Glofish tetras at LFS

Glofish tetras at the LFS

 

Wow. Those are like the danios then?

 

yup. The centers of their eyes are yellow too.

 

Sigh.

 

Sigh.

Not a fan of genetic engineering, Dino?

 

I saw them first! ;D

PetLand started carrying them a few weeks ago, near me lol I wish I had taken a pic of them. They are *really* cool!

 

Just yellow or did they have other colors?

 

I saw them first! ;D

PetLand started carrying them a few weeks ago, near me lol I wish I had taken a pic of them. They are *really* cool!

Lies I bet you I saw them first

 

It just aggravates me that we are losing so many species in the wild.

Fully half the livebearer species in Mexico and Central America will be extinct in the wild by 2030,due to habitat destruction, and somebody takes what is a legitimate tool for science and wants to make a buck off it.

I am all for genetic engineering. It has the potential to remedy so many health issues.

HOWEVER, I take my science a bit more seriously, than to use it just to make a profit.

 

I can understand where you're coming from. I haven't bought any in a while. They are cool, but for $6.99 each? No thanks. I'll take the plain zebra danios for $2 a piece.

 

I can understand where you're coming from. I haven't bought any in a while. They are cool, but for $6.99 each? No thanks. I'll take the plain zebra danios for $2 a piece.

They're $4 each here, and Zebra's are $0.99.... Not sure how much the Tetras are.

 

tetras were 8

 

They're $4 each here, and Zebra's are $0.99.... Not sure how much the Tetras are.

I'm in Jersey, everything costs twice as much

 

tetras were 8

They aren't that cool!

 

Just saw these guys today at Petco....

I just thought to myself...why would they make another type of fish when there are already 100's of thousands of species to choose from...plus why don't we use some of this science to I don't know find a cure for deadly diseases?

 

Just saw these guys today at Petco....

I just thought to myself...why would they make another type of fish when there are already 100's of thousands of species to choose from...plus why don't we use some of this science to I don't know find a cure for deadly diseases?

Because the 100's of thousands of other species aren't making as much money as this patented genetically engineered one. And neither would scientific research. It makes me sick that they use an "advancing science" marketing ploy to sell these things.

 

All they did was stick some jellyfish genes in them, and then found out that they breed true. Not that "advanced" if you ask me LOL

 

$$$ is what drives R&D. If you want to know why this technology is not being applied to more significant applications, write to your senators and representatives. Don't bash a business for being successful. That's just nonsense, as they are not lawmakers and tampering with people's DNA is a significant issue that is totally independent of whether or not it can be done.

FURTHERMORE, the continued R&D on glofish by the company is likely NOT a waste. I'm willing to bet a lot of what they are doing is on a parallel track - the advances they make for their business only furthers the knowledge and understanding of how it works, which brings us that much more closer to medical applications. Glofish are paving the way......

 

Didn't glofish get developed in Asia? I don't think writing a senator would do much. Glofish were originally designed to detect contaminated water. The theory behind it was they would Only glow if contaminants were detected. That failed so now they sell the failure to consumers to recoup their losses.

 

...That failed so now they sell the failure to consumers to recoup their losses.

It's smart, if you think about it

 

There are over 500 different strains of zebras danio used in genetic research, of which the glow fish is just one.
They are used in cancer and environmental areas mainly.

 

I don't think writing a senator would do much.

Glofish were originally designed to detect contaminated water. The theory behind it was they would Only glow if contaminants were detected. That failed so now they sell the failure to consumers to recoup their losses.

That's how our political system works.... you contact your elected officials when you have concerns about the laws. If you wanted to know why this isn't being used for more important things, they are the ones that know.....since it was their decision not to allow it. Everything starts on a grassroots level, meaning letters and phone calls.

That's what it may look like superficially. I think it's a mistake to assume that the scientists that developed the glofish are so short sighted as to only care about recouping losses, or making money. You think these EXPERTS in the field don't see the bigger picture about the work they are doing?? I'm sure they see it better than anyone. You don't think that they wouldn't rather be making a bigger name for themselves by developing cancer cures?? Trust me, there's A LOT more money in the medical applications than the ornamental fish trade.

Just because it didn't work as intended doesn't mean it's a failure - it means they had the wrong intentions for it.

 

Wow Jaysee, I hadn't thought about it that way. Thanks for clearing that up

 

It's not that the fish being sold are being sold INSTEAD of being used for research.
Several years ago, I released 10 adult zebra danio into a thousand gallon cattle trough in May.
By October, I was giving them away in bags of 100 and used the few hundred I could not even give away as feeders for my larger cichlids.

 

It's not that the fish being sold are being sold INSTEAD of being used for research.
Several years ago, I released 10 adult zebra danio into a thousand gallon cattle trough in May.
By October, I was giving them away in bags of 100 and used the few hundred I could not even give away as feeders for my larger cichlids.

So its the price, then, that you don't like?

 

From my understanding, some of the money from sales of glo fish goes to furthering the research organization that developed them too. I don't have any problem with these fish, it all seems like its for a good cause.

 

So its the price, then, that you don't like?

You can not like something and not oppose it Though I think the point of his post was to illustrate that there is no shortage of glofish - they all aren't being sold in fish stores.

 

I guess it is all the hype around these fish I do not care for.
PLEASE DO NOT TAKE OFFENSE, but I keep fish for more than what color they are.

While I understand the vast majority of people keeping fish are not as serious about it as I am, I would hope that most folks would evolve past just keeping fish for how they look.
The hobby can be so much more than that.

This is just my opinion, but there is so much not being done, by both the industry and hobbyist, in working for the conservation of fish, that greatly saddens me.

I am not making myself as clear as I wish I was, but this is the best I can do.

 

You can not like something and not oppose it Though I think the point of his post was to illustrate that there is no shortage of glofish - they all aren't being sold in fish stores.

Both of which are true LOL

My point on the price was also getting at the fact that these fish are far from hard to breed

I guess it is all the hype around these fish I do not care for.
PLEASE DO NOT TAKE OFFENSE, but I keep fish for more than what color they are.

While I understand the vast majority of people keeping fish are not as serious about it as I am, I would hope that most folks would evolve past just keeping fish for how they look.
The hobby can be so much more than that.

This is just my opinion, but there is so much not being done, by both the industry and hobbyist, in working for the conservation of fish, that greatly saddens me.

I am noy making myself as clear as I wish I was, but this is the best I can do.

No one is (or at least, I'm not)

I like these fish, but good God, not for $4 or more a piece! I'm not spending that much on fish that need to be kept in groups, but sure, I'll spend $18 on betta (as strange, and slightly illogical that sounds LOL).

We all have our own opinions And there certainly is more that can and should be done conservation wise.

 

Yes, but the price has nothing to do with how hard it is to breed them. The market (you and I) sets the price.

 

Yes, but the price has nothing to do with how hard it is to breed them. The market (you and I) sets the price.

I know, and its completely stupid, if you ask me! I'm that person that waits until something is all but forgotten about to buy it LOL Saves me money, and I get to hear what other people thought about before I make the decision to buy it or not. If its something I absolutely have to have, or I might die with out it, I ask for for my birthday or for christmas. I hardly ever buy something at full price if I have to XD

 

I too don't buy things when they first come out. I mostly buy online because of the savings. But for every person like you and me, there are people that are willing to wait in line to hand over their paychecks. So the price is set in the middle. I don't think it's stupid for the market to set the price.....better than the government doing it.

 

I too don't buy things when they first come out. I mostly buy online because of the savings. But for every person like you and me, there are people that are willing to wait in line to hand over their paychecks. So the price is set in the middle. I don't think it's stupid for the market to set the price.....better than the government doing it.

True lol But there could be some sort of happy-median.

 

The set price is the happy medium.

The seller wants to maximize profit, which makes them happy. Consumers want a low price, which makes them happy. If the item is over priced, then less people are buying it. True, they make more per sale, but a higher percentage of a lower number doesn't mean more profit. If the item is under priced, then more people will buy it. Yes, moving product is good for business. However, a lower percentage of a higher number doesn't mean more profit either. So there is a sweet spot - a happy medium.

 

Here's my thinking on the price...I bet it is kind of like pricing for medicine. Name brand versus generic. When a new medicine comes out it has a patent and no one else can sell that medicine until the patent expires. The high cost of the name brand drugs is probably to recoup the R&D cost.

I'm not sure if patents on fish work the same way or not, but if so, when that patent expires then generic types of glofish will be sold for a lot less. Of course then they probably won't be as hardy of a fish.

 

Well, that's a different situation (wants vs needs). But yes, the price reflects the costs of bringing the product to market. Like in a bar, the cost of the drink is not just the price of the alcohol, but of the glass, and the ice, and the lights, and the bartender, etc. Some people are under the impression that alcohol is cheap and so it's no big deal to give it away. And they are right, the cost of the alcohol is cheap compared to the cost of serving it.

Many companies capitalize on the newness of a product, knowing that there are people willing to pay top dollar to have it first. once the novelty has worn off, the true price emerges. It's supply and demand.

I think there's still some 10 years left on the patent.

 

All they did was stick some jellyfish genes in them, and then found out that they breed true. Not that "advanced" if you ask me LOL

What I meant was using the following marketing technique "if you buy these you're supporting and advancing scientific research in other areas".

There are over 500 different strains of zebras danio used in genetic research, of which the glow fish is just one.
They are used in cancer and environmental areas mainly.

Yeah, I know they're used in many areas of science. But the company is still stretching the analogy that you're supporting science by buying these fish. There's plenty of better ways to support research.

 

Are you referring back to me?
I never said this was a way to support research.

 

What's to stop people from breeding themat home and selling them cheaper? Is there a law against that? It would seem a bit strange.

 

I agree with their position of supporting scientific research. There may not be better ways to support THAT kind of research.... especially if it's legally limited. I doubt there are many ways for the average glofish purchaser to support such research.