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Well, it's day two for Squiggle and his froggy pals, and he seems to be swimming about energetically; he survived the night, which I know doesn't sound like a big deal, but I'm usually skeptical about animals bought from places like Wal-Mart. He's eating well, and comes up to the surface immediately when I drop a half-pinch of flake food in for him.

I've looked up Fish-Tuberculosis, but I don't think that the rest of its symptoms follows Squiggle very well. The only symptom he exhibits is his wavy spine. But, he doesn't have any nodules under his eyes, no lumps, no sores, definatelyno lack of appetite. His fins are perfect, he's an albino and doesn't have any dark coloration (or any abornomally light coloration); his breathing appears normal. And his head is the right size for his body. In fact, he's the perfect picture of health--except for his M-shaped squiggle in his body. Actually, he's swimming a lot better than he did at the store--perhaps the water current was rougher in their aquarium. Nevertheless, I'll take note of your suggestion to handle him with care, just in case he has a communicable disease.

As for Squiggle and jumping out of the tank . . . it's not really him I'm worried about. I'm more worried about his two froggy friends leaping out and exploring the unknown!

. . . and, yeah, I do have to worry about the cat. I didn't even think about that. She's a little more, er, curious, than she should be. I wouldn't want her to make sushi out of Squiggle!

Hehe, side note: one of the frogs, who was darting to the surface for some food, just crashed into Squiggle. They look rather confused. Hehehe.

My two cents... if he's having issues swimming, I doubt the lack of a cover is really going to be an issue. I doubt he can jump out. If you're concerned, just fill the tank to within a few inches of the top. That gives you more water to work with (than the one gallon) and still prevents jumping out. Unless you're worried about another household pet getting INto the tank or something. *shrugs*

Good luck with Squiggle, I know how it is to rescue a fish from the LCPS... You'll find my own thread on the subject here: [link=http://www.fishprofiles.com/files/forums/General%20Freshwater/44243.html]http://www.fishprofiles.com/files/forums/General%20Freshwater/44243.html" style="COLOR: #000040[/link] And yes, Baby is still alive and swimming.

~Meow. Thus spoke the cat.~

The one thing I'd be concerned about is tuberculosis. Deformed spines are often associated with fish TB. The scary thing about fish TB is that it can apparently be transmitted to humans. So, it would probably be wise to exercise some care in handling this one.

Thanks for responding!

Yeah, the one-gallon set-up is meant to be a temporary one until I can get one of my larger spare tanks set up (but, I don't have a proper cover for it, so I don't want to transport them to that tank until I get one; luckily, he's only an inch long right now, so he's got room to work with. I'm looking to get the tank set up within a week, though, so that I may add some rocks and shelters for him to play in).

The guy has been surviving with his less-friendly tankmates for at least a month (that's how long he's been at the Wal-Mart, at least as far as I've seen him). I'm curious, though, if he would be happier having company but being picked on, or being lonely but not having to deal with the stress of being nipped at.



Thanks for your input, it's very much appreciated.

--kamy

Last edited by kamylienne at 03-Oct-2004 19:59

Last edited by kamylienne at 03-Oct-2004 20:00

Hi, it seems that your tetra has a deformity of the spine. I am not sure of the survival rate, but if he is fighting to swim and the like you might lose him. Also, 1 gallon is quite small for this fish and if his deformity doesnt do him in, the ammonia build up will. Even though tetras are schooling fish, he will most likely get picked on. This is nature's way of getting rid of bad genes. I am not certain what to do for tankmates (no school leads to loneliness, but he could get picked on if he does get buddys), but i do think you need to move him and the frogs to.

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