Blue Ram w/ severely bent spine...Help!!!

[Sara]

No sooner do I post about my luck with water params in the General Discussion forum do I look back into my tank and see a problem.

Bear, my male Blue Ram has his spine severely bent at a right angle...not a head-and-tails-in-the-air type of bend, though. If you look at him from above, he looks almost like a 'C'. Ahhh!

My quarantine tank is currently being driven back to me (it was on loan), but I'm not sure what to do next. Bear can straighten out his spine and swim/flop around when the female ram picks at him, but when he's resting (hiding in the plants, etc.), he goes back to that 'C' shape. He's obviously quite uncomfortable, but he's trying to eat so that makes me think he's not totally lost.

My first instinct was TB, but it just doesn't make any sense...this literally happened in the past 24 hours (he was totally fine last night when I fed him) and his curve isn't typical of TB. I think it must be some sort of injury.

Does he have any chance of recovering? Or should I just euthanize him? Has anyone ever heard of anything like this?...I did a search but only came up with bent spines in reference to inbreeding and TB.

Other details:
- 10 gallon tank
- temp 78-80
- pH=7.4
- ammonia & nitrites=0
- nitrates=5
- other tankmates are a female blue ram and 4 panda cories.

Help!

 

[Menagerie]

That's a new one! Add a bit of aquarium salt and a touch of Melafix, or extra water conditioner, if it helps relieve stress. I have no idea what may have caused this, but the fact that he can straight out, is a good sign.

 

[Sara]

Thanks Meaghan...that's about all I've come up with, too. It must have been some sort of injury, but I can't imagine how it happened.

I turned the lights off in my tank and he is looking a little less panicked...I hope the transfer to QT isn't too much for him though.

Anyone else ever heard of something like this? I'm still voting for injury (as I can't imagine a disease doing this in less than 24 hours), but I'm most definitely open to suggestions.

TIA!

 

[Menagerie]

I hope the transfer to QT isn't too much for him though.

Me too. Without the cory cats, add a bit more aquarium salt--whatever it says on the package. Put in extra stress reliever and watch him closely. Also (I'm sure you already know this), make sure to give him a hiding area in the QT tank.

 

[vega]

All my betta babies now are 3-4 cm long. Almost 1/3 of the babies are having this problem as well where the body is bended but if needed they still cam make their body straight. they been having the bended body for few months.

odd.

:|

 

[Sara]

Well, I checked on him in the QT before I left for work, and I think that he'll probably be dead by the time I get home...he was definitely on his last legs. At least I did everything I could for him.

My next task will be to figure out how the heck he injured himself...I think, for my next thread, that we'll all play a nice game of fishie Clue to come up with...

[center:327bbc4a8b][?] killed the fish in [?] part of the tank![/center:327bbc4a8b]

Stay tuned for all of the mystery-solving fun...

 

[Menagerie]

Almost 1/3 of the babies are having this problem as well where the body is bended but if needed they still cam make their body straight. they been having the bended body for few months.

Personally, I would cull those fish. There is something very wrong genetically.

Sara, how long have you had Bear?

 

[Sara]

I only had him for two months, and he was fairly young when I got him from my LFS. Perhaps he was too young to realize that he shouldn't have been exploring wherever he was that caused the injury. Kids these days!

 

[Sara]

Well, as I expected, Bear was dead when I came home from work

I managed to get a picture of him so everyone could see what I was talking about.

Apologies for the bad pic...my photo editing software is acting up and I had to use MS Paint.

The pic is looking right at Bear's underside (head on the left, tail on the right). As you can see, his spine is literally bent at a right angle...both his head and tail were resting on the bottom of the tank.

Any ideas after looking at the pic? I can't imagine a disease doing this so quickly, but I just don't get it...

Thanks to everyone for their reply on this...RIP Bear *sniff*

 

[Menagerie]

Sara, I am sorry Bear passed, but it was probably for the best that it happened quickly. The pic did not come up for me.

 

[Sara]

Hmm...that must be why nobody is playing detective.

The pic is working for me, but for those who can't see it, you can view it at:

http://www.ualberta.ca/~skatz/bear1.jpg

 

[Menagerie]

Oh my! The quality of life for Bear must have gone down hill rapidly. I have no idea what caused this, sorry