Guppy help

[Boogety48]

I have three guppies in a 10 gallon tank. All are males. I've had them about 4 months. The past week I've noticed my sunrise guppy has been swimming weird. He looks like his spine is bent in a 'S' shape. He didn't look like this when I got him. He's eating normally still but he's hiding behind the filter intake or heater and staying at the bottom of the tank hiding in plants. He doesn't look sick he just has his back bent. I noticed sometimes he swims around looking fine and I don't see any bullying going on. Why would he be doing this?

I'll post a video or pictures when I can get them to upload. Having some trouble getting my camera to work.

 

[domsmom]

I've had a couple platy that have had crooked backs, I was told it can sometimes just be a birth defect...?

 

[Boogety48]

Would it just change like that though? He only started doing this a week ago. I had to put him into QT a month ago. When he got out of QT I took him and my other two guppies out of the tank they were in and put them in my 10 gallon.

 

[domsmom]

I'm not real sure! I know my one platy I have now, seemed completely straight for a while, then just started looking crooked a few weeks ago! Kind of weird! She still eats, swims around, seems ok... Just looks funny.
Someone told me that crooked spines could be due to long lines of inbreeding. You know, since all the fish breed with each other, despite they might be siblings! Lol
Other than that, I don't really know what else could be causing it!

 

[Boogety48]

Sorry it's so blurry but you can see what he's doing. He's the yellow and orange one.

Hurt Guppy - YouTube

 

[domsmom]

Yea, to me, it looks kind of like how my platy swims but I can't be sure! Hopefully someone else that knows a little more might comment so we both might be able to figure out what's going on!

 

[bob mccoy]

i was told its a paracite that atacks the spine of guppys not shure how true this is but look up guppy desiese

 

[Boogety48]

I got to looking at guppy diseases and found rickets. Its caused by a vitamin d deficiency. Once it happens you can't reverse it but treat it.

 

[Laurenn.k]

Hi, I also have many guppies in my tank, seems few are being born with crooked spines. I had a look online and everyone says they should be put down. Do you think it's ok to feed them to my friends turtle? I don't want to freeze them :S
Also, how should I prevent this from happening? They will obviously keep breeding with each other in my tank.

 

[Boogety48]

Hi, I also have many guppies in my tank, seems few are being born with crooked spines. I had a look online and everyone says they should be put down. Do you think it's ok to feed them to my friends turtle? I don't want to freeze them :S
Also, how should I prevent this from happening? They will obviously keep breeding with each other in my tank.

You can try to cull them out the best you can. Look up rickets if you haven't already and see if that fits. Yours is probably a birth defect though. I read increasing vitamin D can help (look on amazon for fish vitamins) but yours will need to be culled. Make sure your friend's turtle can eat fish, I don't see why it would be a bad thing if you gave them to it. Circle of life, Creatures eat other creatures. I myself can't euthanize the little guy. I treat him like the others I just don't have the heart. I like him and I think he's prettier than the others lol.

 

[Andy Sager]

Let me clarify something...

I've read the posts on this thread and feel like you guys/gals need some clarifications.
#1-Fish that are born with bent spines mostly get them from poor genetics and all the in-breeding that has been done to create these different color strains. There's nothing you can do for these fish that will remedy the bent spine. These fish are not "contagious" as per diseases and are not a threat to your other fish except if they live long enough to breed. This genetic "fault" should really not be perpetuated as it is a hardship on the fish to some degree. The choice obviously is yours but my opinion is to try to maintain a fish's shape that closely resembles it's wild ancestors as much as possible. (I know that comment is going to get a big retort but I'm entitled to my opinion too)

#2-Fish that develope a spinal disfigurement over time, usually have a vitamin deficiency which means that you are not feeding the fish correctly with the proper foods. This is a preventable condition and in some cases, when caught early enough, can be remedied with the fish returning to "normal."

Both of these situations unfortunately look similar in the end but shouldn't be confused. You can easily determine their origin by knowing what they looked like when you purchased them or if they started out this way upon birth.

To remedy situation #1- you need to add new bloodlines into the strain to help bolster the DNA. This new fish should NOT be from the same family (i.e. a different sibling) but a more natural looking member of the same specie/family. Do some research on genetics and you'll see how to add good internal genes while showing the external characteristics you are looking for.

To prevent situation #2- if you are only feeding a prepared diet or one type of food only, you should be adding additional vitamins to the water after your weekly water change. This can help prevent the condition. Livebearers often have multiple babies that are disfigured. In nature, they would most likely become food for the healthier fish. (Circle of life stuff.) Controlled, selective breeding will help prevent or delay these disfigurements from taking over.

I hope this clears things up a bit for you all

 

[Boogety48]

That's what I was trying to say lol. Thank you though for clarifying it for all of us.