Deformed Fry

[Menagerie]

My brichardi had eight fry last week. One clearly has a spinal deformation and another one might also. It swims and eats just fine right now. Looking down on it, the fish is straight, but seen from the side; there is an upside down U shape in the vertebral column (sorry, I don’t have a digital camera).
Last week, when we first noticed it, my fiancé says this happens often in the wild and that this little guy may die as it ages. I don’t mind if it dies—survival of the fittest is fine with me, but what do I do with it if it survives? I was planning on going to my favorite LFS with the fry when they are big enough.
Has anyone else run into deformed fry?

 

[madasafish]

This is quite a frequent birth defect in fish. I have seen it a few times, and have read about it in several books. Some of these deformed fry may go on to live normal lives if the deformity isn't crippling, and doesn't compromise their ability to compete.

I'm also tended to think that this may be the result of inbreeding. A lot of brichardi young are sold as a group of 4 or 10, and are thus inbreeding more and more over time...

 

[Allivymar]

Unless you are going to keep it yourself and not breed it, I'd suggest culling it. The lfs will likely not buy it, and if they do someone else may wind up buying it and breeding it. Definitely not what we want to encourage!

 

[Menagerie]

The fry are still too small to catch. I was thinking when they get bigger to have my fiance take any that were deformed and feed them to our larger cichlids. I really don't want deformed fish and I'm not going to pawn them off on someone else.
I figured inbreeding was to blame. When I got the brichardi, I just said I want two from this tank. I don't know how many were in there. I am hoping to find others, maybe at the next Calgary Aquarium Society Auction--they had some last time and brichardi are not common at the LFS!

 

[hashbaz]

I too have seen deformed fry, but in livebearers. I hope I don't seem too calloused but cichlid food sounds like the best idea. Don't tell my wife I said this - she adores our baby guppies.