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Least Killifish Problem

Started by Guest_mudkipzXIV_* , Jul 16 2008 04:22 AM

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7 replies to this topic

#1 Guest_mudkipzXIV_*

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Posted 16 July 2008 - 04:22 AM

I have a few least killifish with a problem, instead of swimming straight and using their back tails, they swim only with the front fins and have the tail bent down like they have a broken back.

is this natural or is it serious? what can i do to fix it? i change the water frequently, and keep them with 3 bronze cory cats, and two tadpoles, along with tons of ramshorn snails. i have money wort, java moss, 5 marimo moss balls, tape grass, hornwort, and an amazon sword for plants in this tank.

i also recently stopped letting sunlight shine in my window and started turning the light on for 6-10 hours a day a few weeks back (which was before they started doing this)

any ideas?

#2 Guest_uniseine_*

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Posted 16 July 2008 - 10:56 AM

Serious - yes.

Try adding 1 teaspoon of table salt per gallon to the tank. You can go as high as 3 per gallon but you would need a treatement tank in order to protect your plants.

#3 Guest_Irate Mormon_*

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Posted 16 July 2008 - 01:28 PM

I have no idea what the problem is, but it does NOT sound good. Do like Philip said. It can't hurt and it might help.

#4 Guest_mudkipzXIV_*

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Posted 16 July 2008 - 02:50 PM

I'll try adding a some salt and see if it helps. thanks

i did remove a few that swam like that last night though, and put them into a seperate container, and they were swimming right today

#5 Guest_nativeplanter_*

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Posted 16 July 2008 - 09:56 PM

I have seen something similar in guppies and have heard that it is the result of nutritional deficiencies during development.

#6 Guest_Mysteryman_*

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Posted 17 July 2008 - 09:54 AM

Lots of things can mess up guppies in this way, from food to temperature to chemistry to disease. If all these fish are from the same mother, then I'd say they had a genetic defect or propensity. If not, then look at these other factors. I know that's super obvious, but there ya go. Since moving them to another container seems to have cured them, then that should help you narrow it down much more easily.

#7 Guest_scottefontay_*

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Posted 17 July 2008 - 10:41 AM

I recently hatched a mop of rainbow fish eggs, (M. kamaka) and had around 60 fry. At week 3 around 40% of them almost spontaneously developed bent spines, with two kinks. I did a little research and concluded that it was possibly a calcium deficiency. I put a handful of soft, crumbly shale (bubbled slightly when hit with vinegar) in an old nylon stocking (courtesy of my girlfriend) and hung it in the tank. the bent spines went away for about half of the deformed ones the other half "disappeared" presumably eaten by the shrimp after they died. I now put some of that material on the bottom of my bare-bottomed fry tanks and have not had that problem since.

#8 Guest_mudkipzXIV_*

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Posted 18 July 2008 - 01:38 AM

I'll try adding some calcium and see if that doesn't help.

i'll also check the other things mentioned and if it hasn't cleared up by this time next week, i may just move them all to another tank, or thin the heard and feed my bigger fish.

thanks for the answers