Curved back Guppy

[Sammu89]

Hey everyone,

I need some advice regarding one of my guppies. Today, I noticed that one of my guppies had a curved back. I bought them about 3 weeks ago, and it's the first time I've encountered this issue, as I'm also new to keeping guppies.

After doing some research, I read that this could be a symptom of tuberculosis in fish, which is very concerning. Unfortunately, if that's the case, it seems that euthanasia is the only recommended solution to prevent the spread of the disease to other fish.

However, before making such a difficult decision, I'd like to seek the advice of more experienced individuals in fishkeeping. Has anyone else experienced this issue with their guppies before? Are there any measures I could take to help my fish recover, or should I really consider euthanasia?

It's worth mentioning that my other fish seem to be fine, and my water parameters are within the acceptable range.

Thanks in advance for your advice and support.

Best regards.

 

[Colin_T]

What is the ammonia, nitrite and nitrate in numbers?

What is the GH (general hardness), KH (carbonate hardness) and pH of your water supply?
This information can usually be obtained from your water supply company's website (Water Analysis Report) or by telephoning them. If they can't help you, take a glass full of tap water to the local pet shop and get them to test it for you. Write the results down (in numbers) when they do the tests. And ask them what the results are in (eg: ppm, dGH, or something else).

Is the fish still eating normally?
What does the fish's poop look like?
How long did it take to go like that?

 

[emeraldking]

A bit more information would be helpful as Colin has already stated as well.

 

[Sammu89]

Thank you for your responses. Initially, I filled the aquarium with tap water (which is extremely hard where I live), but I've since been conducting weekly water changes using only distilled water. Here are my current water parameters:

• NO2: Near zero
• NO3: 18 mg/L
• Ammonia: Between 0 and 0.25 mg/L
• GH: 14 ºdH
• KH: 4.5 ºdH
• pH: 7

"Is the fish still eating normally? What does the fish's poop look like? - I'm unable to provide specific information on this as I have numerous guppies in my tank, and it's impossible to monitor each one's behavior individually.

Regarding the timeframe: I first noticed this guppy being unwell yesterday evening. However, given the amount of hiding spots in my tank, it's possible that it has been like this for some time without my awareness. For instance, I saw it this morning, but it has since gone into hiding, making it difficult to monitor continuously. It's worth noting that all other fish and shrimp in the tank appear to be healthy.

 

[Colin_T]

A GH of 14dGH is fine for guppies and shouldn't go lower unless you have tetras in the tank. Then you really want a second aquarium to house the soft water fishes.

When you do water changes, you might be better off using a 50/50 mix (depending on the actual GH of the tap water) of distilled/ reverse osmosis water with tap water.

Without knowing if the fish is eating or what its poop looks like, I can only suggest adding salt and hope it is eating normally.

---------------------

SALT
You can add rock salt (often sold as aquarium salt), swimming pool salt, or any non iodised salt (sodium chloride) to the aquarium at the dose rate of 1 heaped tablespoon per 20 litres (5 gallons) of water. If there is no improvement after 48 hours you can double that dose rate so there is 2 heaped tablespoons of salt per 20 litres.

If you only have livebearers (guppies, platies, swordtails, mollies), goldfish or rainbowfish in the tank you can double that dose rate, so you would add 2 heaped tablespoons per 20 litres and if there is no improvement after 48 hours, then increase it so there is a total of 4 heaped tablespoons of salt per 20 litres.

Keep the salt level like this for at least 2 weeks but no longer than 4 weeks otherwise kidney damage can occur. Kidney damage is more likely to occur in fish from soft water (tetras, Corydoras, angelfish, Bettas & gouramis, loaches) that are exposed to high levels of salt for an extended period of time, and is not an issue with livebearers, rainbowfish or other salt tolerant species.

The salt will not affect the beneficial filter bacteria but the higher dose rate (4 heaped tablespoons per 20 litres) will affect some plants and some snails. The lower dose rate (1-2 heaped tablespoons per 20 litres) will not affect fish, plants, shrimp or snails.

After you use salt and the fish have recovered, you do a 10% water change each day for a week using only fresh water that has been dechlorinated. Then do a 20% water change each day for a week. Then you can do bigger water changes after that. This dilutes the salt out of the tank slowly so it doesn't harm the fish.

If you do water changes while using salt, you need to treat the new water with salt before adding it to the tank. This will keep the salt level stable in the tank and minimise stress on the fish.

When you first add salt, add the salt to a small bucket of tank water and dissolve the salt. Then slowly pour the salt water into the tank near the filter outlet. Add the salt over a couple of minutes.

 

[10 Tanks]

Hello. I've kept Guppies for some years and every once in a while, there's one with what I think is a birth defect. I have one now in a 75 gallon tank that's a couple of years old and is doing fine. Here's my take on diseases or pathogens in the tank. There are these types of things living in all tanks. Healthy fish in pure water conditions are essentially immune from them. I always add a handful of standard aquarium salt to my replacement water when I change it. I've read that most things that can potentially infect fish don't do so well in water with a trace of salt in it.

10

 

[10 Tanks]

Hello. I've kept Guppies for some years and every once in a while, there's one with what I think is a birth defect. I have one now in a 75 gallon tank that's a couple of years old and is doing fine. Here's my take on diseases or pathogens in the tank. There are these types of things living in all tanks. Healthy fish in pure water conditions are essentially immune from them. I always add a handful of standard aquarium salt to my replacement water when I change it. I've read that most things that can potentially infect fish don't do so well in water with a trace of salt in it.

10

 

[Ram419]

I have one guppy that looks like this. She has scoliosis (bent spine). She didn't have this condition when I first got her I think it occurred after giving birth to fry. Not much you can do about it. As 10 Tanks has mentioned it's most likely a brought on by a birth defect/genetic issue or by some sort of disease she caught along the way from before I purchase her. I bought around 12 fish when I bought the one I have and they all died the day after I bought them. She was the only survivpr and still kickin'.