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So after some very exstensive research on the web, I have come to the conclusion that my livebearers tank that has been giving so much trouble has fish tb. My fish keep getting really sunk in bellies and bent spines. I've been fighting this for almost a year now. Does any one have any experience with this problem? I was thinking tetracyclin would help with this but im not sure.

I don't think that would be strong enough, though I am just guessing. You are probably looking at a mycin family antibiotic.

While I am not saying they don't have TB, it may be worth worming them if you haven't already. Livebearers often come with a high worm burden and that can cause sunken or bloated bellies. If they have another infection like TB then it would be more likely that existing parasites could get a toe hold and multiply.



For animals, the entire universe has been neatly divided into things to (a) mate with, (b) eat, (c) run away from, and (d) rocks. - Terry Pratchett

Ive been giving them medicated anti parasite food that i think would cover worms, that was my first thought when it started happening.

sunk in bellies and bent spines.

It could be a TB/Parasitic problems or because of the breeding (from your original stock) you have 1 or 3 major problems.

Unless they are top show quality you might not have much choice but to completely strip the tank.

If it is any one of these problems it is going to be extremely difficult to find out exactly what it is then set about completely removing it.
'Until then you will continue to lose your stock until you have none left at all.

Keith

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If i did strip the tank what would I do with all the fish? There has got to be around 50 of them in there including the babies. I have been taking out the ones that look sick the last week to try and stop it from spreading.

If it is any one of these problems it is going to be extremely difficult to find out exactly what it is then set about completely removing it.
'Until then you will continue to lose your stock until you have none left at all.

Its no use treating them when you spot the disease.
If its a parasitic problem the medications you use to kill the parasite will also kill all the good bacteria in your tank as well. That is when the fun starts its like a catch 22 situation.

You might have to invest in a hospital tank and even then the medications could kill all the fry if not the parasitic problem will.

Sorry but that is the best I can explain it.

If you want to be realistic calculate the total cost of all the medications plus what ever else you have to do to keep the good bacteria alive. Then the cost of replacing with quality healthy stock.

Keith

Near enough is not good enough, therefore good enough is not near enough, and only your best will do.
I VOTE DO YOU if not WHY NOT?
VOTE NOW VOTE NOW

I ordered some medicine off of big als online that from reading through other posts was recomended to help. I got this medicine to try:
http://www.bigalsonline.com/StoreCatalog/ctl3684/cp18439/si1380549/cl1/seachem_metronidazole_5_grams?&query=metronidazol&queryType=0&hits=12&offset=
And this food to try:
http://www.bigalsonline.com/StoreCatalog/ctl3684/cp18438/si1381565/cl1/hikari_metro_plus35oz?&query=metronidazol&queryType=0&hits=12&offset=

My hope is not to so much treat the ones that are infected but hopefully stop it from spreading to any new fish. Since ive been pulling out the ones that look sick I havn't seen any new fish come down with it.

We actually come across this disease in my store all the time in our livebearers. There is no cure, and usually it doesn't show up until the fish are full grown. Most likely it's not tb, although that's what will come up on the internet the most when these symptoms are researched. It is simply a wasting away disease.

The best thing to do is pull the ailing fish and euthanize them unfortunately