Help with Spine Curvature

[Spiritofthesoul]

One of my senegal bichir developed a spine curvature recently. I think it must have gotten that injury when being placed into the tank. The curvature occurs around the neck and now it can't turn left.

Here are some pictures of the injury (sorry for the blur images, apparently it's still a fast swimmer).

Is there any way to fix it? Although it isn't urgent as the bichir is only affected aesthetic-wise (for now, I am not sure how would it affect it as it grows). It seems to be able to navigate throughout the tank even though it could only turn right and even get to the feeding ring.

Appetite-wise, it is feeding well. In fact I would say it is a glutton. Dropped about 5 bits of krill and it got 3/5 of them, leaving only 2 left for my other 2 senegals.

 

[Desert Bus]

You have 3 choices.

1) Keep it and give it the best life you can. This way you'll know that it will have good food and clean water. There is a possibility that you're keeping it alive though massive amounts of pain that it has no way of properly expressing.

2) Euthanize. Assume that the possibility of horrible pain is justification enough to provide a fast and humane (as possible) death. There's a chance it's in no pain at all.

3) Give the fish away to a fellow hobbyist who will provide quality care either because
a) They take good care of all their fish, as they should, and care not about the deformation
or
b) They're into oddity (see: http://aquaticfreakshow.com/theshow/index.php)

 

[mike_sema]

^^ +1

 

[Spiritofthesoul]

So I can't fix it? Bumper that was my first senegal

 

[Younglin]

I have seen people take syringes and suck lumps like those down. I don't advise it, just saying I have seen people do it.

 

[Spiritofthesoul]

OMG for real?

Anyway enthanize is out of the qns. Even though he is deformed, he is still my most fave bichir. I decided to keep him anyhow, be it for better or the worst. Believe every living thing has the right of wanting to live and the fact it is eating voraciously (IMO) means it wants to live. otherwise it would just swim around, go on hunger strike and die from starvation.

 

[bigfishlittle_fish]

this might seem mean but maybe u can bend it strait.. put it to sleep and bend it strait again. it might help

 

[Younglin]

...no

 

[Ancient_Fish_Master]

this might seem mean but maybe u can bend it strait.. put it to sleep and bend it strait again. it might help

BIG NO. if he is eating well, acting normal, keep it alive.

 

[GhostShrimpMan]

Don't, it doesn't look like a dislocation