i have six red bellied pirhanas and when i got home from work today one of the fish 's back was curved slightly and it couldent swim good....does it have a broken back? i put it by it self, what can i do or is it going to die? please help!
broken back?
- Thread starter mustangguy
- Start date
This tends to happen if the fish has been sucked against the filter intake and stuck there for an extended period of time.
In my experience the fish doesn't often break away from the filter intake, but if this is what happened, it could have been knocked off by another fish (i.e. got hungry and picked at the sick one), or managed to break free with its own strength. Unfortunately, the fish that I've had this happen to have always died.
A bent back may also be the result of a developmental problem, but this is unlikely in your situation since you say it happened rather suddenly.
In my experience the fish doesn't often break away from the filter intake, but if this is what happened, it could have been knocked off by another fish (i.e. got hungry and picked at the sick one), or managed to break free with its own strength. Unfortunately, the fish that I've had this happen to have always died.
A bent back may also be the result of a developmental problem, but this is unlikely in your situation since you say it happened rather suddenly.
About a week ago one of my platies suddenly had a severly bent back like your piranhas. I have no idea how it happened because the fish was pretty healthy, definitely looked like a broken back.
A ... common problem, often caused by a mycobacterium, is piscine tuberculosis. Very often this a disease that will (be) localized in bone, especially in the spine (but also in other organs)...it is not effectively treatable as far as I know, and is generally caused by poor water quality. This would be my guess....
From http://www.badmanstropicalfish.com/mb/mb75.html
============================================
Twisted spines
Sometimes fish can be seen to have bent backs, a twisted or bent spine causes this.
Fish fry often develop in this way due to internal parasites or genetic defects, in adult fish the likely cause is exposure to electricity either from an electrical fault causing a shock or following a thunderstorm. Sometimes the twist in the spine is not easily visible, but the inability of the affected fish to swim properly is noticeable.
From http://www.pondcreations.co.uk/fish_health.htm
===========================================
A bent spine is a common birth defect, but if a fish suddenly develops a bent spine, poor nutrition from an inadequate diet or Tuberculosis may be the cause.
From http://www.theaquarians.net/ArticlesandWallpapers/fish_keeping_101__parasites_2.htm
From http://www.badmanstropicalfish.com/mb/mb75.html
============================================
Twisted spines
Sometimes fish can be seen to have bent backs, a twisted or bent spine causes this.
Fish fry often develop in this way due to internal parasites or genetic defects, in adult fish the likely cause is exposure to electricity either from an electrical fault causing a shock or following a thunderstorm. Sometimes the twist in the spine is not easily visible, but the inability of the affected fish to swim properly is noticeable.
From http://www.pondcreations.co.uk/fish_health.htm
===========================================
A bent spine is a common birth defect, but if a fish suddenly develops a bent spine, poor nutrition from an inadequate diet or Tuberculosis may be the cause.
From http://www.theaquarians.net/ArticlesandWallpapers/fish_keeping_101__parasites_2.htm
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Thanks for the helpful input mome rath. I feed an excellent diet and maintain good water quality so my guess is that it was tuberculosis.
i checked the ph and the ammonia and there both fine .....it doesnt have any chunks taken out of it.......thank you guys for all of the replys i just hope my fish recovers
I know it does sound unlikely but also seems to fit the situation. Another possibility is the fish hurt itself somehow I guess, maybe running into the glass or something. To me that seems more unlikely than TB, but I really can't say for sure.
I have never had a healthy fish caught against a filter intake. Even my largest Eheims are not exactly industrial W/D vacuums.
