Curved Guppy?

[Zac]

Hey all,

I’m trying to figure out if my guppy has a slightly curved spine. Sometimes he will droop his tail down but he has had a few stressful days with shipping and whatnot. He eats fine but sometimes in the morning I’ll see him resting in the bottom. He’s gotten much better since I treated the tank with Kanaplex for suspected fin rot. He’s been trying to breed with the female which is a good sign. My end goal is to use him for breeding and I’m trying to determine if he’s a healthy male or not (he’s not fully colored yet)

Edited July 24, 2022 by Zac

[lefty o]

fairly common with males with large tails. its just the size/weight of the tail, and they let them sag. when they get old they tend to swim nose high because of it.

[Zac]

On 7/23/2022 at 11:46 PM, lefty o said:

fairly common with males with large tails. its just the size/weight of the tail, and they let them sag. when they get old they tend to swim nose high because of it.

Would you consider this a large tail? I’ve seen guppies with much larger tails and this seems much smaller than ones I’ve seen. As long as there’s no scoliosis or anything I’m fine with it

[lefty o]

its not a huge tail, but is large, and over time he will struggle with it.

[Colu]

It common for guppies with larger tail's to suffer from scoliosis 

[Zac]

On 7/24/2022 at 9:05 PM, Colu said:

It common for guppies with larger tail's to suffer from scoliosis 

Would it be obvious if he has scoliosis? I feel like if I’m like “well he might but I just don’t know” then he probably doesn’t. I’ve seen guppies with scoliosis and they look far worse than him 

[Colu]

I didn't mean he had scoliosis I was just saying that it's common in guppies with larger tail's he doesn't look to bad to me

[Minanora]

Also, guppies with larger tails do go rest on the bottom of the tank. All of my delta tail guppies go take breaks. Even ones I bred and gave lots of exercise when they were young. They just get tired.

Most commercial breeders don't give them enough exercise. Some are even raised in nearly still water. So the fish you start with will be less robust.

 

If you are going to breed, I recommended using a powerhead to exercise the young juvenile guppies so they have better bone and muscle development. Feeding will be important as well. Variety and frequency. Especially if they're getting lots of exercise.

[Zac]

On 7/25/2022 at 9:05 AM, Minanora said:

Also, guppies with larger tails do go rest on the bottom of the tank. All of my delta tail guppies go take breaks. Even ones I bred and gave lots of exercise when they were young. They just get tired.

Most commercial breeders don't give them enough exercise. Some are even raised in nearly still water. So the fish you start with will be less robust.

 

If you are going to breed, I recommended using a powerhead to exercise the young juvenile guppies so they have better bone and muscle development. Feeding will be important as well. Variety and frequency. Especially if they're getting lots of exercise.

Could I send a bunch of air through a sponge filter or would a powerhead be better? I’ll have to invest in an auto feeder to feed 4 times per day because I’m usually at school all day most days per week and I can only feed when I wake up, when I get home, and when I go to bed. I’ve never used them though because I’m a little paranoid of it overfeeding on accident. I have noticed my guppy laying on the ground at night. Did you do a test to see how much exercise effects adult life of guppies? 

[Guppysnail]

@Zac excess bubbles are fine. A small powerhead pointed so there are still resting areas are good as well. Feeding if I’m not able for fry …guppies pick at everything.  If it is a planted tank they will find food accidentally fouling water with an auto feeder malfunction is risky long term. I use extreme bottom wafers or any wafer as well as soft steamed veggies and repashy. They pick at these all day long. My fry favorite is green beans. They poke at carrots but I’m not certain they get much. Blanched kale is another favorite and they like zucchini and cucumbers though cucumbers get to messy so I don’t offer those often. Sweet potatoes steamed but not to soft are a crowd pleaser.  I place everything in a food dish so it does not settle into the substrate keeping it available for them. 
 

If you are using a bare tank or breeder box is when excess feeding and cleaning come into play with guppies. I don’t recommend either as the fish grow up more nervous and skittish in my experience. Hope that helps.  Make sure they ave calcium and magnesium available.  They need mag to utilize cal properly. Wondershell and zoomed spirulina nano banquet blocks are great for both. 

Edited July 25, 2022 by Guppysnail

[Minanora]

On 7/25/2022 at 6:47 AM, Guppysnail said:

@Zac excess bubbles are fine. A small powerhead pointed so there are still resting areas are good as well. Feeding if I’m not able for fry …guppies pick at everything.  If it is a planted tank they will find food accidentally fouling water with an auto feeder malfunction is risky long term. I use extreme bottom wafers or any wafer as well as soft steamed veggies and repashy. They pick at these all day long. My fry favorite is green beans. They poke at carrots but I’m not certain they get much. Blanched kale is another favorite and they like zucchini and cucumbers though cucumbers get to messy so I don’t offer those often. Sweet potatoes steamed but not to soft are a crowd pleaser.  I place everything in a food dish so it does not settle into the substrate keeping it available for them. 
 

If you are using a bare tank or breeder box is when excess feeding and cleaning come into play with guppies. I don’t recommend either as the fish grow up more nervous and skittish in my experience. Hope that helps.  Make sure they ave calcium and magnesium available.  They need mag to utilize cal properly. Wondershell and zoomed spirulina nano banquet blocks are great for both. 

This. 😂 Thank you friend.

My adult guppies have always been more robust and lived better lives with exercise than ones that haven't gotten exercise.