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Disease or Injury with Endler's Livebearer

6K views 4 replies 4 participants last post by  Misomie 
#1 ·
I was preforming my weekly water changes, and I noticed something odd about one of my little guppies. One of my males (Mars), had what looked like a crook in his spine. I caught him in a cup and examined him with a light and magnifying glass. He has what looks like an "s" in is spine (not a super sharp one, but noticeable). I first thought it was TB, but I can't see how he could of caught it (isn't it also only a zebra danio disease?). My next guess was an injury.

The suspects for the injury theory are Mercury (the other male guppy), Sun Bane (my CAE), or Grell (a male rosy barb). Mercury and Mars often clash in battle and chase each other away from one side of the tank (which is pretty ridiculous because of how large the tank are and how small they are). Another suspect, Sun Bane, often rams into objects that are in her way (I sometimes see her shoving objects around), however, the guppies rarely (if ever) hang around the same area as Sun Bane. I think that the most likely suspect is Grell. The other day I watched him tailing a female and chasing off males. During this process, he almost crashed into a zebra danio and knocked over a guppy (I think that he is blind in one eye so he can be a tad clumsy).

One thing that scares me though is that I can't find one of my female guppies. I hope that this has to due with the fact that she is expecting to give birth soon but I also fear that a disease (that Mars might have) that could of killed her. I hoping I'll see her tomorrow. :/ (then again it is hard to find such a small fish in such a large tank.)

So my question, is there a disease that guppies can get that'll put a crook in their spine? (He acts as if it isn't there and hasn't changed his normal behavior at all). Should I remove him from the tank? (my quarantine tank isn't running right now so it'll have to be a jar or something)

One good piece of news is that one of my females finally gave birth and I found a small fry that I promptly named Pewee. :3
 
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#2 ·
I've heard of a few things that could cause it, but the most common one for guppies is Rickets. A disease caused by a deficiency of phosphorus, vitamin D or calcium. If that is what he's got, it's not something that is cureable, but I don't think it'll kill him. He'll be a humpback for the rest of his life, but should otherwise be able to live mostly normally. If it's rickets, you can't fix him, but you can make sure it doesn't happen to the others by feeding them a complete diet and have proper lighting. Unfortunatly, I am not extremely knowledgable on the subject though. I haven't had guppies since I was about 12. ^^; I imagine someone with fuller, better info will be along to help you shortly, and it may not even be rickets, though the curved spine is usually a dead giveaway for it. But this may be a start to help you out, check and make sure what you feed them is a complete diet, and see about your light source info as well.
 
#5 ·
I'm hoping whatever it is isn't contagious....

I also did just purchase a new light fixture... It's light bulbs are for saltwater fish, but I have the light diluted until I buy new bulbs.

Also the food might be lacking as well.

I'll buy the correct bulbs and food as soon as I can. (I'm seriously hoping its not TB... That only bends the back vertically, right?)

It might also be stunting. I have no clue what his life was like before I got him, except that he was almost full grown when it happened (I was able to watch his color come in). (He's in a 75 gallon now but you never know how they were raised, especially if he was a feeder fish....)
 
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