R.i.p.

[omega59]

I guess you were right. ALL of my fish are getting the same symptoms. skinny and the top spine humped over. this is fish TB or something . my poor male gourami had to be put down yesterday, and one of my male platies (blue one) is showing the signs of humped head and looking thin, however he is still acting normal. I tried internal parasite med and pease with no luck. I guess there is nothing i can do

 

[lil-x-me...x]

im sorry for your losses

how many have you lost and how many have you got left so far?

 

[Spishkey]

ok firstly sorry for your loss, losing pets is always hard. but dont despair yet! some internal parasite meds need a second dose. maybe you could try a second course?

if its fish tb, thats harder. are you removing the dead fish as soon as they die? i believe fish tb can only infect a fish if it eats a dead fish infected with tb. so make sure you get those bodies out straight away! (i could be wrong but thats what ive learnt from here)

are the humped back and skinnyness the only symptoms? has there been anything else like enlarged bum, redness, swollen red gills etc? how long has this been going on? do you have a link to your original thread?

 

[omega59]

ty. i removed the fish before they died and put them down when i see they are really really struggling and suffering. I do isolate them in a breeder tho so they are left alone.

the gourami his front buttom got a bump he became lethargic and very very pale in colour. see diagram below where i am speaking of this isn't my gourami it's just to show where the bump was located.

this has been going on for a few months now. started with my platies, then now my gourami. i think i lost about 3-5 of my fish

i do a gravil clean (water change) once a week with declorinated water, i clean the glass in the inside, i clean all the ornamints and plants in really hot water (too hot to even touch lol). i feed them a mixed food of dryed brimeshrimp, dry bloodworms, regular flakes crushed down finely in a container all together.

 

[omega59]

here is a altered pic i did to show you what my platy looks like atm.

My Platy

Real Image

 

[Colin_T]

If you think your fish have TB then take a sick one to a fish vet and have it autopsied. It will cost a few dollars but you will get an accurate diagnosis. Then if it isn't TB you can treat and cure them.

 

[omega59]

have you seen them deform like that? top humps over and belly thins inwards? i mean is that was TB does?

 

[Colin_T]

Bent backs and sunken stomachs can be caused by TB but usually only in small fish and those where the TB infection is close to the spine.
The same symptoms can occur from intestinal worms and internal or external bacterial/ protozoan infections.

A TB infection generally weakens the fish's immune system and makes it more vulnerable to other diseases. Eventually the infection destroys the fish's internal organs and the fish dies rapidly after that happens. Until that happens the fish can swim around normally and continue leading a normal life. Then one day the organ fails and the fish blows up like a balloon. Often there is a stringy white poo and the fish gasp at the surface or near a filter outlet. Soon after that the fish dies.
When the infection is near the spine the fish gradually start to bend as the granuloma (TB infection) gets bigger and puts pressure on the spine. This can take weeks or even months depending on the size of the fish and the temperature of the water. Warm water will speed up the disease and cooler water will slow its progress. If the bent back is happening very quickly, in a day or two, then it is more likely to be a general bacterial infection and not TB.

 

[omega59]

yes, it seems to happen out of nowhere. one day they are fine the next acting weird then another day goes by and the spine is bent like a hump slighly. my platies are 2 inches full grown accept for 2 which i have that are smaller ones.

 

[Colin_T]

it could be an internal organ failure that could be caused by a bacterial infection that isn't TB. If the swim bladder pops the fish can bend pretty quickly but they usually have trouble swimming normally and either sink or float.
It could also be genetic or lack of calcium in the water and the bones are becoming brittle and breaking or collapsing thus causing the spinal bend.

 

[omega59]

hmm i dunno. what do you suggest i do, i can't take fish to the vet.

 

[Blue Bubble]

Sorry for your losses.

That sounds like what happened to my Platies, they got thin, hump on their back, they also had white stringy poo and kept resting on the bottom, but were feeding fine. Luckily it hasn't affected my other fish. (neons, danios, loach). My nitrate was higher than it normally is, so kept doing water changes to see if that helped. I thought that was the reason but maybe it wasn't!

Sorry I can't help, but thought I would share with you.

 

[Neon.Tetra]

ok firstly sorry for your loss, losing pets is always hard. but dont despair yet! some internal parasite meds need a second dose. maybe you could try a second course?

if its fish tb, thats harder. are you removing the dead fish as soon as they die? i believe fish tb can only infect a fish if it eats a dead fish infected with tb. so make sure you get those bodies out straight away! (i could be wrong but thats what ive learnt from here)

are the humped back and skinnyness the only symptoms? has there been anything else like enlarged bum, redness, swollen red gills etc? how long has this been going on? do you have a link to your original thread?

My fish is suffering from a curved spine similar to this and has a red shape with a white spot on it in his anal area. Any ideas whats wrong?

 

[Colin_T]

hmm i dunno. what do you suggest i do, i can't take fish to the vet.

you could try increasing the general hardness and see if that helps. You can use epsom salts or a rift lake water conditioner. The harder water would help fix any calcium deficiencies ad if that didn't work then at least you have ruled it out as a problem.

My fish is suffering from a curved spine similar to this and has a red shape with a white spot on it in his anal area. Any ideas whats wrong?

red shape around the bum is often intestinal worms. Try deworming the tank and see how they look after that. Then increase the hardness and see if it helps.

 

[omega59]

sorry we don't have lakes or water around here just tap water. i'm going to re-test my water see if anything is off. i'll post the results soon.