Curved Guppy Spine: Genetics or Something Else??

[Aqua_Zone]

Hello all. Does my blue guppies spine look curved to anybody? He eats well and swims good but his spine curved out of nowhere. He has been like that for about a month but his spine was not like that when I first bought him. I’m wondering if it’s because of genetics or if it’s something else going on. 

[Cinnebuns]

On 8/18/2022 at 9:52 PM, Aqua_Zone said:

Hello all. Does my blue guppies spine look curved to anybody? He eats well and swims good but his spine curved out of nowhere. He has been like that for about a month but his spine was not like that when I first bought him. I’m wondering if it’s because of genetics or if it’s something else going on. 

This is a fairly common issue with guppies. There are a variety of possible causes. One greatly sited is genetics so you are right about that. For that reason I suggest not breeding him. Another common reason is from giving birth too much but since it's a male that's obviously not the issue here. 

I have also heard some theories that it could be a result of too much inbreeding or not having enough light when they are fry but I've also heard people dispute these two ideas so idk. 

[PotatoFish]

My male guppy's spine did the drooping bend toward the end of his life. How old is your guppy?

[Aqua_Zone]

On 8/18/2022 at 11:59 PM, Cinnebuns said:

This is a fairly common issue with guppies. There are a variety of possible causes. One greatly sited is genetics so you are right about that. For that reason I suggest not breeding him. Another common reason is from giving birth too much but since it's a male that's obviously not the issue here. 

I have also heard some theories that it could be a result of too much inbreeding or not having enough light when they are fry but I've also heard people dispute these two ideas so idk. 

For some reason one of my biggest concerns was fish TB. Do you know if the above reasons you mentioned shorten the lifespan of the guppy?

On 8/19/2022 at 12:21 AM, PotatoFish said:

My male guppy's spine did the drooping bend toward the end of his life. How old is your guppy?

Yeah when I bought him his spine wasn’t like that. I would say about 8 months. How old was your guppy when that happened?

[PotatoFish]

On 8/19/2022 at 7:47 PM, Aqua_Zone said:

Yeah when I bought him his spine wasn’t like that. I would say about 8 months. How old was your guppy when that happened?

*nods* So you have had the guppy for eight months? Because we get them when they are a couple months old already. So, let's say 3 months, which means your guppy would be almost a year, maybe?

And warmer water would age them more quickly if you run the tank hot.

Mine started doing the spine bit at about a year and change. He was born in the tank, and he had a massive tail. The tank ran about room temp. He lived for almost another year afterward.

[Cinnebuns]

On 8/19/2022 at 5:47 AM, Aqua_Zone said:

For some reason one of my biggest concerns was fish TB. Do you know if the above reasons you mentioned shorten the lifespan of the guppy?

I'm not going to say it def isn't TB but I also know it's highly unlikely. TB isn't all that common tbh and all the other causes are far more common. 

[Aqua_Zone]

On 8/19/2022 at 12:21 AM, PotatoFish said:

My male guppy's spine did the drooping bend toward the end of his life. How old is your guppy?

Yeah when I bought him his spine wasn’t like that. I would say about 8 months. How old was your guppy when that happened?

He passed away sadly r.I.p 

[PotatoFish]

On 8/21/2022 at 9:39 PM, Aqua_Zone said:

Yeah when I bought him his spine wasn’t like that. I would say about 8 months. How old was your guppy when that happened?

He passed away sadly r.I.p 

I'm sorry to hear that. Mine started around 14-15 months old, and he passed away about a year later.

None of his siblings/batchmates that survived had a massive tail like him, and none of them had that spine droop.

Whether it is what causes it, I can't 100% say. It's all just observation from what is admittedly a small group.