Does My Mickey Mouse Platy Have Tb?

I also thought it was fish TB, but other than the sunken belly, it appears to have no other symptoms: always swimming around the tank, eats regularly, no loss of scales, etc.
Do you think kanaplex or metroplex would be a good idea to try and treat him with?

I got on this forum just to post about my platy. He's a little baby Mickey Mouse Platy named "Mr. Biggs" - one day, I saw he had the crooked back so I took him out and isolated him in a little tank. The other fish he was with have been fine and have no problems. Mr. Biggs eats, swims around, and seems just fine. He's been this way for about a month. He's growing. I'm just not sure that it is TB b/c he's pretty hungry and looks fine other than the crooked back. He does scoot around a lot, but he swims up and down too. I just want to know if he really has TB or if maybe he has the scoliosis that I read about. I don't want him to be alone, but if he does have TB, I can't put him back with his friends and family. What do you think?

 

HI Raychel! I have a Green spotted puffer that has scoliosis, so I figured I might be able to chime in here. Biggest thing here is using caution, suspect TB in fish is nothing to mess with, please use protective measures. The way I determined scoliosis from TB was the curvature of the spine. Fish that are TB positive will have a spine that curves upwards towards the sky. Fish that have scoliosis will have spines that curve to the left or right. Of course there could be rare exceptions, however I haven't seen any. In your picture I can't really tell which way his spine is curving, but hopefully this helps!

I am also going to link a website I think you might find helpful about TB and what other classic signs to look for

 

I would not assume scoliosis, especially not based on the direction of curvature. TB can cause curvature in various directions, as can other diseases such as NTD. I imagine diagnosing scoliosis in a fish would be by process of elimination, after first treating for other possible causes and observing no response to meds, coupled with no spread of the condition to other exposed fish.

 

Fish TB can not be fully diagnosed with out a autopsy and biopsy. The liver needs to be examined as well.

There is many things that can cause a crooked spine. Genetics, NTD, and even vitamin and mineral deficiencies. There is no external way to know if this is really TB or something else. NTD also can only be truly diagnosed by a biopsy. Both TB and NTD, there is no treatment for, and euthanasia is normally recommended. Both are highly contagious, and if this fish truly has it, the other fish have all ready been exposed. After the onset of symptoms, the fish normally passes in days to 2 weeks.

Since your fish has been like this for a month, I highly doubt it's TB or even NTD. I would recommend to look into other things like genetics or vitamin deficiencies.

 

Agreed. The last thing I'd like to say is reguarding the use of medication. Please do not treat your fish with medication unless you are almost certain it has XY and Z. At the end of the day medication is a chemical or compound that is used to kill germs. Treating for something that does not plague your fish can do much more harm than good. Until you get things sorted out I recommend keeping your tank immaculate with daily water changes and feeding a high quality food. This will boost your fishes natural immunity.

 

Thank you all so much for the great advice and knowledge! I really hope Mr. Biggs' problem is not fatal. I will continue to keep his tank really clean and give him a good old dose of prayer daily! I also ordered the parasite med. If anyone has more information - I'm open to hearing it too! Thanks again.

 

Since you said your fish does not seem to be impacted by his crooked spine, eating well, swimming, and being social with tank mates, I'm leaning towards genetic problem. We can rule out a few things if you like, by answering some questions for me.

Let's start with environment first. How long has your tank been set up? Was this Platty in the tank during the cycle? Did you have any deaths while your tank was cycling? What did you use to cycle your tank? What kind of substrate are you using (gravel, sand, crushed coral)? What kind of decorations is in your tank? Anything put in the tank that was not meant for tanks (IE child tosses toys in it)?

Now let's look at water quality. What is your current parameters (ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and ph) if your tank? Do you by any change know the Hardness (GH) of your tank? What is your water change schedule?

On to contagious possibilities. Does any of the tank mates display any symptoms? Rapid breathing, hidding, refusing to eat, broken away from tank mates (Does not socialize with take mates), or any kind of odd behavior?

Lastly, let's look at vitamin deficiencies. What are you currently feeding your fish (brand and if it's flakes, pellets, frozen, live, etc)? How often are they being fed?

That's all the questions I can think up right now. I'll probably have more later.

 

My tank has been set up for about 2 months - I had to buy two more 10 gallon tanks b/c of all the babies I had in a short time. Mr. Biggs was in a new tank that cycled for a full day (I did run the filter under water before that). We always use the water conditioner with the little red platy on it - not sure of the brand - I've been using the same brand for over a year. There is gravel (which I ran through water) before cycling the tank. I often check the water with the 5-API strips - everything is fine except my water is very hard. With about 10 babies in every tank, I change the water around every 10 days (50% water change and I clean the glass inside with their water and vacuum).

I took Mr. Biggs out of the tank as soon as I saw his disfigurement - before that he looked normal. He's still really small. His tank mates are totally fine - I check them every day - they eat fine, swim fine, and are happy baby fish. My main concern is that he is alone - he's been in a travel tank by himself for over a month. I change that water almost daily for him. He eats Wardley flakes - the ones that "don't cloud the water." I give him a little food twice a day. I also give them all frozen brine shrimp or shrimp pellets here and there, not much. I really just want him to be able to be with other fish, but I don't want to harm any other fish. I'm just trying to get all the information I can before I put him back in with other babies. Thanks so much!

 

Do you have Alkalinity on your strips? What is the exact number range on hardness?

Unfortunately a tank does not cycle in 24 hours. It would be great if it did. Normally 7 to 10 days with bacterial supplements like Stability or Safe Start. 2 months or more if left to naturally cycle.

Also strips do not come with ammonia test. You have to get them separate.

I'm going to be honest. This could of been triggered by genetics, and the catalyst the slow cycle. Especially if you could not monitor your ammonia level.

I'm still thinking genetic defect, but once you tell me the exact number on hardness, I'll know more.

It's also a good thing they get a variety diet. I do though recommend an upgrade in the flakes when you run out. Omega One, New Life Spectrum, SeaChem flakes, and Alive are all goid brands. Omega One will be the easiest to find though. Just make sure you do frozen at least twice a week, if not 3 times a week until you run out of flakes.

 

I do have the ammonia kit as well - it's always fine (yellow). I was reading someone else's post who had a picture of a platy identical to the way mine looks and took a few notes from there as well. I ordered him a parasite med that was recommended in the other thread - it will be here tomorrow. Thanks again.