[msandlin]

I have a 20 gallon fish tank with platys and tetras for the past year. A few months ago, I noticed one of the tetras had a pretty severely curved spine. It seemed to swim around okay and was able to eat, so I didn't worry about it too much.

Today, I was curious what could cause that curving and stumbled across fish TB! I had no idea about this and am really worried about contracting it (or our cats getting it because they're always by the tank). I looked a little closer and there are a couple of other platys that have a very slight curvature to their spines. All the fish seem happy and healthy - they swim around and eat fine.

I'm very concerned about whether it is TB and that there's really no way to test for it. This doesn't make me want to clean the tank or even get close to it! Does anyone have any advice on what I should do? I was thinking about giving the fish away and being done with the tank, but then I don't want any other tanks infected. I don't want to euthanize them because their quality of life seems pretty good.

Any advice on how to proceed?

 

[Mikolas]

I'm not sure about TB, but I have read that certain species of fish such as danios get curvature of the spine towards the later years of their life (a sign of "old age").

 

[msandlin]

The fish with slight curves in their spines are less than a year old. They were all born in this tank. What confuses me is the fact that some are curved and some are not. If it is TB, would all be affected and some dying quickly?

 

[Guy]

I don't know anything about freshwater but saltwater fish larvae can develop scoliosis when there's a nutritional deficit of HUFAs.

 

[shocktrp]

I'm not sure about TB, but I have read that certain species of fish such as danios get curvature of the spine towards the later years of their life (a sign of "old age").

I bought a pair of giant Danios - one of them is normal, the other one has a huge hunch back. They were always kept together & the one hump developed within a couple of months of me bringing it home.