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wayne laws |
deformed fish |
Lead | |
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picture of a fish i have caught twice from the wandle is it that unusual? and am i right in assuming it was damaged as a young fish, no bite marks and no pike or cormorants seen. However a good populatiuon of herons have been around for a few years.Picture in gallery for wandle
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fredrickmore |
Re: deformed fish | ||
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It'll be a birth deformaity so got it since it hatched, usually they are the first to be taken prey but it looks like its a very lucky fish
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davelumb |
Re: deformed fish | ||
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Deformed fish are not too uncommon. This is a Trent fish.
![]() Felt weird when playing it, and it certainly had a strange way of swimming, but was in good nick apart from it's deformity. -----------
They're only fish... |
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jayjay |
Re: deformed fish | ||
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Hi all
i too have caught quite a few barbel with this condition davelumb from the "trent"but didnt seem to stop them giving an impressive scrap atb jayjay |
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paul4barbus |
Re: deformed fish | ||
![]() This was a Thames fish paul4 |
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Titus Aducas |
Re: deformed fish | ||
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I had a golden orfe in my pond which developed that 'birth' deformity after a muggy summer night followed by an early morning a thunderstorm deoxygenated my pond and killed half my stock, it went on to live for another two or three years outliving several of its siblings.
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Neil Sarkar |
Re: deformed fish | ||
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There has to be a scientific name for this and does it only affect barbel.
I remember catching a fish about 4lb from the Teme in the early eighties with the exact same `twisted spine syndrome'. BUT I've personally never seen any other species affected. Oh...there was a mug 20lb pike on Diglis Locks years ago that looked like it had been run over by a truck that ended up with the nickname `El grotso'!!! |
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fredrickmore |
Re: deformed fish | ||
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Titus,
It wouldnt of been the thunderstorm. Orfe are very prone to developing kinks as they get older, its down to poor genetics and cross breeding etc. The thunderstorm would of been a whats it called |
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Titus Aducas |
Re: deformed fish | ||
Quote: Catalyst or a coincidence? ItÂ’s odd that they, (all five of them), were straight in the evening and then this one was all twisted and gasping along with the seven surviving koi in the morning. I also seem to remember Ray Walton doing some research into the cause of this type of deformity but I cant for the life of me remember what his conclusions were. |
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thisisjohn |
Re: deformed fish | ||
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if i remember correctly it was considered to be connected with electro fishing....j.w
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davelumb |
Re: deformed fish | ||
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I've caught 'banana' shaped pike, and pike with 'S' bends in their spine.
And this: ![]() Also from the Trent. -----------
They're only fish... |
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Wurzel |
Re: deformed fish | ||
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The scientific term for this defomity is scoliosis or broken back desease. I did some research on it a few years ago for a barbel catchers article, although it didnt really prove anything conclusive. It did however throw up some interesting potential links with the agricultural chemical kepone and a deficiency in vitamin c. I have included the relevant paragraphs from my article:
"As you would expect there are a few trains of thought on the subject of deformed barbel, including damage being caused by netting, spawning and mis-handling. There is certainly a strong case for these things being attributable in some situations, however, there are also other equally credible reasons caused by other environmental problems. The first is the known link (not known by me I might add) between the organochlorine pesticide Kepone (a synthetic organic compound) and broken back disease in other fish. I say other fish, because the research available is not conducted with barbel in mind, however, It is relevant to freshwater species. Kepone along with other organochlorine pesticides such as DDT and Dieldrin, were used extensively in the control of termites until recently. They are now banned in the UK, although in the time of their use since World War 2, it is very probable that leachate from agricultural farmland into our waterways will have had some effect on older fish and other aquatic populations. Kepone is thought to effect the central nervous system, muscular junctions and metabolism, causing muscular hemorrhage, fractured vertebrae and sometimes death. The fractured vertebrae, being one possible cause of the broken back deformity seen in barbel. Another reason for broken back disease in freshwater fish appears to be the link to a deficiency in ascorbic acid or vitamin c. In the same way that humans cannot store vitamin c fish cannot synthesize ascorbic acid and if there are limitations on the availability of aquatic plants or substances containing it, fish will suffer. Areas that spring to mind are the reaches that are most effected by depth, flood and attrition where weed and plant growth are restricted. In addition to its immunisation properties, ascorbic acid assists in the synthesis of the protein amino acid collagen, which in turn provides strength and elasticity. Insufficient collagen results in a collapse of the vertebral column and hence we have another reasonably sound theory on why we might find barbel with a deformed back." Wurzel |
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Paul Boote |
Kinky fish | ||
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Not uncommon. I've caught a handful over the years. Seem to remember that there was a big carp one time, here in the South, that was known as kinky. During a few months picking dead salmon ova and alevin / fry mortalities and defectives at a Hants Avon re-stocking hatchery, I was amazed at what can come out o hatched fish egg: two heads (rare), two tails (less rare), many a corkscrew or kinky. Clearly a few make it into adulthood when hatched in the wild.
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RollingPinBoy |
Re: Kinky fish | ||
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As well as the some of the other explanations/causes mentioned, deformed (barbel with bent or twisted backs) are caused by a bacterial infection which attacks the soft spine when fish are very young. The condition is called Scoliosis (S shape) or Lordosis (L Shape) and has a similar counterpart condition in humans called...Spina Bifida. Also, internal tumours which grow and push out against the bone or body can also deform the body shape.
Most of the Scoliosis (S shape) or Lordosis (L Shape) barbel do not survive the attack, but the survivors do grow on as normal at the same growth rates as healthy barbel, living to an old age, albeit they will be handicapped as in the pictures shown. ..Ray |
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