# Older fish bent spine?



## aquatico (Mar 5, 2009)

Hello I have had Rosie my wag tail platy for a year and 5 months now. She's been looking great bold color no nipped fins large in size swimming and eating. I just went to feed them and I noticed her spine was curved :ermm: is this old age or could it be something else?


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

Its not a normal sign of aging. It can be caused by poor nutrition or some diseases.


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## smark (Dec 2, 2008)

I had just had a danio from the neighbor like that. It stopped eating and didn't last long.


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## Kurtfr0 (Nov 2, 2008)

Could be Fish TB.


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## aquatico (Mar 5, 2009)

Hmm thanks everyone. I was told on 2 other forums it was natural especially for livebearer's to get curved spine's when older and/or after a few births. If it wasn't for her being long lived I'd totally think disease. Due to me having her a year and a half and that when I got her she was very big she's probably more like 2 and a half. I just hope she's not suffering. She's still eating and most of her life was given aquadine food which is really nutritious. I was told she's on her way out but that it isn't anything I did nor anything I could do to help, that it was just an elderly fish : /

I will miss her though she's my very first fish I got


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

Well the spine will curve when its not strong enough to stay straight. I used to cull fry born with curved spines as I thought they were genetically defective, but I've since read that proper feeding and water (hard water with calcium salts in it) reduces the incidence of this. It makes sense that mother livebearers get this as human mothers can get early osteoporosis if they don't get enough calcium while they are pregnant and nursing. The body feeds the babies at the mother's expense. Don't feed only one food. Even the best formulations are bound to be short of something. Add variety. What is you water chemistry like? I've started adding cichlids salts to my livebearer tanks and had better success, but my water is extremely soft.

For what its worth, the bent-spine fry I kept alive generally had long lives and didn't seem to suffer unduly. 

According to fishyfarmacy both sporazoa and TB can cause bent spines.

Once the spine curves, nothing I know of will cause it straighten again.


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## Obsidian (May 20, 2007)

I have zebra danios that are a tad freaky. Lots of them were born bent. I didn't really have it in me to cull so they stayed that way. When they matured the signs of this disappeared. Now after 2 years one of the older ones is starting to get it's curve back. I attribute this to old age and weakness returning to his spine. I seriously doubt there is any suffering or pain involved. The fry were just as fast as the others, and this guy is still quick and darty. I think it is just a weakness. Mine were born that way and this is one of the parents, so I think it could also be just a showing of a previously hidden problem.


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## aquatico (Mar 5, 2009)

Thank you both. I do feed a variety of diet, aquadine is just the main food I gave them each flake is different some were green/veg and red/protein. You should check out their site, really good stuff I got a free sample may get more online. Anyway I also fed them crisps, flake and occasional blood worms. 

I don't think she's dropped any fry since I've had her maybe once. Our water is neutral as far as pH I don't have a hard/soft test but I would like to figure that out. I live in Oregon so I probably have soft water as I talked to the main person at the water department. I was advised our water is basically straight from the sky and melted snow. We get it from a lake and that the water is only treated with chlorine/chloramine or something but nothing else is really added because the water is so pure since it rains 8 months out of the year (or so it seems lol ).

I'm glad it doesn't mean instant death/pain she seems fine and is eating her colors super deep red orange and no nipped fins or fungus or any other symptoms besides her s shape.


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