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There has been some talk about bent spines in livebearers recently so I thought I might make a contribution. While it is true that tuberculosos may result in this malformation, it is also at least as likely to be caused by something else.
I found that a deficiency in certain vitamins and minerals is more often the cause.
In this case it is called Rickets.
It's a disease caused by a deficiency of phosphorus, or calcium, or vitamin D or all three. A bend in the spine and the bend in the body is what results. The fish may live for quite a while with this affliction and even reproduce.
Proper lighting can prevent vitamin D deficiency. There is good evidence that the active rays affect ergosterol in the skin of the fish and change it to vitamin D. Sometimes an entire tank will show bent spines but most often only a few specimens are affected. There is no real treatment after the fact. It is all a matter of prevention which is primarily a matter of proper feeding of a complete diet with sufficient calcium and phosphorous coupled with sufficient lighting for vitamin D.
When thinking about the lighting in our tanks, we would do well to remember that the average flourescent light bulb loses about half of it's power in about 6 months, even though it still looks good to our eyes.
A new light bulb and a change in food will do wonders sometimes.
I hope this helps some of you who have seen this problem to take steps to prevent it from happening in the future.

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