My Platy’s Tail Is Bent Upwards

Hi All

I just wanted to ask a quick question about my platy who’s tail is quite sharply bent upwards. I noticed this yesterday. Does anybody know what this is and what I can do to treat it?

All my water readings are fine at 0ppm except Nitrate which is currently at 5ppm but I am working on this.
I have 4 platy in just under 60L tank.

The history is probably what has caused this, I won’t deny it. Due to personal circumstances the water condition hasn’t been maintained as it should. But now I’m getting back on track. The bent tail is only very recent though, like I said I noticed it yesterday. I understand the water condition is likely what has caused it and i’m gutted it has got to this point, but looking forward I was wondering if there is anything I can do to treat this?

Thanks in advance

She (pretty sure it’s a female) can’t seem to swim properly while heading toward the surface or down to the floor, I’m assuming this is a symptom due to the tail rather than a separate symptom. Otherwise she seems fine, active and eating. She doesn’t seem thinner to me.

I will try and post a picture if I can figure out how.

I'm not sure how to tell what size my photo is but I'll give it a go now, thank you

The photos are probably too big... can you crop them to just show the fish in question?

Hopefully the picture has posted

I have not seen anything like it before either. I know one cause of a bent spine is genetic, usually in very inbred fish - it it commonly reported in guppies for example.
But you do mention the history of the fish being a possible cause - poor water conditions can also cause problems, unfortunately.

You mentioned in the first post that your nitrate is 5 - this level of nitrate is fine. It only becomes a problem above 20 ppm. It's ammonia and nitrite that should be zero.

Thanks for your replies

So there’s nothing I can really do about the tail, apart from keeping an eye on the fish and making sure she is able to eat? There still doesn’t seem to be any other symptoms but I will keep checking.

Sue - Regarding the Nitrate ppm, I’m glad you said that it’s ok below 20ppm as I cannot shift the last 5ppm? Any idea why?

Thanks all

I have been doing water changes, but I don’t have any real plants in my tank. I will just keep doing the water changes.

Regular water changes - around 50% a week - should be done routinely. They will keep the nitrate level at or slightly above the level in the tap water. Unless your tap water has zero nitrate your tank will not have zero nitrate.