Gene-Altering Revolution Nears the Pet Store: Glow-in-the-Dark Fish

The genetically engineered pet appears to have arrived.

In a development that is likely to inspire both fascination and alarm, a Texas company said yesterday that it would soon start selling a genetically engineered aquarium fish that glows in the dark.

The GloFish, as it is called, is a zebra fish containing a gene from a sea coral that makes the fish bright red under normal light and fluorescent under ultraviolet light. Zebra fish, about an inch and a half long, are normally silver and black.


The company selling the fish, Yorktown Technologies, of Austin, calls the fish "a miracle of science" and said sales would begin Jan. 5 through pet stores.