SACRAMENTO, CALIF. ? The nation’s first genetically altered household pet — a fish that glows in the dark — is set to begin appearing in stores next month everywhere except perhaps California, the only state with a ban on lab-engineered species.

Today, the California Fish and Game Commission is scheduled to take up an application from Yorktown Technologies of Austin, Texas, to market the GloFish in California.

State wildlife officials have concluded that the Florida-grown fluorescent zebra fish poses no danger, and they have recommended that the state exempt it from the ban. But environmental and public interest groups, along with commercial fishermen, oppose an exemption.

The GloFish was developed by scientists in Singapore who found they could turn the normally black-and-silver zebra fish green or red by inserting genes from jellyfish or a sea anemone. The tropical fish appear to glow in rooms lit with ultraviolet or black light.

California’s regulations against what critics call “Frankenfish” were prompted by fears that genetically altered farmed fish, such as salmon, could get loose and devastate the state’s wild populations.

The fluorescent fish, however, are even less tolerant of cold water than natural zebra fish and are unlikely to survive if they escape, the Fish and Game Department said in recommending an exemption. Independent researchers also found that no harm would come from eating the fish.

The fluorescent zebra fish could begin appearing next month in pet stores across the nation, except perhaps California, the only state with a ban on lab-engineered species. The fish glow in the dark.