# Deformed Fish - UPDATE pg2 pic



## dee0107 (Dec 28, 2011)

That title sounds so harsh.
I noticed one of the platy fry (born November 2011) looked slightly bent when it was a few weeks old but thought hey it was new and just one of those things that would correct. I actually totally forgot about it That was until I was feeding the babies (ranging from 4mos to 3wks) the other day and saw something. On one of the ones born from the same batch looked like a white poop was balled up and stuck. So I figured stressed and gave some deshelled peas. Two days passed and nothing. I pulled it from the tank to look better and it looks like part of the fish is protruding from it. Has anyone ever heard of this before?! 

So I have that one and the bent spine. Bends at the base of the tail. Then the other with the anal issue.
Not sure if this is relevant at all. But they are all very different sizes from the same batch. Some are little itty bitty still and then middle and other that are huge!


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## jobber (May 14, 2010)

I don't have a sure answer for you but I'm sure that happens when there's continuous inbreeding. For the hundreds of fries, they'll be a few that will have the genetic deformalities. If all the fish was born like that, then there's some issues such as adverse effects of chemical contamination. 

In this situation, I see you have two options. Let it live out it's life or euthanize. In the fish tank, it is survival of the fittest quoting from the words of Charles Darwin.


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## christhefish (Nov 8, 2010)

since they are platys i would say its normal because of all the inbreeding but not normal for a healthy fish with good genes i would suggest saving only the most healthy fish and culling the rest or just not allowing them to breed and then add new stock into the group and in a few generations there could be improvements to their health


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## dee0107 (Dec 28, 2011)

I'm assuming the inbreeding is from the LFS. As I had just bought them (3 different tanks at the LFS) 3mos prior.

I feel bad


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## jobber (May 14, 2010)

Inbred through generations and generations since the species have been introduced into the hobby. Tragic but that's how breeders breed the beautiful colours. 

Don't feel bad. Its part of nature. If you don't want them to suffer, net them out and place them in the freezer for a few minutes and then just dispose of them in the garden.

Sent from Samsung Mobile using Tapatalk


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## christhefish (Nov 8, 2010)

dont feel bad its not your fault 
most fish are mass produced and deformities are a common problem as a result 
the problem could also be from the fishes age too, if its really young or old 
things just happen
dont worry too much about it


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## dee0107 (Dec 28, 2011)

Here's a few pics

the weird anal one ...
Image - TinyPic - Free Image Hosting, Photo Sharing & Video Hosting

bent fish - bad photo but you get the idea ...
Image - TinyPic - Free Image Hosting, Photo Sharing & Video Hosting

Is it normal to have such a huge difference in size?
Theres 3 that are tiny. The same size as my 3wk molly. Then they get slightly bigger and range almost to 1/2 the size of the 4mos one.


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## christhefish (Nov 8, 2010)

differences in size could be from a number of things 
the amount they eat, it could be genetic, frequency of water changes, or a theory of mine that in a tank with a heater and low current fish that stay near a heater will have a faster metabolism. there are other possibilities too so size is really kind of an individual issue and doesn't necessarily reflect health


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## jobber (May 14, 2010)

Size differ because of when the fry was born and how much it eats. The fries can be spawned between half a day or so, so that may matter. Some grow slower, some grow faster. They're cute when they're small.


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## dee0107 (Dec 28, 2011)

Not stressing too much over size.

Mostly just trying to figure out what deformity tht fish with white thing has.
The bent spine, I get. I've just never heard of the other though.


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## Ursus sapien (Apr 21, 2010)

Spinal deformities in reproduction-age female livebearing fish can be caused by bacterial infections, dietary deficency or parasites. All that goes for the fry as well. 

Genes are just one possible answer. Thats what 'balloon' varieties are - deliberately bred for scoliosis.


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## raeven (May 12, 2011)

Just curious, but do you have any other types of livebearers in your tank? Mollies, guppies, swordtails, endlers and such? I'm not sure how many of these can be bred together, but I've heard that swordtails and platies are capable of breeding together, but the fry often come out deformed and don't make it to maturity.


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## dee0107 (Dec 28, 2011)

No when the fry were born it was 1 molly and 3 platys.
I had only had them 3mos when the fry were born.


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## jirunta (Jun 28, 2010)

Isn't the bent spine one scoliosis? I think I've heard a professor up on SFU who was doing research on that using guppies as a model organism for his study.


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## dee0107 (Dec 28, 2011)

Interesting 

I got a better look at the other one today. It's almost like the anus is protruding from the fish. It was pooping when I saw. Anyone seen that?


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## Ursus sapien (Apr 21, 2010)

scoliosis will cramp the internal organs and digestive track, putting pressure on the area around the vent. Fish with it may be more prone to prolapse.


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## dee0107 (Dec 28, 2011)

It doesn't look that bad. It's normal until the tail starts. Then only that part is off to one side a bit ...
Does that make sense?


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## Ursus sapien (Apr 21, 2010)

dee0107 said:


> It doesn't look that bad. It's normal until the tail starts. Then only that part is off to one side a bit ...
> Does that make sense?


yup, there are degrees of severity. The photo of the Heterandria shows a pretty bad case.


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## dee0107 (Dec 28, 2011)

So I decided to pull all the fish and do a good deep gravel clean. I've never actually done one with my fry tank. Well after pulling the fish I was surprised.

I had mentioned the size difference.
Well all the fish that never grew like the others have a bent spine!

Here's some pics ...

*close up*
Image - TinyPic - Free Image Hosting, Photo Sharing & Video Hosting

*all the deformed fish*
Image - TinyPic - Free Image Hosting, Photo Sharing & Video Hosting

*the rest of the platy babies (including a 4wk old molly)*
http://i42.tinypic.com/xmq1kw.jpg

I know what I have to do but don't want too

.


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## Ursus sapien (Apr 21, 2010)

that isn't too bad, as these things go. Obviously they need to be seperated, but you could always set up a retirement home for them. I have several, now: a twenty for geriatric/disabled white clouds, a five for heterandria and a two-point-five for a couple of fin-deformed killies. Life is life, and, as long as they're not in distress or don't have a seriously painful condition like moderate to severe scoliosis, I let them be.


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## eywa (Jan 18, 2012)

It looks cute. But anyway in a single brood, there are bound to be defects and abnormalities. I seen before guppy fry without fins and some turn out to be runts but that is as far as it goes. Never mind, if it's living happily and surviving, then just leave it as it is.


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