and most new hobbyists sadly don't know what they're doing. The same experience would be had whether they kept GloFish or their non-Glo counterparts. I have a trio of Glo tiger barbs that I've intermixed with my school of normal/green/golden tiger barbs, and they're going on 8 years now.
I would like to mention that the demerits you mentioned regarding GloFish are either false or moot points. GloFish are not sterile/sterilized. The only place I can find that mentions that is a blog post with no source cited. It's also been widely discussed that if you want to, you can mass-produce GloFish on a hobby level. That's why they have a clause asking hobbyists not to sell homebred GloFish (note that you can breed them and give them away, but not sell them for profit). The point about the fluorescent protein requiring more energy to maintain isn't really an issue-it's our job to provide the energy needs for our fish. Glo bettas have been discontinued for almost two years now, and remember that Glo bettas aren't the only bettas with health issues. I've seen the same problems reported in bettas regardless of their Glo status.
Personally, I think if you see GloFish as unethical, you must see fishkeeping/pet husbandry as a whole as unethical.
i’m fine with that, knowing even our fellow humans do lots of unethical things to ourselves too, esp. in workforce or job demands, yet it’s still leaning on being legal anyway
Bettas are the pugs of the fish world along with fancy goldfish.
Well yes but actually, no. I believe this guy said repeated times that it's not only the glo part of fish he's against, rathet the genetic modifications/selective breeding in general. I'm not gonna confirm/deny the sterile (or whatever) part as I dont feel like researching for it, yet I believe it would make sense for it to be true. As of to glo bettas, I see them in my local aquarium everyday, and lastly my own view of it all is basically the same as the person who made the video. Glo fish, genetically modified fish and selectively bred fish I'm neutral about. But the second this affects the fish's health in question Whether this means it gets a little or a lot less energy on the daily life of the fish, or plain on lower survuvavility overall, I'm against it.
All the points u raised r absolutely right..i personally don't like them just because they look unnatural in a nuture inspired setup..currently m having so many of them and never had any issue with them..
Most of the facts shared in this vid seems to b illogical as i have never heard that they r sterile neither i found them any different from other fishes in any level be it behavior or energy ...
They r just like albino version of any other man made species..
I think he has never seen a fancy goldfish specifically bubble/baloon eye..ryukin and pearl scales
Glowfish are not the same as purchasing an albino fish at all. Albinism and most pet variants are naturally occurring traits in animals and while does have downsides depending on the species and environmental it does not come with the complications that gowfish have. Albinism even in humans doesn't typically effect fertility, lifespan, etc and simply makes someone more sensitive to the sun which for most fish isn't an issue anyways if they're kept indoors. Glowfish are not naturally occurring and is a literal commercial brand of genetic modification that is not only completely unnatural but you are monetarily supporting the procreation of to continue.
Nature will continue producing occasionally albino fish regardless of human input. Glowfish only will be produced by humans because you and others continue to purchase them. Therefor all of the health issues and quality of life problems these fish have that are related to this are being unnecessarily created by humans simply for the aesthetic purposes as pets. This is what you're saying your fine. Don't paint it as a matter of opinion or downplay it.
Also no, you can't just provide fish more energy as if that undoes their metabolic issue. Either you don't understand the nuances of metabolism but you can't just feed the fish more and therefore that undoes the energy wasting cost of their bioluminesce. There is a limited amount of food a fish can eat and if the bioluminsce is so inefficient (because the species it was artificially modified into did not evolve to be bioluminescent in the FIRST place and had no natural selection for fitness. Bioluminesce is often found in less active species like deep sea animals. Not beta fish etc. This is a biomechanical issue. You can't just provide more energy. They're unhealthy. You're coping) these animals are being given a trait that has no original in their biological fitness. This is literally just so people can see them as "pretty".
Lastly the one thing I do agree with is that the kind of people who would buy these fish would be novices and less likely to provide proper husbandry in the first place, exacerbating their already lower statistical fitness. This is a part of the issue. Creating artificial traits that catch the eyes of impulsive human novelty seeking to make more money is not a trend anyone who cares about animals should support. This is fine to you that we support the creation and trend to modify animals with unnatural traits just to make money at the cost of the animal? There really is no ethical defense of this tbh. And yes the fish husbandry practice does have an issue. People in general see fish as "disposable" lives compared to dogs and cats who only exist to look nice or to give to a child and they will play trial and error instead of researching how to best care for the animals longevity and this is a problem. So again, none of these things are a matter of "do you like it" just to sidesweep the facts. The only reason people who defend glowfish take the route of its opinion is because theres have no factual or moral grounds to support it.
Thank you for actually explaining why this modification harms the individual animals instead of just fearmongering about gmo as a whole. What people dont realize is that all forms of domestic breeding of any species is "gmo" in some way because of the human involvement factor.
I wish there was more easily available information about the negatives of florescent protiens in axolotls and mammals as well because this topic is important to me but its never really spoken about in layman's terms.
@@finsterhund No problem I glad you enjoyed it! I tried to make it rather comprehensive yet accurate so I appreciate it :)
I didn’t know any of this I got glofish for my birthday and I did not know how they would act but mine are still alive and it’s been a few years since I got them
I don't like glofish, but I definitely don't like those glass fish injected with iridescent dyes.
@@RaptorPwnage The glass fish are far worse because it’s a very damaging process to be injected with the dye. It hurts their overall lifespan.
I recently bought a bright pink Angelfish GloFish from Petco for $30, before leaving the store I had them feed the tank to see how they were reacting to food, NONE of them ate. Employee said if it doesn't eat then I can return it. Sure enough it never ate and died. Petco was really nice about it when I returned, my water tested fine, and the manager even told me that GloFish tend to have problems. But like you said there is a market for them so they're not going anywhere, we can only hope more research goes into them to be able to live longer.
Sorry to hear that… honestly I’d just go with the regular angel fish next time. Angels don’t need to glow to look beautiful :)
@@Fishman2114 yess, right after getting my money back from petco I drove straight to my local mom and pop fish store and got myself a regular platinum Angel with a yellow face. I love it.
@@kevreyes5577 and I’m assuming that he/she did much better 😂
I got 4 angels from their website and they’re great.
First problem here is Petco, there about ship in, ship out. Your water test was fine, how did Petco's water test look 🤔.
I bought twenty GloFish tetras in various colors and they are thriving in my 300-gallon aquarium that I set up with continuously flowing water. The GloFish are extremely active, in robust health, and prone to feeding on powdered shrimp voraciously alongside dozens of larger tropical fish while exhibiting NO signs of weakness unlike the Koi I buy that suffer a 30% mortality rate in the first few weeks following their purchase.
I love the brilliant colors of GloFish tetras and they remind me of a marine species, yet are so much easier to keep since they are a freshwater species. While in general terms I view genetic modification as an imperfect science that is fraught with unforeseen risk, I have no such reservations about genetically modified GloFish.
Matter of fact, I am building a new pair of 300-gallon tanks that will house hundreds of GloFish by the time they are complete. I eagerly look forward to any new species of fish that emerge from the Frankenstein labs to join the GloFish family. With utmost respect to Fish Man 2114, I hereby declare myself to be a die-hard GloFish fanboy who is well on the way to becoming a glassy-eyed, arm-waving fanatic devotee of the genre.
I'm from Colombia, where widow tetra are native to, and it's so sad to see how many Colombians have these fish as pets and most Colombians think they're natural.... Most people no longer want the original widow tetra from the Colombian rivers but the imported Glo Tetras.... GloFish look so ugly plus I had 3 of them and they all died quickly. I also have a goldfish, and how curious, the goldfish is still alive!
I have three red tetra glowfish, they are alive since the pandemic when I got them, surpassing lifespan of other species I had and they always seem to be very active and acting normal. And about Europe, they are sold everywhere here.
I agree with everything you’ve said In this video and you seem like a very educated person. Although, Europe is not a country it is a continent. This should be common knowledge but I guess to you and many other Americans it is not. This is not directed just at you but I hate the utter indifference that many Americans show to maps. Just to be clear I am from the USA but this stuff just bugs me a lot and it only seems to happen here.
@@handsomememevirus968 Trust me I am aware just durning recording/editing I guess I missed it 😅. I did mention it in the description of the video but I definitely get why you missed it in there
I was going to get some fish (while also being well informed and knowing what fish I desired) back then in my birthday and my aunt was already mesmerized by the Glofish. She wanted to buy those Glofish for me, but because I wanted just the Cherry Barbs and I didn't want to risk potentially having fish die because of overstocking an aquarium that was questionably cycled (it was not, I realized), I just took my two cherries into the 50-55 gallon. Some people were loud critics because they were either "too small" or "I had no fish" (from someone that doesn't bother to look at the aquarium for more than 5 seconds), I think ditching Glofish entirely was my best decision.
The result: Aquarium is fully cycled with no casualties and my cherries were even thriving. Now I'm waiting for more cherries to ship to Petsmart so I can get a male at minimum, and hopefully give them a school of 5 healthy cherry barbs.
Also, I can sometimes feel that there is something off with the Glofish, and it's not just the weird black eyes that most varieties have. This video helped a bit more with how much more difficult it is for Glofish to maintain their artificial coloring and explained why I saw the "colorful fish" as a child die faster than the others. That was aside overstocking, overfeeding and potentially having either an uncycled aquarium or incompatible fish, common mistakes I avoided this time around.
There is so much more to fish than a color! I recently bought and set up a 30 gallon aquarium that I bought secondhand. Previous owners included everything, including cheesy artificial plants, gravel, and decor. It was already a riot of color before I plopped in a single fish. The fish I eventually placed in the tank now offer a place to rest your eyes when you look at the aquarium: spotted sterbai and julii corydoras, black neon tetras, white skirt tetras...My husband of all people floated the idea of getting some glo-fish because he thought we should have something more colorful. I told him to wait, that glo-fish would clash with the plants and decor, and that the white skirts he likes so much actually have a little bit of pink to them along with some cool transparency that lets you see their insides. It only took a day of appreciating the more natural-looking fish for him to realize the glo-fish idea was pretty careless.
@@organgrinder506 glad you’re finding natural beauty with your fish :)
Did you just call Europe a country? But I agree with you about the glofish.
@@aviation47551 Yes it was a mistake 😅
@@Fishman2114 I see
@@aviation47551 I did realized I did it so I made a note about it in the comments and description, but I can’t blame you for missing that 😅
@@Fishman2114 Oh
i've still seen glofish at petsmart/petco in California, that was a couple months back though so not sure if any changes have been made
They were banned for a while but the ban has since been lifted so when researching this video I got confused with that
My son and I started with a couple of glow fish, not really knowing what we were doing. Now, we have a peacock cichlid tank, an Mbuna tank, a father-son fish tank, a turtle tank, an American cichlid tank, and we even grow a bunch of Daphnia in the backyard. Thank you, glow fish, for getting us into this hobby!
You would have got into the hobbies without the experience of the Glo fish. Million of people have been in the hobbie for many many years without Glo fish.
@@marleneburns7389 no we wouldn’t have. I just told you that it was the gateway to the hobby. and being from San Diego I love orcas because of the late great shamu who taught all of us that killer whales are awesome and should be respected. Thank you shamu for that you were a great ambassador
Always learning something new about fish . Keep them coming and can’t wait for the next one. I’m sure it will be a great one.
More to come! I know you’ll really enjoy next weeks video 😉
I bought these for my son he actually picked them out himself and I knew going into it I was going to be the one responsible for taking care of it and I do well they've been healthy and thriving for almost a year now we added some mystery snails and live plants we have 6 glowfish and 3 snails in a 35 gallon.
I’ve gotten them a few times. They are very susceptible to ich in my experience. The ones that survived still didn’t live very long. I think about a year max is all. I think they look cool. Probably won’t get any again, but still don’t hate them like so many people do.
I’ve never really cared for glow fish The only reason I got one is because my sister really wanted one so I got it and so far it’s actually gone strong for around two years
I appreciate your points, however, I am a mature woman who never had an aquarium before and now have had a collection of nine glofish for the past five years. I love them. I think they're beautiful. They seem happy and healthy.
The fish shops near me won’t stock glofish, rightfully so! But there are SO MANY beautiful naturally colored fish that I don’t see the point in torturing the fish used for “glofish”… we have a tank set up with many different tetra types. Colombian, neon, black skirt, cardinal and bucktooth… they all have their gorgeous coloring that with different lighting (in my humble opinion) look immensely better than the neon glofish
@@MamaMamba Agreed. And the thing is that those fish all have different colors instead of one ‘set’ color like the glofish do.
@@Fishman2114 exactly. Like when the neons zip across the tank and you see the vivid blues and reds as the lighting hits them it truly is fascinating
I'm surprised you didn't raise concerns about the part where we're letting companies trademark genes and the production of living organisms. I've heard stuff about farmers getting sued because their crops cross pollinated with GMOs whose seeds contaminated their fields. Normalizing that kind of thing opens the door to some really unpleasant stuff.
@@taiga738 Yes, I’ve heard about that! I ran out of time in this part to add more to that subject… tried to keep this video around the 10 minute mark
Agree!!!
2:56 " for what ever reason, the pigmentation in glow bettas seem to often result with optic issues. " (Upbeat happy music playing)
@@Fishmansam_wiiu 😂
Living in the UK I’ve never really heard of “Glofish” until I went online and shared my love of fish, and animals as a whole with others. I met a friend online that had a group of bright, radioactive looking barbs that looked straight out of Fallout’s wasteland, intrigued, soo I did some research.
Turns out they are banned in the UK due to them being a genetically modified animal, which, is strange when GFP axolotls are allowed. Ether way, I can’t say I’m a fan, even before knowing how it affects the fish themselves. Green tiger barbs will always be prettier than any sharpie fish could ever be anyway (and yes I am bias)
@@ryaquaza3offical They do look straight from the wasteland of Fallout
Our little daughter picked out a glofish for our community tank. I’m surprised it’s still alive after 3 years. And that includes a 2500 mile move across the country. I don’t use special lighting or anything. I figure lighting that would irritate my migraine isn’t something I want for my pets.
It's true that Glofish are not allowed in EU countries and prohibited to sell. But it happens that private individuals try to sell them. I personally don't like Glofish. Animals should not be genetically modified.
I had a tank full of glo fish as a kid… One day my brother and I were playing in a creek we found a crawfish thought it was the coolest thing ever so we took it home with us had no place for it so we put it in the fish tank the fish were gone in a week
@@codygolden7074 Yep sounds about right… that was an expensive feeding 😂
i have made so many mistakes in the fish keeping hobby, but not once have i ever considered getting a glofish
@@og.shadefur We all start off making mistakes. What matters is that we learn from them and move on. So that we can give our aquatic animals the best lives’ possible.
Live in Los Angeles. You can still purchase Glofish here in California.
Yeahh i was gonna say, if they are outlawed here then my local PetSmart definitely doesn’t care lmaoo
Thankyou for letting me know! For some reason google says they are banned there but I wasn’t too sure so I appreciate it.
They _were_ banned in California from 2003 to 2015 when the ban was lifted. This transitory state is likely the source of the confusion and conflicting ideas. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GloFish#:~:text=Sale%20or%20possession%20of%20GloFish%20was%20made,2015%20due%20to%20a%20growing%20body%20of
@@SamuelSmithJirikiha Ok see that makes a lot of sense. So I must have seen some of the older sources telling me this fact while the newer ones never mentioned it. Thankyou for the clarification
I have 2 Glofish and a tiger barb but their healthy and still alive tho….
I prefer wild minnows.
It's not about cost, it just makes me feel better and I appreciate them more, because I have a piece of local nature in my home. It's more interesting to me also.
I buy a variety of foods so that they can eat different things, so the pet market still gets lots of sales from me.
Well said!
@@Fishman2114 I also prefer prolific species over hard to raise species that don't reproduce without a lot of effort and an elaborate setup.
As a glofish owner, I can clearly understand why they don’t make good pets; they die easily, don’t get along with others, and they are shy (which is not a big deal but come on). They are EXTREMELY sensitive so even a thump can scare them. Even with female fish of the same species, they do not mate at all. Glofish are fine for elders who do not care about attention, but for the majority of us fish gurus I recommend getting the normal versions of them. And no, glofish are not banned in CA bc I live there and not a single police guy knocked on my door…
@@maggietran5170 They used to be illegal in CA but they removed the ban some years ago. Do you keep glofish with their natural variants? I’m just curious if they display different behaviors than they do
Do we know for a fact that the Glo-bettas are blind because they are Glo-fish. There are traits that make regular Bettas blind, typically Platinum Dragonscale, Metallic and Marble bettas.
I have some glow tiger barbs mixed in with some natural colored tiger barbs, out of all the glofish I think they look the best because they still keep those black stripes. I didn't know about any of the health issues before watching this video, in fact I had read the opposite online from other sources so I guess I'll just have to figure out for myself how they end up doing compared to the natural color ones in the same tank. I don't use the glo light, just a regular fluval aquasky and I don't think they look crazy unnatural when they are in normal light.
@@Thund3rfist I will say I would agree with you that the glo tiger barbs look the best (or at least one of the best) because they still retain their cool stripes. Still not really a fan, but I get it.
@@Fishman2114 I probably won't get any more of them now but I will still keep the ones I have. I would be interested in a part 2 of this video.
As a person who lives in California, and fish keeps. Nope. They are unfortunately not banned here. I see them in every fish shop, pet smart, and Petco I go to.
@@HowiTheOneAndOnly Yes, a couple mentioned that they WERE banned for a period of time but that ban has since been lifted so when I was making this video it lead to some confusion. But thankyou for letting me know :)
I believe they are not allowed in Hawaii. I work at Petco, and whenever we get a shipment in, there’s a slip of paper that says “Do not send GloFish to Hawaii”. So at the very least they aren’t being shipped there.
@@Engardian Huh that’s pretty interesting, wonder why that is
To be honest, I’m glad they’re more expensive. It sometimes discourages people from buying too many, which as you probably know happens a lot. People want a bunch fish in a small tank.
I’m from the UK and glowfish are illegal/not a thing here. I’ve been keeping fish for about 25 years and when I was a little kid I had goldfish first (in a good sized setup) and then a small tropical tank with mountain minnows, danios etc
@@jonathanprescott5292 Nice! What kind of fish are you keeping currently?
another thing i would like to add on is that they are marketed beside those unnatural blacklights and are often encouraged to leave them on all day in order for their glow to have the "full effect". i don't know about you personally, but if i am in a room with those type of lights for even five minutes i start to get a headache. imagine having to live with those things for half your life! that cannot be comfortable to any animal!
@@foxfangs4236 I’ll look into that if I ever make a part 2 to this video!
@@Fishman2114 thank you! i think it needs to be brought to light more (no pun intended)
I agree. I feel so bad when I see these in my local petco
@@monkebananaw Most look pretty sickly too
I see them in every pet store in cali but I've also seen an axolotl, red tail, arrowanna, and pacu so idk
glowfish axolotl, red tail, arrowanna, and pacu?
I agree with every point. This is an incredible video essay. I literally was just arguing with someone about glofish and convincing them to not get them last week.
@@Youarat225 I’m really glad you enjoyed it and agreed with my thoughts!
yeah uhh about this all of the ones i bought friggin died mainly those blackfin glofish they aren't that hardy but i think im just bad at this well except for one of my zebra danios i named blue gatorade he survived me accidentally putting soapy water, multiple tank cleanings where we put them in a different container to clean the tank and hes going strong till this day. hes literally zooming around but to be honest he never really had too vibrant of colors jsut the regular dull danio blue now i realise that he was probably not a glow danio cus all the others the more vibrant ones died long ago my hardiest and tankiest fish is definetly my pleco johnny hes really big but not bigger than the tank quite yet. He stayed out of water for 30 minutes because we didn't notice him and survived with only a wound he is so frickin tanky
We seem to live in a plastic world where natures creations just aren’t good enough for some people. This disconnect will lead us down a road we really don’t want to go.
I want a red, blue, purple, green, pink, glowing fluorescent glofish goldfish, koi, frog, snail, dog, cat etc
I own 6 glofish in California and ive had them for about 7 months none have died got them at petco but i do maintain my tank and use the best products like seachem prime/stability/stress coat and always do my water changes👍
I am more than satisfied with fish just as they are, thank you.
Couldn’t agree more, with the amount of beautiful fish in the aquarium hobby there’s plenty to love
Come on guys like, fish are astonishingly colorful beautiful and interesting on themselves but like you gotta actually use your brain to know what fish you like and what if I don't want to care for it huh? Yeah let's make that one fish species have random unnatural colors that make them look like freaking confetti. What? You gotta CARE for these and even more than their non-glo versions? Nuh uh nerd, I do NOT have to care for them as they will probably get some random glo-fish exclusive disease and die after 2 days anyway.
That's what glo-fish owners would probably say if their thoughts were read out loud.
The same applies with guppies (google "wild guppy" and/or "Endler's livebearer").
I understand using them to monitor water and I get the appeal of them as pet but personally I wouldn't want them. I like natural looking fish. I'm not against breeding them but honestly I don't think glofish being sterile is a bad thing because I honestly wouldn't recommend certain fish like guppies and mollies because they breed like crazy and a beginner wouldn't know how to manage that. I'm not against pugs and goldfish in general either though but over time they have had some bad selective breeding. Pugs actually used to have longer snouts and less bubbly eyes. Granted I wouldn't get a pug either because if I 'm going to pay for a dog, I'm getting a working breed like a terrier if I'm trying to get rid of some rats or a Rottweiler or a German Shepard if I'm looking for a guard dog or a hound if I'm looking for a tracking dog for hunting. I'm also not crazy about goldfish in general. I think they're overrated even when they don't have the balloon crap or the big eyes.
Ethics of genetic modification to me is a weird question because he never asked the question if it was ethical to keep fish to begin with? WTF dude how does ethics apply with glow fish yet not with regular fish?
I would rather show my kid why creating a small universe in your home is so great than just buy some colored fish so the kid can put his atention on them for 5min. But i get it. It gloes!
@@comedymental5262 Creating a small world is 100% the way to go! I wish I got to have something like that as a kid.
I personally think crayfish are one of the best aquatic pets for first time owners or kids. They’re easy to care for, forgiving about mild changes to the water, are perfectly happy solitary, and intimidating enough to most kids that they won’t stick their hands in the water to try and “pet them” like I’ve seen before.
@@AlexPeace246 If you have them by themselves I agree. They definitely aren’t the best for beginners looking to get into a community tank. In fact I put them in the top ten worst community list (part 2) simply because they eat whatever they can catch.
I do some people have success but it’s usually with larger more predatory fish so 🤷♂️
I’m not saying I agree with genetically modifying things but wow the colors are stunning. Now back to your video. It’s day glo crayons swimming around.
Finicky? These glow widow tetras don't seem to die 😅
You got yourself some troopers 😂
Same with mine I have had 1 for like 4 years and he is still going strong
Mine here too! I’ve had 3 for a year at least
Yeh 😂 i have a single neon green in my planted tank. It looks so out of place but he’s defending a trooper 💀.
Is their high mortality rate really a result of the glowing and not a side effect of the sterilisation procedure?
Offspring of the few fertile ones should show if that is the case
I'm not convinced on the high mortality rate being the glo genetics part, but more the target market (kids), that's often people that want fish, but not actually fish people, also mass production so inbreeding, I question the low fertility based on the number out put, where they are available, there is many. Once the fish eggs are spliced with the glo genetics (corals & anemones), the further stock is from them breeding as fish do, i've seen many bred on YT with a respectable fertility outcome.
@@zebedeemadness2672 there are many factors that could produce low survival rates. Diseases in pet store tanks and poor distribution routes are also an option since there are no local breeders. Just central breeding that ships everywhere
For me as a breeder ..
First you need to master the livebearers. Molly,platy guppy..
And to keep in mind about , swimming behavior, food, water change, water parameters and Water change
People also dye baby chicks and ducklings, it looks cute on the surface, but it's actually dangerous for them to be dyed.
as someone who's had many betta fish before, they're already a fragile fish - many of mine have died for seemingly no reason despite doing everything right. I imagine the glofish bettas die even easier.
I've also heard it's illegal to actually sell glofish if you've bred them yourself, because theyre copyrighted, at least my local fish store told me so. that's beyond messed up.
@@FurbyFizz I have heard that too, not sure if it’s true though. However if it is that’s definitely worthy to making a continuation video!!!
Bettas are too inbred they used to be much hardier.
In first world country, your statement might be true.
But in third world country like mine where Glofish copyright is given a big middle finger, then nah. $1 for 10 fish sounds like a great deal 😂 especially because they're locally breed in ‘natural way’ (we simply let the nature do their job). Which means there's no further *intentional* genetic modification other than what their ancestors went through.
Also regarding energy expenditure, people here tend to overfeed our fish (like feeding them 3 times per day), so… yea, pretty sure they don't care about energy efficiency.
@@souffle420 Ahhhhh that makes a lot of sense! I’ve heard other people say they were cheap but never really as to why. So thankyou for the explanation, I’ll be sure to remember that from now on 👍
I had a glofish as a kid it was the last survivor out of the 3 that me and my siblings got but was eaten by a pleco that choked on mine (one of the others also got eaten as well, the other froze to death)
@@Daandco.6589 ummm…
Speaking of 3 gallon tanks I got one and I keep three mosquito fish in it each about 1 inch I’ve had them for around two years and they were also wild caught, caught them myself
Not a fan of Glofish but there is a place In the hobby for them... They can be a gateway into the hobby and a lot of kids grow into the hobby more.... Consequently I'm not a fan of what the lifestyle we are forced to live in has done to use humans.. lol
I just got GloFish I hope they don't die
I was against genetically mutated, such as painted glass fish. But I think I'm starting to turn against genetically modified too. They should probably be left natural regardless if it's good for them or not
Finally someone who properly explains it. Until now I thought they are banned where I live because the Government People are little Crybabies. At least there are proper Reasons
Y'know, even as a kid, I felt bad for the glowfish. And I still feel bad, I don't think we should carry on this legacy of fish meant for water testing.
My petstore recently got a Glofish Angel Fish. It was big and pink and looked like if Patrick from Spongebob was a fish.
I've also never cared for the GloFish. see them all the time at local fish stores...
@@Exoth3rm Unfortunately they’re really popular with kids… for a couple months then you see them sell their tanks on EBay.
They just don't look natural,honestly they feel the same like having an aquarium app on your phone
Honestly, the only animal I wanna see in the Glo-lineup is humans. Go on, make me glow! For all the other critters, leave them alone.
They actually discontinued the bettas
@@bigcheesey42 Good!!!
I have a Yellow/Gold Zebra Danio that kind of glows under blue light. I think it might be a half breed because it wasn't sold to me as glofish. I'm trying to breed my fish so yeah 😫
Forgot to add angel fish now because they got them as glow fish to
I’ve had mine for about 2 months and so far no issues
I definitely do not like this fish because they not only look rather unnatrual, it feels just unethical considering that it's genetically modified.
Because it originally breed for research purpose. Somehow after the research this mutant fish with very unnatural color started to be sold toward public, despite not all of them have good health. Worse some people even deliberately injected dye toward natural coloured zebrafish
For more on Glofish: ruclips.net/video/dSkUPJtEuUE/видео.html
@@BobBombadil very interesting video I just watched it again.
I dont agree that glofish are more fragile. Its all about yhe husbandry of the fish. Most deaths are likely from new keepers not knowing what they are going and/or the store selling them is low quality. Get yourself a good store with a good and they are hardy fish, the tetras especially.
To be fair I definitely don’t disagree with the quality/care of the tank being the most important aspect. But stress from moving environments definitely plays a big effect into survival rates. I personally just don’t think they are as hardy as their natural counterparts. Just my experience though 🤷♂️
I love my glo betta. He’s in a fully planted tank, and I have him successfully trained to do a few tasks - but they are unethical. Hands down.
@@exxuus6260 I’m glad you enjoy your glo betta. What matters most at the end of the day is that you are taking the best possible care of your fish (or pets in general)
Yeah i never really liked the concept of them. But then my dad bought some for my aquarium. And i know he was coming from a good place cause he thought it would look pretty with my other fish schools and plants.
So ive just been inadvertently caring for like a cluster of glofish for a while. There has been some babies that managed to surive into adulthood, but compared to the other schools in my tank i do see more dead glofish deapite my best efforts 😢😢😢.
@@victoriadimaunahan3283 Well I’ve said this to couple of other people but what matters is that you’re trying your best to care for them. Whether you like them or not you have some now but you’re still giving them solid lives’ :)
8:00 are fantail goldfish deformed? Starting off in this hobby and only have one fantail goldfish so far. Would not want to get any other fish that are constantly suffering 😢
I don’t particularly care for them but I don’t think they are nearly as bad as some of the other goldfish. For example the pop eye goldfish is one that would absolutely say is suffering.
@@Fishman2114 ohh okie thanks