Elderly Fish

I've been observing my fish for considerable time this afternoon.

I've already mentioned that some of the harlequins (age 4.5) are looking elderly. 2 have spinal deformities and 1 has a mild spinal deformity. The one with the most severe spinal deformity also has a cloudy eye - he's spent much of the past year bobbing just below the surface but springs to life when food and especially peas are put in. The other one with a spinal deformity looks as though her tail is broken/droopy; however, she's very observant and likes to play in front of the camera. Wee Harley seems to be in optimum health, but so was her shoalmate Little Harley who fell into a sudden catastrophic and fatal demise one evening this year (following eating frozen brineshrimp).

The x-ray tetras (age 5+) look a bit worse for wear - two have a bad bulging right eye, one has had it via slow onset for years (a dose of eSHa 2000 made little/no difference) and one acquired his in a spat with his shoalmate a few months ago... they bicker constantly now. They're having more difficulty finding food now but this makes them all the more determined to zoom towards it and hunt for it. The other has a spine that curves upwards from the start of the caudal peduncle area, most likely acquired through attempting to rectify a malfunctioning swimbladder. All have voracious appetites. 

This isn't about seeking advice - just general observations. Their quality of life does not appear to be affected which is good.

Photos/videos:
Harlequin with the most bent spine - view from above while he was sitting still.
Same harlequin (also with slightly cloudy eye) - view from side... definitely looks elderly!
X-ray tetras - and youtu.be/8RGxMXuFrXE
Harlequin with tail that looks almost broken / droopy (with Wee Harley beside her) - and  youtu.be/EeQ5PvHXQhE

Where did you get your fish from by the way? I am surprised by the number of genetic defects (bent spines) you have in your gang.

All my fish have been from the MA franchise, except for the cardinals from PAH. I got the impression that the x-ray's curved-up spine is possibly caused by a malfunctioning swimbladder and corrective swimming action, and that possibly the harlies' bent spines are caused by their swimming against the water current - but I may be wrong.  I did wonder when the first harley died - it had become increasingly emaciated - whether it might be fish tuberculosis... hope not!

Perhaps it's worth sending the info & pics to the "readers questions" section of PFK to see if they picked up on this topic.

Thanks, Littlefish - I might well do just that. As it happens, I have a feeling I'm going to lose those two harlequins and an x-ray imminently - I certainly don't think they'll see the year 2020. The S-bent spine harlequin has gone very flat at his stomach - almost concave - making his eyes appear disproportionately large. The one with the droopy tail seems as though this is even more pronounced than usual - when she eats from the surface, it's as though the tail goes into a U shaped dip. I think the x-ray tetra with the curved-up tail will be next - I think he'll wear himself out attempting to combat a swimbladder resembling a helium balloon from its 'pulling upwards' effects.

Would it be right to call these OAF's!? 

Probably quite an appropriate acronym for them.

Poor guys are looking even worse than in the video from a few days ago - the s-bent spined harlequin's belly is now so concave that his gill area looks disproportionately large and he almost looks as though he's in rigor mortis although his heart and respiratory system are clearly working, while the droopy-tailed harlequin's demeanour is fine but the anal fin area seems to have drooped along with the u-shaped tail movements. I'm going to give everyone a pea as a treat tonight - the harlies' favourite food - just in case it's The Last Supper. [Edited to add: https:///youtu.be/RS6WHc1A1pQ]

Admittedly, I was up early this morning to go in to check on them (and the dropsied cardinal tetra) by torchlight.

That's interesting to read of your similar experience, @fishtales, and thanks so much for your kind words. 

I've just got up, and went to examine the tank. She wasn't 'dancing' around, so I knew nature had taken its course.

Edited:
After some horror that nature had intervened more than I'd expected and that the cardinals had been scavenging on her body (after getting them, I read somewhere that this species have been known to do this ) - I could only see part of her body as it had folded over - thankfully, she's fully intact...  Tail definitely seems to be broken, sadly, but her eyes remain as bright-eyed and alert as ever even although she's now dead.
 

Sorry to hear this. Clearly a good life has been had.

Thanks, all of you, for your kind words. Yes, definitely difficult losing a fish, especially one of the most characterful ones. Given the nature of the decline, I think today would have resulted in her rolling around on the bottom, and definitely necessitated some intervention on my part, albeit it didn't come to that; let's just hope that she didn't suffer too much during the night.

I think S-spine Harlequin's demise is imminent...

S-spine harlie lived a long life with you, longer than most harlies live for. You must be doing something right for him to live to the age he did.

So sorry to hear about s-spine harley. He lived a long life, and was lucky to have you to look after him.
I would be glad that the decision to intervene had been taken out of my hands, but I know it is very upsetting when a fish passes.