Hey everybody, this is Grandma my scoliosis guppy. She was the last not in tank-bred guppy I purchased. She’s always been on the smaller side (although she is fed very good if not too much). After her first round of baby’s I noticed she developed scoliosis a few months ago.
I read up on it and found they’re prone to it. She lives a great life in the jungle tank, the males don’t try to breed her anymore. She swims around just fine (although a little funny) and overall I don’t think she has any debilitating issues…. Yet.
My general feedback I’m looking for is, what else can I do to make sure she has a good rest of her life? Like I said she’s well taken care of and eats / swims still. I figure at some point I’ll have to put her down but until then I want to make sure she lives good. She’s always fed first and I stay there watching to make sure she gets her food. Thank you!
Posted by superpopularloser
3 Comments
Commenting because I’d like to know the answer
Ah yes… guppies, the most mystery genes fish you’ll ever see. As someone breeding guppies, I can tell you that defects happen a lot. Don’t worry, that bent spine is…impressive, but based on what I read, it seems like she’s doing quite fine! I like to have my tank of shame place for all the oddity fry to live together so they’re not bullied, and let me tell you they live quite good! Some are missing their caudal fins, others have fd up faces… but overall I let them enjoy a bit of life before something internal catches up to them (a bent spine is probably obstructing SOMETHING on the inside) and I just put them to sleep with some clove oil… don’t tell anyone this but sometimes I give them to people and they proooobably get fed to bigger fish… but we don’t talk about that. Bref, you’re fine, your fish is alive and eating well? ultimately its your choice if you want to end its life ethically or to keep it alive! Both are good choices in my book.
I believe you’re actually looking for the word kyphosis!
I had a guppy with scoliosis and his name was squiggles, he had it from birth and he lived a great full life. His death was sudden, I didn’t see it coming so there was no contemplation of euthanasia for me. He was put in a tank without any females.
I think you’re doing everything right for her and I hope she lives the rest of her days well.