Bent Kuhli Loach

[Merak]

Hi, I'm new to the forum, so first of all.."Hi from Nottingham, UK"
Now, I wonder if anyone can help.
I have a tank with various fish (guppies, bristlenose plecs, etc) and 6 kuhli loaches.

One of the kuhli loaches is "bent". Instead of being straight it's has a (vertical) kink about halfway down it's body, and seems to have a little trouble in swimming.

It seems to eat fine, but I think the swimming inefficiency leads to it not getting as much food as the others as it's thinner than the others.

Has anyone heard of this, or does anyone know what I can do if it's not normal?

Thanks

 

[violettattoo]

I have had many fish that have been bent, kinked, curled or otherwise wonky. I usually pick these ones on purpose as no one else wants them. Mine usually live a good life, sometimes a bit shorter then others, but still good. As for feeding, try putting pellets in for the others away from the bent one, then put some in right over the bent one. Good luck! Your fish should be okay.

 

[Merak]

Thanks for the reply violettattoo.
Unfortunately it died a few days after I posted, and after doing some more tests, I found that the tapwater was considerably harder than it used to be (and was much to hard for the kuhlis )
I don't know if the cause of the bent-ness was the ultimate cause of the death or the GH..I took the rest back to the store, because getting the water soft enough for them would have taken too long but I'll certainly be testing the tapwater more often..and may even get an RO unit if the tapwater proves to be too unreliable.
Then perhaps one day I'll try them again.they were really cute

 

[CAPSLOCK]

I had exactly the same problem. Someone linked an article that said it was "crooked spine disease." http://www.myfishtank.net/forum/bot...ach-bent-half.html?highlight=bent+kuhli+loach

Too bad yours died... I still have mine, he got totally better.

 

[Merak]

Someone linked an article that said it was "crooked spine disease."

First, I'm glad yours got better

Apparently "crooked spine disease" is also known as fish TB (and is very contagious!)
Oscarfish.com :: View topic - Crooked spine disease, AKA fish TB

Although that link describes the disease in a different fish altogether, fish TB was offered as a suggestion on another forum, so you're very probably right.

Well, it's a learning exercise and if/when I get another similar kuhli I'll hopefully see the symptoms earlier and perhaps get it to a vet or be able to treat it (even if that just means to get the water chemistry just right)

For now though, I'll stick with bristlenose plecos *thumbsups

Thanks for pointing me to that, CAPSLOCK

 

[violettattoo]

Sorry to hear you had such trouble. Fortunately when I have had fish like that it was not contagious, just a deformity in that fish. Good luck with your water, it's not fun to play around with.