Bent Kuhli Loach

[Merak]

Hi, I'm new to the forum, so first of all.."Hi from Nottingham, UK"
Now, I wonder if anyone can help.
I have a tank with various fish (guppies, bristlenose plecs, etc) and 6 kuhli loaches.

One of the kuhli loaches is "bent". Instead of being straight it's has a (vertical) kink about halfway down it's body, and seems to have a little trouble in swimming.

It seems to eat fine, but I think the swimming inefficiency leads to it not getting as much food as the others as it's thinner than the others.

Has anyone heard of this, or does anyone know what I can do if it's not normal?

Thanks

 

[LucyHurst]

Has he always been like it?
It could be from pysical trauma.. but I think bent spines are a sign of fish TB.

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Hi and welcome to the forum !
It does sound unusual, but there are quite a things which could led to such a condition such as fish TB or physical injury.
Can you get any pics of the loach? That would help a lot. Is the kink damaged in any way like being red/inflamed or have any cottonly growths on it? How many gallons is the tank and what other fish do you have in it and how many? Does the loach look underweight at all, particually in comparison to the other loaches? Does it spend its time hiding or in the open? Do you have any cover for the loach, and if so, what do you use ? Can you see any other symptoms in the loach or other fish in the tank?

 

[Merak]

Sorry for the late reply
I was trying to get a photo.. and of course the other 5 decided to play along and I either had a writhing mass of loaches, or the wrong ones

Anyway, unfortunately last night I found a dead loach. I don't know if it was the bent one, as I have yet to see the whole of all 5 of the others (they poke their heads out of their cave, or 2 or 3 of them will come out, but not all 5 yet).

In a way I hope it was the "bent" one that died
Graphic detail below - select to read - do not select if sensitive to details:
I couldn't see anything wrong with the dead loach. Due to the death it was bloated, and so it looked fatter and bent backwards (so any kink would have been invisible).
The body was a little red, so it may have been bacterial.

If I find that it was just a coincidence and that I do find the bent one, I'll get a picture, and repost the question

Thank you for your time