# my guppy has a curved spine



## steve123 (May 11, 2013)

hello,my guppy has a curved spine he was fine yesterday but today when i woke up i saw him with a curved spine and clamped fins . the fishes it my tank get excited when i come by the tank but this time i saw my poor guppy slowly swimming with his tail bent.
i have a 20 gallon planted tank , been running for 4 months . i haven t checked my water parameters because i dont have a test kit but i will go to the store to check it.
only one guppy has the curved spine. i have 2 oddesa barbs,4 otto fish,4 guppies,one angle fish ( the smallest kind ) 3 fish i still haven t identified and 3 neons which im going to return. i will do a water change today.the fish you see in the middle is the sick guppy sorry for the horrible pic guys


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

Hi there. You may want to get that guppy out and into his own tank if you can, if he's still with us. Normally, when a fish is okay one day and then has a spine defect the next day, it's a good sign the fish has mycobacteria. This disease causes wasting away in fish, lethargy, sores, and spinal defects. The reason for the spine defects is mycobacteria causes these little growths inside called granuloma. The granuloma can attach to the stomach walls and to the spine itself and get so big that it literally causes the spine to collapse.  Unfortunately, mycobacteria is highly contagious and also virtually non-curable so isolating any infected fish is the best course of action.

However, there is a second possibility and that is injury. Odessa barbs can sometimes be aggressive toward smaller fish, particularly when there are only a few barbs. It is possible that your barbs picked on the guppy and broke or injured his spine. If you can, you may want to get at least two more barbs. 

Either way, your best course of action is to remove the affected guppy to his own tank.


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