I have a 30litre biorb with heater that i have just kept guppies in. I bought a new female who gavd bith a few weeks later and died. she had 8 fry all survived, they are about 3 months old now, so they are all pretty grown. I have one baby that has a very prominantly bent spine and is much smaller that the others.

I have read in many places that you should euthenise bent spine fish, but have never been able to contemplate it. and he seems to eat and swim pretty well with the others. but as they grow he becomes more different.

I just wanted to know wif anyone elsehas had similar fish. Im very happy to give him any extra care he needs, even if he needs his own tank if he cant compete. but i would hate to have him suffer. I know 8 guppies is pushing it for 30 litres. So far i cant tell the sexes

all comments welcome.

My last batch of guppy fry I raised, one had a bent spine. I let her be, she was happy while she lived. She only lived a few months. I'm not even sure what happened to her, she just disappeared one day so I assumed she died. I have three other abnormal looking guppies, not bent spines, but very very small and hardly no fin growth. They are 8 months old, but look around 2 months. Two of them or males and one is a female. The males have really small fins and the female's tail is all like fused together, it's barely a fin. They seem to get long fine, I don't think I could ever kill them. They are just my special little babies But my fish seem happy and act like the others, if I thought it was affecting thier happiness and health, then I'd might put them down.

thanksyour your comments kristy Do you have to do anything special to ensure the small ones get on alright with the others? so far my babe if fine. he has one other guppy that he tends to stick by most of the time. but he does seem to hold back at feeding time.

yw I don't do anything special, they do fine on their own. The normal guppies kinda ignore them, so those three usually pal around together. My other ones, all males, just spend their time trying to mate with each other When I feed them, I scatter the food along the whole length of the tank to make sure everyone gets some. Of course your problem is different, but hopefully she can get by.

I have two fry with crooked spines after they had a run in with the filter, they seem to be doing fine, other than being small so I have left them alone