The GloFish Betta are fish similar to the fluorescent fish. The fluorescent fish are a group of genetically altered fish that make them different colors than they naturally are. Fluorescent fish usually consist of zebrafish, Black widow, etc. And a most recent addition to the family is the Betta fish. The artificially enhanced fish comes in various colors like purple, green, red, orange, and yellow. These types of fish are categorized together as GMO fish.
The Betta fish are usually injected with chemical agents to make the fish glow like a fluorescence light. What you get afterward is a bright and colorful Betta fish known as the GloFish Betta. But in recent days, people have come up with better ideas and techniques for producing GloFish Betta. The bright fluorescent lights are produced by genetically modifying the fish and adding a fluorescence protein in the genetic makeup of a normal betta fish.
The GloFish Betta is more appealing than the normal betta fish. You will find the GloFish Betta to be more bright and vibrant than the normal Betta fish. However, like every other Fluorescent fish, the GloFish Betta cannot be produced naturally, which is the only downside of the GloFish Betta.
The GloFish Betta can be a perfect first fish for many people who are about to begin their fish keeping journey.
Origin
The Betta fish are found in shallow waters, and in the natural habitat, the Betta fish are found in shallow paddy fields, rice fields, or swamps. The Betta fish originates from southeastern Asia. They are mainly found in Thailand, Myanmar, and Vietnam, etc.
However, the wild Betta fish are rarely kept in the hobby, so they are line bred in mass numbers in fish farms around Thailand to produce the more colorful and appealing Betta fish.
The Glo Fish are produced by injecting GMF produced by Jellyfish into the embryo of Betta fish egg.
The GloFish Betta are then produced in fish farms around Hong Kong and Thailand by injecting coloring agents in captive breed Betta fish. And the Genetically enhanced GloFish Betta are produced in laboratories.
The Appearance of the Fish
The Glow Betta fish appears like a glow stick inside an aquarium. The GloFish Betta emits bright colors of green, blue, neon, etc. These colors are artificially enhanced into a healthy betta fish. And as a result, a betta fish with long fins and beautiful colors will then emit light.
The GloFish Betta does not emit light by themselves. The GloFish Betta absorbs the light from any external sources like aquarium lights specially designed for GloFish, and then reflects the light through its brightly colored body.
In the end, the GloFish Betta is still a Betta fish, so it’s almost similar to the betta fish regarding the body shape, and fins expect the bright and vibrant lightening colors.
Availability
The GloFish Betta has been one of the most demanded fish nowadays in the fish keeping hobby. Due to its unique colors and bright light like appearance, the glow fish has been able to win hearts among various fish keepers. To fulfill the demand, almost every local fish stores keep the Glow Betta fish in stocks at nearly any time of the year. So you will not have a hard time scouting the GloFish Betta, and it is easily available in almost every Local fish store.
Price
The price of this glowing variety of Betta fish is priced fairly above the typical Betta fish. However, it is pretty justifiable. You can only keep one Betta fish in your tank. So it will not be heavy on your pocket.
A piece of Glow Betta fish will cost you anywhere from 10$ to 20$. You can easily get a piece of glowing Betta fish in Petco for under 20$. The price of the Glowing Betta fish tends to vary with the amount of brightness in the scales of the fish. The brighter the color of the Betta fish, the higher you will end up paying the price for it.
Lifespan
The lifespan of the Glowing Betta fish can be slightly less than the lifespan of normal bettas. The process of making the betta fish brighter and vibrant can be stressful. The genetic engineering done on the fish may cause various complications in the fish. And the fish might be susceptible to different types of mutations. However, most fish tend to live their full life without any complications. You can expect an average lifespan of around 3-5 years for your GloFish Betta.
Sexual Difference
The difference between the male GloFish Betta and the female GloFish Betta is pretty evident. The male GloFish Betta are more appealing overall. The fins of the Male GloFish Betta are longer and broader than the fins of the female GloFish Betta. The size of the anal and dorsal fins of the GloFish Betta helps to differentiate between Male and Female GloFish Betta.
The Male GloFish Betta is larger than the female GloFish Betta. And the colors of the male GloFish Betta are brighter and more vibrant than the colors of the female GloFish Betta.
Social Behavior and Tank Mates
You might have also known the Betta fish as the fighting fish. This is due to the fierce nature of the Betta fish. There is a very low level of serotonin in the Betta fish. This trait causes their excessive aggressiveness against other male Betta fish. The male Betta fish are very territorial and aggressive towards other male Betta fish. The Male betta fish will fight till the other betta fish dies while they defend their territory. You should not house two male betta fish in the same tank at any cost.
Since the GloFish Betta are artificially enhanced betta fish, they all carry the same characteristics.
However, you can place other small fish with the GloFish Betta. Fish like small tetras, guppy, and molly fish do well with Male Betta fish. But if you want to keep multiple numbers of GloFish Betta. You can keep a sorority of female GloFish Betta in a community tank.
I would suggest you keep other glowing fish with GloFish Betta to go along with the theme in your aquarium tank. Fish like neon tetras, Glow Tetras, will be a perfect tank mate for GloFish Betta.
Fish Keeping Difficulty
The GloFish Betta are some of the easiest fish to keep. The Glo fish require very little attention. You can keep the GloFish Betta in a 10 gallon with an aquarium filter and an aquarium heater. You will need to feed it daily and do some weekly water changes. There are no special requirements for the GloFish Betta.
The GloFish Betta garbs a lot of attention to itself by the bright colors. And for a fish that gains so much attention, the requirement that the GloFish Betta requires is almost zero to none.
Tank Size
For a long time, there has been a misconception about Betta fish as a whole. People have been keeping Betta fish and GloFish Betta in small containers without enough space for the fish to swim in. They believe that Betta fish, including the GloFish Betta, don’t require a full-sized aquarium tank with filters and heaters. This is very misleading and wrong. The GloFish Betta also require a full-sized aquarium with filters and heaters like any other fish. And the GloFish Betta will die if the water conditions are poor.
The GloFish Betta requires at least a 10 Gallon aquarium tank. And the tank has to be equipped with aquarium filters and aquarium heaters. You should increase the size of the tank with every fish you add with the betta fish. If you decide to keep a community tank with a GloFish Betta, you will be good off with a 30-gallon aquarium at the least.
Lighting in the Aquarium Tank
The GloFish Betta will definitely benefit from any type of light source as the light brings out the fluorescence and shine of the fish. But you won’t have to install high-end lights like Fluval. Any type of light will do the job. You can buy special types of light made for GloFish Betta. One of the best lighting options for your GloFish Betta is a black light. The Glow Betta fish will absorb these lights and reemit the light. Your fish will look brighter and vibrant under these lights.
Substrate and Decoration
There are no specific requirements for the substrate type that has to be used for the GloFish Betta. However, you should use a darker shade of substrate for the fish. The darker substrate brings out the color of the GloFish Betta to its fullest.
And for decorations, you should avoid any piece with sharp edges. I would suggest you keep one big decorative material so that the GloFish Betta can interact with it. And when your GloFish Betta gets stressed, the fish will use the decorative piece as a hideout. The decorative piece will make your tank look prettier and, at the same time, provide shade to the GloFish Betta.
Fish Diet
The Glow Betta fish will accept almost anything you feed to the fish. And the GloFish Betta will be thankful to you. You can feed your Glow Betta fish with high-quality pellets with a good amount of protein content.
In the wild, the Betta fish feeds on small worms, crustaceans, and larvas. So you can treat your Glow betta fish with small worms and live foods now and then. The GloFish Betta will surely be thankful to you when you feed them with live foods.
Maintaining Water Quality
You should always maintain top-notch water quality in all of the aquarium tanks you have. However, your GloFish Betta will still do fine even if you fail to do so. The GloFish Betta are very hardy fish. The GloFish Betta can survive in very extreme conditions. You should do regular water changes and actively run an aquarium filter and an aquarium heater in the aquarium tank. If you’re able to follow these activities, your GloFish Betta will live a long and healthy life.
Water Temperature
The GloFish Betta can survive in a wide range of temperatures. It can also survive the cold winters without aquarium heaters. Your goal is not to keep your fish alive. You should do everything to make the fish thrive properly in your aquarium tank.
The GloFish Betta prefer a temperature between 72°F to 82°F in nature. You should keep the water temperature in your aquarium at around 78°F to 80°F. At this temperature, your GloFish Betta will be able to live a healthy life in your aquarium tank.
Water GH and pH
The GloFish Betta prefers softer water. The GloFish Betta can survive in a wide range of water hardness. You will have no trouble maintaining the general hardness (GH) of the water.
The GloFish Betta requires neutral water pH. The water should neither be acidic nor basic. The pH of the water in the aquarium tank should be around 7.0. you should maintain this parameter as the pH of water is an important factor for the health of the GloFish Betta. I would suggest you use RO water during water changes so it won’t disrupt the pH of the water.
Water Filtration
You should never miss out on filtration for GloFish Betta. The GloFish Betta can withstand a substantial amount of water flow. But you shouldn’t use powerful powerhead filters. You can use any kind of air-driven filter. Sponge filters, corner filters, Hamburg Matten filters, etc. will do well for the filtration in the GloFish Betta tank.
I personally suggest you use a Hang on Back filter (HOB). They provide good filtration and, at the same time, provides a substantial amount of water movement. Water movement allows the exchange of gas and also increases the amount of dissolved oxygen in the tank.
Water Maintenance
You will not face any difficulty during the water maintenance process in the tank containing GloFish Betta. You just need to follow all the basic procedures. During regular weekly water changes, you should RO water. You can clean the substrate once every two weeks by a gentle travel vacuum.
You can clean the filter media once every month, and that will ensure a clean tank for your GloFish Betta. And cleaner water means a healthier GloFish Betta.
Fish Disease
The GloFish Betta are vulnerable to a lot of fish diseases. The GloFish Betta is a result of genetically engineered to produce bright colors. These colors can give rise to many diseases. The long fins are also susceptible to various diseases. Some of the common diseases occurring in the GloFish Betta are
Fin Rot
Fin rot In GloFish Betta is caused due to a bacterial infection. The long fins are easily infected by bacteria present in the water column. If you don’t treat the fin rot in time you fish will be left with very little to no fins and eventually die.
You need to make sure that you keep any new additional fish in a hospital tank for a week so that the new fish will not be able to spread the disease to your GloFish Betta.
Ich disease or white spot disease
Genetically enhancing Betta fish has a couple of downsides to it. The Betta fish may have low immunity. The protective slime present in the GloFish Betta is reduced because of its low immunity. And as a reason, the betta fish might get infected with ich or the white spot disease. Though it is a relatively easy disease to cure, it can kill the GloFish Betta within days if the disease is left untreated.
Fungal Infections
The Glow Betta fish are more susceptible to fungal infections than the normal betta fish. And similar to other diseases, the low immunity of the GloFish Betta makes the GloFish Betta more prone to fungal infections. And like every other disease, it will cause fatality if it is not cured in time.
Blindness
Blindness in GloFish Betta is pretty controversial. Due to some genetic abnormality, many GloFish Betta tends to be blind or will have poor eyesight and poor vision.
These are some of the more frequently occurring diseases in The GloFish Betta.
You can easily diagnose these diseases with a little help from the internet. These diseases are also very easily avoidable if you take proper care of your aquarium tank. You can do regular water changes and keep the water parameters constant and stable to prevent any of these. If your fish gets infected by these diseases, you don’t need to worry. You can easily treat these diseases. The medicines for these diseases are easily available in every aquarium store.
Breeding Glow Betta fish
You cannot produce the GloFish Betta naturally. Like every other betta fish, they are breed in captivity. And once the Betta fish are mature enough.
Male Glow Betta fish can breed with female Glow betta fish. But the fry will be normal. They will be bright and vibrant like any other betta fish but might not have the glowing feature like its parents.
Beginning of the Breeding Process
The Male Betta fish will prepare a bubble nest once it’s ready to breed. A bubble nest is a structure of air pockets on the surface of the water made by Male Betta fish to keep and care for the eggs. You can tell if a female is carrying an egg or not by observing the abdomen of a Female GloFish Betta. A female GloFish Betta carrying eggs has a round abdomen.
Introducing the Female GloFish Betta
You should be careful while introducing the female Glow Betta fish as they might get aggressive. Once you make sure that the pair of GloFish Betta is doing fine with each other, you can leave your betta fish by themselves for a while.
Mating Ritual
The Male GloFish Betta will court the female GloFish Betta. And once the pair of GloFish Betta are ready to breed with each other. The male Glo Betta wraps around the Female GloFish Betta and squeezes around the abdomen of the female GloFish Betta. The female Betta fish release the egg and becomes immobile for a while due to the force exerted in the process of laying the egg.
The Male GloFish Betta will collect the fish in their mouth. Then the fish will deposit the egg form their mouth to the bubble nest.
The breeding process of the GloFish Betta and Betta fish overall is a sight to see. It is a peaceful view and a prime example of the brilliance of nature.
Caring the fries
The eggs of the GloFish Betta will hatch under the Bubble nest in about 3-4 days. The fry is very small, and the Male Betta fish take care of them. You can feed the recently hatched fry with Baby Brine Shrimps. If you don’t have the Baby Brine shrimps, you can also feed them with the yolk of a hard-boiled egg.
All the fry that gets hatched are mostly normal Betta fish and have very fewer chances of having Glowing characteristics like their parents. The glowing phenomenon is an artificial procedure, so you might not be able to produce them naturally by breeding.
You can feed the fry of the Glow Betta fish with Baby Brine shrimps. This will allow the quick growth of the fry. And after they grow a little bigger, you can feed them with prepared foods like micro pellets produced by Tetra. But your fish will grow faster when you provide the GloFish Betta fry with a live source of food.
You will need to make sure that the filtration in the fry tank is on par. The GloFish Betta fry will thrive and grow quickly in cleaner waters. You can use any type of sponge filter.
Summary
There has been a huge movement around the GloFish Betta. Many protesters tell that the GloFish Betta is a sign of cruelty and reflects the harsh reality of the fish keeping hobby. While people, on the other hand, approve the GloFish Betta.
Without any questions, the GloFish Betta is simply of the best-looking fish. The GloFish Betta looks the part and has a beautiful personality of the normal Betta fish. The GloFish Betta also reflects how far technology has come to in recent years. We can create these beautiful fish on our own.
I don’t think producing and keeping GloFish Betta is such a big deal that people are making it. There are many other bad sides of breeding betta fish that we need to be more concerned about. Many Betta fish are breed to bring up large fins that make them unable to swim.
Whether the Glo fish is justifiable or not, you can’t ignore the fact of how beautiful it looks. In recent years newer technologies have allowed us to color the Glo fish with minimal stress and damage to the fish itself.
If you are a beginner fish keeper and have limited space for a fish tank, the GloFish Betta will be perfect for you as it requires very little care and attention than any normal fish would do.
