Guppy With Tb?

I have a frat of 9 guppies in a 20 gallon. All params have been fine, tank is cycled. So far so good. One of my guppies was really really fat so I decided to fast the tank for just three days. I come back to examine and all the guppies look fine except the really fat one is fatter on one side and is a bit bent. Is this TB? And if so, is the best course of action euthanasia?

 

Can we get a picture from the side?

 

Lemme see if I can get one. Also I left for like 3 minutes and I came back and he is flopping on the ground on the other side of the table so that was quite the experience. Lemme see if I can get a better picture.

 

Not the best pictures but I am honestly just real scared of contracting fish TB

 

Really not in the mood to contract zoonotic diseases.

 

It doesn't look like fish Tb to me. Gypsy13 endlercollector

 

If not TB then why is he bent? Is there any hope for him? Other than the bend he acts fine

 

Really not in the mood to contract zoonotic diseases.

Don't worry your not gonna catch fish TB. If that were a big thing I would have it by now, ten years in the hobby and my entire life out at the lake fishing and swimming and boating what have you.
There are lots of reasons a guppy's spine bends, first of all, they have big tails, and they have long skinny spines. Old age, will usually mean they get droopy, almost always, and 100% normal for a guppy over one year old to be a bit droopy, especially a stressed female non stop breeding.
Environmental changes, lack of light, vitamin D deficiency, calcium deficiency, chemicals in the water from old pipes or air pollution
Diseases from parasites, tiny spore creatures can burrow into their skin and into their spine cartilidge, they are call myxosporazan parasites,
Unless the guppy's back continues to bend or get worse, I wouldn't worry about it.
Then If it continues to detoriate, just drop it in a cup with ice water.
Its not really very contagious, usually outbreaks occur because too many guppies in one tank and they will nibble on the dead one. That's why keeping a clean tank and not overstocking too much is important with guppies, contrary to what people tell you, they are not the hardy fish they once were!

 

Ok thank you so much for that tid bit of info. I know close to nothing about fish TB so when I see a curved spine I freak. Is there anything I can do for him or should I just kinda let him back in and see what happens?

 

Ok thank you so much for that tid bit of info. I know close to nothing about fish TB so when I see a curved spine I freak. Is there anything I can do for him or should I just kinda let him back in and see what happens?

There are a lot of reasons for a fish’s spine to curve or bend. Injury (you did say frat) vitamin deficiency, electric shock. And I’ve been in the middle of fish Tb for too long. I want to lecture every time. Wash your hands after “tanking”. Use alcohol based sanitizer. Don’t worry. If he’s eating and swimming ok (especially after the dry spell on the table), keep him separated from the others a bit and watch for any worsening. If you decide on euthanasia, please do not drop him into a cup of ice water. This method causes extreme stress. If you want to go the “ice” method, put him in a bowl or baggie with his normal water and float the bag or container on top of ice water. Acclimate him to the cold slowly. I’d prefer clove oil or even the physical ways others use.

 

I will keep watching him for the time being and if he worsens to the point of no return, I will pick up some clove oil. Thank you so much for the help.

 

This isn't TB, it's just some kind of scoliosis. It's not TB at all, as this is a sideways curve and now a C curve with a gaunt chest and tail dragging downward. I've had adults where an inherited tendency toward scoliosis only became obvious later while some of their siblings had it from birth. I wouldn't worry about it myself as you're not breeding these fish.

 

This isn't TB, it's just some kind of scoliosis. It's not TB at all, as this is a sideways curve and now a C curve with a gaunt chest and tail dragging downward. I've had adults where an inherited tendency toward scoliosis only became obvious later while some of their siblings had it from birth. I wouldn't worry about it myself as you're not breeding these fish.

You know I have a lot of respect for you. But spinal deformities due to fish Tb don’t follow a specific pattern in all individuals. I do agree this is most probably not fish Tb. But, the only way to give an absolute statement that it is not fish Tb, a culture has to be made. Then and only then will anyone know positively that m.marina was not involved.

 

You know I have a lot of respect for you. But spinal deformities due to fish Tb don’t follow a specific pattern in all individuals. I do agree this is most probably not fish Tb. But, the only way to give an absolute statement that it is not fish Tb, a culture has to be made. Then and only then will anyone know positively that m.marina was not involved.

Yes, a tissue culture is the only absolutely way to tell. However, I've had thousands of livebearers over more than 40 years, been wiped out by TB too many times to mention, and their backs always had the C curve and no other. I've had lots of fish with all sorts of scoliosis, too. No, I'm not a professor of biology, I just hang out with them.

 

endlercollector could you like upload some pictures of what a guppy with TB looks like. Coz to me, if the spine is bent sharply enough, and the fish gets flat bellied and swims like a shark gliding around in the water, then that guppy has TB and it needs to be euthanized. There are babies born with cuved spines all the time, and adults get droopy tailed as they get around and over a year old, but specific bending of the spine and staying that way, when the guppy is and adult and was before straight backed, tell me that its TB.
My point is there are lots of symptoms that hint and TB and probably is, a lot of fish carry it at low levels and live normal lives.

 

Whitewolf

I've been looking around for photos but haven't found the s that I did a while back and posted on some old threads that I can't find either. I'll look some more tomorrow.

In the meantime, here are a couple of interesting articles about idiopathic scoliosis in zebrafish. Please note that the C they mention is sideways when viewed from above. The shapes in the at the start are all ones I've seen in a group of badly inbred Endler/guppy hybrids that I got stuck with. https://www.wired.com/2016/07/fish-creepy-curved-spines-help-explain-scoliosis/
https://idp.nature.com/transit?redi...777&code=3d8df703-a8df-483a-a04f-535df9e93979

 

Whitewolf

I've been looking around for photos but haven't found the s that I did a while back and posted on some old threads that I can't find either. I'll look some more tomorrow.

In the meantime, here are a couple of interesting articles about idiopathic scoliosis in zebrafish. Please note that the C they mention is sideways when viewed from above. The shapes in the at the start are all ones I've seen in a group of badly inbred Endler/guppy hybrids that I got stuck with. https://www.wired.com/2016/07/fish-creepy-curved-spines-help-explain-scoliosis/
https://idp.nature.com/transit?redi...777&code=3d8df703-a8df-483a-a04f-535df9e93979

Hey. I’m no longer a researcher, I just work with them. I’ve been dealing with fish Tb since the early 70’s when it was harder to come by. Not arguing. Not taking away from OP’s thread. But if you think the spinal curve can only go one way, you’re wrong. Not only can it go c shaped, it can also go z shaped. Or like the last guppy I had to euthanize it could curve sharply downward then back up in a horribly that has to hurt v. Mine have been cultured. Mine are positive for M. Marinum. The ones with symptoms now are tumors but if I get a spinal deformity, I’ll get pics. I’m might have one of Ginger!


This pic shows the sharp v starting.


This pic shows the curve. She ended up zigzag.