Glofish?

[Traci393]

I was given a tetra glofish from a soon to be ex co-worker who is moving out of state, along with a small branded glofish plastic aquarium.

(I'm familiar with the lighting, since my husband is a lightbulb enthusiast.)

I added the fish to my 29 gallon aquarium, and 'she' is doing fine. She doesn't molest the walls as I was told she did by her former owner. (I understand this women kept a schooling fish isolated.)

I find it odd that my juvenile male platy follows her like he wants to breed. (His sister is preggers, and his other sisters didn't survive, my bad, and I've been meaning on buying another female platy.)

The previous owner adamantly changed the wanter filter monthly. When picking up the fish/tank, I suggested she put the fish in a plastic bag, and empty most of the water from the tank, to keep the substrate wet to preserve the biological cycle. She seemed very confused.

Once home, I added conditioned water, and used my siphon to clean the gravel. I'm waiting a few days for the tank to 'cycle' because I assume relocating the tank was a shock to the biological system, and the poop was hazy. She also replaced the filter. I want it to build up a natural biological filter.

Question: Glofish websites recommend water changes and filter changes monthly, while never mentioning siphoning. My two other larger aquariums had similar written instructions. Dumb question, do glofish aquariums really need different maintenance or food. Online reviews of their food is cloudier water, more waste, with little difference in the brilliance of the fishes color.

Question the 2nd: I was planning on putting the glofish back in it's tank with my two fruit tetras (I know now, and won't support the fruit tetra industry any further) which are in my other aquarium. Think they will get along? They don't really school, and just seemed annoyed all the time with the zebra dinos playing around them.

OR

Would it be better to just spend $20 on two more new tetra glofish as tank mates?

 

[Kentaaa]

I personally think (from experience) that all/most "Glofish specific" products are a gimmick. My local Petsmart carries an entire Glofish section and some of the products make me scratch my head. For example, a Glofish specific water conditioner? Common' now. Now, there may be something to Glofish specific food however. I'm not entirely sure, maybe someone could verify this statement, but I've been told that the food has special ingredient(s) that prolong the longetivity of their colors. I do know from experience that certain "dyed/tattooed" varieties of fish fade in color as time goes on. Since Glofish are injected with dye while they're an embryo instead of with a tattoo gun while they're juveniles (ex. Parrot Cichlids), maybe they don't lose their colors as quickly or at all. I personally am not a fan of Glofish (I prefer "natural" looking aquariums) but if I was in your situation, where I HAD to adopt one, I would feed he/she a high quality flake or pellet food along with frozen brine and or bloodworms x2-3 a week. To me personally, a fish's health is more important than coloration. But, I do understand everyone is different and that's what makes the hobby so vast and unique

All in all, moral of the story is MOST Glofish products are just general everyday normal products that they market as "Glofish only" to convince inexperienced aquarists and children (the main demographics of Glofish) that you NEED to use these products, and these products ONLY in order to keep your Glofish alive. Although, like I said, there may be some type(s) of additive(s) to the food that is Glofish specific I would personally feel safer feeding them a high quality flake. They also sell a "Glofish Color Booster" in the Glofish aisle which points me to believe that eventually their colors will dull and/or disappear completely and although I'm sure it is completely safe for fish I probably would not use it all just to be on the safe side (especially if there are other non-Glofish in the tank). I try to use as few chemicals as possible in my tanks.

I hope this helped some! Like I said I am NO way a Glofish expert, I have just done a lot of reading out of plain curiosity and spoken with a few extremely experienced regarding this subject. Hopefully someone else can chime in to add more and/or make any corrections.

Happy Fishing!

 

[Kentaaa]

P.S There is NO difference between a Glofish and a regular fish of the same species besides their coloration. Temperaments, compatibility, and requirements do not differ. Take a look at this compatibility chart:

Freshwater & Brackish Compatibility Chart

As you can see here Tetras and Danios are compatible. Of course two Tetras of different species would be compatible as well whether one is a Glofish or not. Me personally, I would just add the Glofish to your tank with the other Tetras and Danios. They will get along fine. I would not purchase any more Glofish. You are basically paying $10 for a $1.49 fish and that's why the Glofish industry is so lucrative for large corporations.

From now on think of your Glofish as a normal Tetra. Completely rid your mind of the word Glofish and any preconceived notions about them and it will be much easier for you in the future to make decisions. Because all in all at the end of the day, it is no different from the regular tetra it started out as before they were injected with dye.

Cheers!

 

[Tropical Aquarist]

I was given a tetra glofish from a soon to be ex co-worker who is moving out of state, along with a small branded glofish plastic aquarium.



(I'm familiar with the lighting, since my husband is a lightbulb enthusiast.)



I added the fish to my 29 gallon aquarium, and 'she' is doing fine. She doesn't molest the walls as I was told she did by her former owner. (I understand this women kept a schooling fish isolated.)



I find it odd that my juvenile male platy follows her like he wants to breed. (His sister is preggers, and his other sisters didn't survive, my bad, and I've been meaning on buying another female platy.)



The previous owner adamantly changed the wanter filter monthly. When picking up the fish/tank, I suggested she put the fish in a plastic bag, and empty most of the water from the tank, to keep the substrate wet to preserve the biological cycle. She seemed very confused.



Once home, I added conditioned water, and used my siphon to clean the gravel. I'm waiting a few days for the tank to 'cycle' because I assume relocating the tank was a shock to the biological system, and the poop was hazy. She also replaced the filter. I want it to build up a natural biological filter.



Question: Glofish websites recommend water changes and filter changes monthly, while never mentioning siphoning. My two other larger aquariums had similar written instructions. Dumb question, do glofish aquariums really need different maintenance or food. Online reviews of their food is cloudier water, more waste, with little difference in the brilliance of the fishes color.



Question the 2nd: I was planning on putting the glofish back in it's tank with my two fruit tetras (I know now, and won't support the fruit tetra industry any further) which are in my other aquarium. Think they will get along? They don't really school, and just seemed annoyed all the time with the zebra dinos playing around them.



OR



Would it be better to just spend $20 on two more new tetra glofish as tank mates?

Hey there, adding on to what kentanna said, I'll see what I can answer.

The orginal Glofish were injected with a gene while still an embryo, then they grew up and they now breed them. They breed true and are perfectly healthy and live exactly the same as their non colored counterparts. Unlike the fruit tetras that are cruelly dyed and live a short life.

They should school together with the fruit tetras, as well as regular skirt tetras. So I'd put all of your various Skirt tetras together and then add a few more(Glofish or regular ones).

The small tank if it's under 5 gallons is most likely not cycled, and even if it is bigger, don't worry about saving any beneficial bacteria. If you want to set up, just take some of your filter media from an established tank.

How big is the Glofish tank?

Male platys and guppies will try to mate with everything! They can't breed, but they'll still try. Might be good to get 1-2 more females so it's more controlled.

The Glofish website and many others manufacturers will tell you a whole bunch of crap, they don't know much of anything. The Glofish danios and tetras need a minimum of a 10gal, with a 20 or larger being MUCH better!

Like Kettanna said, feed high quality foods just like for all other fish.

And skirt tetras definitely don't school much, it's completely natural. They only school if they sense danger, and if they are comfortable in your tank, they'll separate.

Hope this helps!

 

[Scottishscales]

I have two glofish tetras currently in my tank with two other black shirt tetras, two Buenos Aires tetras and about 20 or so neons as well as my other guppies and Cory cats. They do just fine and have been thriving since I bought them. I have no special glo light or food or anything. I just liked the colors :]

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