My Guppies Look Bent

[vivh]

hi,
I have 3 guppies in my tank at present, 1 of which seems really bent. By this i mean his spine is curving downwards, 1 other looks very "straight" and the other looks somewhat bent.
I have seen similar before in guppies i have had earlier, there are no other visible signs of anything wrong with the fish, other than the bentness seems to become worse. They eat fine, and seem to swim fine.

can anyone help me out with this please?
I have just dosed the tank as 1 of my Rams may have gill flukes. I don't think this is connected to the bent guppies but I may be wrong.

I am worried as the "bent" guppies don't look at all right.

please help!

thanks

Viv

 

[KeeperOfFishyPeace]

i'm not exactly sure but i've heard from somewhere on the net it might be some kind of fish TB. it s may sound weird buts it might be true. sadly it is contaigeous (but not highly) and may spread to your other fish, there is also no cure. i dunno what to do except put the affected ones in a separate hospital tank. hope this gives some insight and google fish TB to see if its true and to find out more.

best of luck

 

[WILDER]

If they wasn't born with bent spines you are dealing with fish tb.
http/www.4qd.org/Aqua/disease/tb.html

 

[vivh]

http/www.4qd.org/Aqua/disease/tb.html[/url]

this sounds worrying, I have had guppies that have gragually seemed to have their spines become more curved, before popping their clogs. no other visible signs of illness however.
However i have fish that have been in the tank for 12 months and seem ok. i find it really hard diagnosing fish ailments. Do you think that its worth investigating if there os TB in the tank, do you have any ideas? I was wondering about approaching the vet, I'm guessing I'd have to take a fish for autopsy.

I'd appreciate your thoughts Wilder, and I am going to read through the TB article/s.

thanks
Viv

 

[Morquinn]

I had a guppy in my tank like that for almost 2 years, it never spread and im unsure if it was TB, but she lived a long life.

 

[WILDER]

Are they going thin as well, bent spines yes do indicate fish tb, but if you are not losing fish due to it dosn't make sense, sorry don't mean that how it sounds.
Are they related the guppys that are coming down with bents spines as it could be a genetic defect..
Thats all i can think of at this moment.

 

[Htw]

Don't know if it is true or not, but when I asked about this for one of mine at a LFS, they told me I should feed livebearers, proper livebearers food. I can't remember exactly what they said had caused it, but by feeding them this food [it's a mixture of flakes and dried tubifex worms],mixed in with ordinary flakes if you like, stops them from getting this.

Apparently livebearers are prone to this bent spine thing and the food contains a different sort of vitamin supplement to help prevent it.

Must say though, none of mine have been affected since I started them on it a few months ago, so perhaps it does work.

 

[WILDER]

I bougt them flakes i think its nutrafin, livebearers also need veg in there diet.

 

[vivh]

I bougt them flakes i think its nutrafin, livebearers also need veg in there diet.

The bent spines do look severe, I have separated 2 of the guppies as i think they are swimming their last strokes, I have found a vet that can take a look, but if the fish go off for autopsy to check for TB i can see it getting a bit pricey. But thats the only way I'm going to find out if there is TB in the tank,
I have one Dutch Ram, that has nodule/ lumpy ulcer things, so this could possibly be another indicator, however I must say he has been in the tank for a year and has been well.

The info about the guppy diet is interesting, but i know it won;t help now.
I feed my tank a mixture, tubiflex, mixed flake, and green pellets, i would have thought they had a good nutrient intake from that. I only use fresh (frozen) worm occasionally.


Viv

 

[WILDER]

Sadly it does sound like tb to me, but fingers crossed it isnt
Have the guppys been inbreeding.