Platy With Arched Spine?

[KittyKat]

Any Ideas on how I could treat it/make it so that he can at least swim?!

Well, that depends on what caused it. Did this happen all of a sudden? In what water parameters (especially pH and hardness) were they raised? Were the fish ever exposed to ammonia or nitrite? Did you add any new fish just before this happened? Have any fish recently died which were not at the end of their lifespan? If you're not sure, then say what species and how old they were. Have any of the fish which have been in that tank have any diseases at any point?

Come on… we need to know these to help!

 

[LucyB]

Any Ideas on how I could treat it/make it so that he can at least swim?!

Well, that depends on what caused it. Did this happen all of a sudden? In what water parameters (especially pH and hardness) were they raised? Were the fish ever exposed to ammonia or nitrite? Did you add any new fish just before this happened? Have any fish recently died which were not at the end of their lifespan? If you're not sure, then say what species and how old they were. Have any of the fish which have been in that tank have any diseases at any point?

Come on… we need to know these to help!

pH And nitrates are fine, no sudden water problems recently. No new fish in the last few months. Only the 1 platy has dies in the last few months.

 

[Blubble37]

what symtoms?

 

[KittyKat]

Any Ideas on how I could treat it/make it so that he can at least swim?!

Well, that depends on what caused it. Did this happen all of a sudden? In what water parameters (especially pH and hardness) were they raised? Were the fish ever exposed to ammonia or nitrite? Did you add any new fish just before this happened? Have any fish recently died which were not at the end of their lifespan? If you're not sure, then say what species and how old they were. Have any of the fish which have been in that tank have any diseases at any point?

pH And nitrates are fine, no sudden water problems recently. No new fish in the last few months. Only the 1 platy has dies in the last few months.

Since you aren't giving numbers and say that they are "fine", I will have to assume that your pH is 8.0 and nitrite 0-25 ppm. I will also have to assume that you have medium hard to hard water.

What are you feeding the fish? How often? How much?

 

[LucyB]

http/www.aquariumaquarium.co.uk/tropical-fish-food-king-british--flake-12g-16-p.asp
Every morning Every day I feed that ^^^
And sometimes (Twice a week) I switch it with bloodworms

 

[Blubble37]

seems a healthy enough diet, that pic is outdated, either that or my tubs are.

 

[KittyKat]

http/www.aquariumaquarium.co.uk/tropical-fish-food-king-british--flake-12g-16-p.asp
Every morning Every day I feed that ^^^
And sometimes (Twice a week) I switch it with bloodworms

Are the flakes past their use-by-date on a regular basis? How long are the tubs open for before you replace them?

It is unlikely to be the diet or disease, but given that you keep them in hard water… I also feed KB flakes, but as part of a more varied diet.

 

[Blubble37]

same, i mix mine in with freeze dried stuff as well

 

[creeker]

I have a Red Wag Platy that was exhibiting the same symptoms. I had seen this many times in the past, and it usually meant the fish was a goner. So my wife (who does not take much interest in my fish)informs me that this is her favorite fish. I was about to put the fish out of her misery, but I decided to try to save her. I had some old Amoxicillin capsules in the medicine cabinet, so I took one,opened it up, and mixed it in with some flake food. The platy wasn't eating much, but was trying and sucking a little at the top when I was feeding. So I put some of the flakes/Amoxi combo in there and she ate a little. Of course the other fish did too, but I figured it would be a good idea to treat them as a preventative measure. I fed her twice a day with the amoxi,for about five days, and to my surprise she started gaining weight and straightened out again. She is now fat, healthy, and straight. If I hadn't of seen it myself, I wouldn't have believed it.

 

[Dieses Madchen]

My swordtail died shortly after his spine became arched like that. He was old.

Has your platy bred alot? If she has had multiple batches of babies her lifespan may be shorter than that of a fish that hasnt bred alot

 

[LucyB]

It is a male platy, sorry should've mentioned it before but I didn't think it mattered what sex they are. The food is Okay and not out of date, it says use before 2012 so it's fine. One of my females has a bent spine too, but not as bad as this male. Thanks creeker, I will try that!

 

[KittyKat]

The food is Okay and not out of date, it says use before 2012 so it's fine.

…and how long do you keep the tubs open for? A few weeks? A few months? Or years?

 

[OldMan47]

An open food container that is not frozen or refrigerated is typically not very nutritious after just a couple of months. I keep large containers in my freezer and bring out enough food to feed all my fish for only a few weeks. That way I can make a large container of food work for a year since it is frozen most of that time. On an open container the food will still all of its starchy content after onths but the natural oils will turn and the artificial vitamins added to the processed food will be gone.

 

[Blubble37]

+1 couldn't agree more. I keep a massive bucket in the fridge and top up a ten gram container which lasts about a month