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Guppies with curved spine

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2.1K views 9 replies 5 participants last post by  jaysee  
T
#1 ·
Hello,
I´ve bought some guppies last month (2 males and 2 females(I know this isn´t the correct ratio for breeding)), and one female guppy gave birth to around 15-20 guppies, most survived but some have curved spines (they also swim a bit funny), I had this problem some years ago and I posted it here but didn´t get any proper reply and couldn´t find anything on the internet about it, and now I can see more cases about it so I guess it´s a bigger problem nowadays. My problem is that I don´t know if I should separate the guppies with a curved spine from the other guppies and keep feeding them well so they can grow in a proper way but this way they might reproduce in the future which will carry on the disease. Or maybe I should let them die or be eaten by the others which will stop the disease from spreading. Does anyone know the best way to deal with this problem?
Thanks.
 
T
#3 ·
I never thought of that, but yes I´m pretty sure it was at night. It was quite some time ago, the guppies reproduced a lot more, some at night and some in the day. But none of the fry had curved spines anymore, so it´s not a problem anymore, I think the cause of the curved spine is either genetic, malnutrition or a disease linked to malnutrition/genetics, I´ve read a bit more on the internet and that´s my conclusion.
 
#4 ·
You are absolutely right. It has nothing to do with the amount of light the tank gets. They OFTEN give birth at night.

Guppyfish I accidentally thanked you - don't want you to think I was taunting you or anything like that.
 
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#6 ·
I've heard rumors that if calcium content - aka: high hardness - it helps reduce the amount of fry with a deformed back. But I personally believe its linked with inbreeding and from that, genetics. Personally, increasing the gene pool - by sourcing guppies from other places - would minimise curved spines...
 
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#8 ·
What have you done to harden the water?

I too have heard that harder water helps with development.
 
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T
#9 ·
I use limestone rocks to decorate my aquarium, these rocks are from the coast (5min from were i live), I use the rock because it has a nice texture and it looks really good in aquariums. I occasionally put some vinegar in the aquarium to balance the ph level and increase water hardness, it increases the water hardness because the vinegar reacts with the limestone and releases some minerals like calcium carbonate (hydrogen carbonate) which makes the water hard.
 
#10 ·
Cool! Yeah I don't mess with the water chemistry so it sounds like you've got a better handle on all that than I ever will :)
 
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