Fish TB?

[Agent_Scully]

I got two corydora catfish today at my LFS. ONe is albino and one is peppered. The peppered one looks a tiny bit thin and I can't tell if I'm just paranoid or if he spine is barely curved, OR if thats how they are supposed to look. The albino is much more active. THey were both stressed when I put them in the tank but both are more active now, especially the albino. The peppered cory just kind of sits on the bottom. I think he ate but I'm not sure. He shows no signs of color loss or lesions. I think I'm just a bit freaked out because it can be transferred to humans.

Does anyone have any idea of whether or not he might have it? I'll try to post a pic.

[Agent_Scully]

I'm kind of freaking out here. Anyone??

[fishorama]

Which tank is this ? I've had paleatus (peppered) but not albino (aeneus?). Are they maybe a tad cold in the goldfish tanks? We need the whole tank run-down-- size, parms, tankmates etc. New fish need time to adjust.

Very few fish diseases can be gotten by people in the normal course of life, that's not something I typically worry about. Deep breath, it'll be ok, 1 way or another.

[jm1212]

a fish with TB will look like its spine has been broken.

gradual curvature can be the result of being thin or rapid weight loss (i.e. female livebearer giving birth)

[Riiz]

Fishorama, fish TB is transferable.

http://www.aquarticles.com/articles/management/Lawler_Tank_Safety.html

[wataugachicken]

there are reasons for curved spines other than TB, and every fish with TB will not have a curved spine. take a deep breath.

i'd also suggest not buying any more fish until you get the housing situations straightened out for the fish you are already responsible for. your tanks are too small for the fish you already have (according to your signature), and you shouldn't be adding more fish to them.

[fishorama]

Riiz, In almost 30 years of fish keeping I have heard of people getting a mild skin condition, thought to be TB from their fish, only twice. Not a very scary threat to me or others, possible not likely.

[Agent_Scully]

My corydoras are in a tank seperate from the goldfish. I consider all my tanks big enough. I do twice weekly water changes, especially for the goldfish. I consider minimum for a goldfish to be 10 gallons. They are fancy and are not meant to be kept in outdoor ponds although they can survive. According to my pet store I also have the minumum requirments for a corydora. I took the suspected fish back just as a precaution. I isolated the healthy cory since TB is extremely contagious to tankmates. I cleaned ornaments and tank with a mild bleach solution and antibacterial soap to kill of any possible Mycobacterium Marinum left in the tank just in case the cory was infected. He was showing very unusual symptoms that are similar to Fish TB.

And just out of curiosity.... what tank do you consider to be too small? I won't be overly defensive or anything, I take constructive criticizm well.

[wataugachicken]

well, regardless of water quality, you have to take into account simply the adult size of the fish. an oscar can reach upwards of 14 inches, while a 55g tank is only 12 inches wide. how is it supposed to swim normally as it grows?

any goldfish, even fancy ones, can reach a body size of at least 6 inches, plus the tail, and the amount of water in a 10g is not enough for it to swim properly. when an adult turns around in a 10g tank (10 inches wide), the nose almost hits the front of the glass while the tail scrapes along the back. also, there is a large difference in the bioload of, say, a 6 inch needlenose gar (long and skinny) compared to a 6 inch goldfish, which is going to have a much larger body mass and inherently more waste production. eventually the waste (and hormones) produced will be enough to overcome your water changes, and the fish will become stunted. maintaining water quality will be nearly impossible. you made a big jump from keeping them in a 10g tank to talking about outdoor ponds. a 30g would be fine for a fancy goldfish for life. or, get 75g for the oscar (completely appropriate with regards to water volume and actual tank dimensions) and put both goldfish into the 55. they'll live in there quite happily.

additionally, while you may have enough 'water' for the cories, they are a schooling fish that should be kept in groups of at least 6 of the same species for full health and behaviors. while cories of different kinds will be friendly to each other, they will not interact the same way as a group of all one type will. there as more factors than just 'can the fish fit in the tank?'

i would go into more detail about the sizes your types of goldfish grow to, on average, but unfortunately you've changed your signature. . . .

[jpappy789]

I agree completely with what wata has said. But back to the TB issue...

I have a couple c. aeneus that have the curved spine look but are drastically thin. I am 99% positive it is not TB because no other fish in the tank appear that way. Also, the fact that they have looked like this since I got them over 6 months ago. I wish they would bulk up more like my other corys but no matter what I do they refuse to gain weight, which still worries me, but anyways my point is that a curved spine does not ensure TB. I think you overreacted, which is quite natural, but I just thought you would like to know...

[bluekrissyspike]

a 10g is not big enough for a goldfish to live in. at least it has a filter but other than that you might as well keep in a bowl if your gonna do that. if you feed your goldfish enough it will grow really fast and i'm pretty sure 6 inches would still be small for a full grown goldie. i'm sure i read somewhere the fancies can grow up to 9" long and regular goldies can grow to 12" or bigger. save the 10g tank for a guppy or a betta.

[Chachabella]

So any word on WHY a spine would be curved?? And HOW to help the fish?

My betta suddenly had a Horribly Curved Spine. And I really would live some help in diagnosing and treating.

I have had him three years and he has lived alone in a one gallon the whole time. He has been fed daily with HBH ColorBright Flakes.