glofish tail elongated

Question

sick glofish 2  
sick glofish   QUESTION: My orange glofish's tail has become elongated, but is still acting normally as far as I can tell. (when i switched it to a bowl it swam in circles then rested on the bottom, that might be because of the habitat change though. it was  fine in the tank) I have a 1.5 - 2 gallon tank (not sure) with 3 glofish. I separated the orange one, so that the other ones weren't infected or something. I have a filter, the temperature of the water is room temperature, and i feed them TetraMin Tropical flakes. What is wrong with it, what caused this, and how can I treat it? The pictures are a little hard to see because this fish is in a bowl.

ANSWER: Breanne,
The first thing that comes to mind is an electric shock. This happens when the filter or heater is not working right and is sending out a electric current. Unfortunately, once this happens, it will not go straight again. I would first check the filter and make sure it is working properly. Is the fish losing his scales, have loss of color,lesions on his body or looking like he is wasting away? These are the signs of fish TB. If that is what he has, there really is no cure and it is best to euthanize the fish. If he is this, there is some danger to humans when they come in contact with it, so be careful when handling him. If the fish is not showing the other signs of TB, and the filter is working fine, then it is probably a genetic problem. Since these guys are mass produced, they tend to interbreed too much and the fry have deformities. Sometimes you see them right away and sometimes it comes out later. Also, a glofish is a tropical fish and needs to have his water temperature between 78 and 80 degrees at all times. If the temperature drops suddenly and then rises again, as in colder at night and warmer during the day, it can cause the fish to stress which leads to illness. With having three of them, I would recommend a five gallon at least. These are schooling fish and should be in a group of at least 6. If there are 6 then then the tank should be at least 10 gallons. I have a 50 gallon glofish tank with blue, and black lighting, and I have about 20 glofish of different colors.

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QUESTION: The glofish died probably partly because he stopped eating, I didn't really see any signs of fish TB though. How do i check to see if my filter is running properly? I can't get a bigger tank, and currently have two glofish left. Is that okay? Or should I just get different fish? The lady at Meijer said the tank should be room temperature, and my room isn't 80 degrees, maybe around 75, so what should I do? One more question, is it possible for my dog to get the disease the fish had from the fish water? She didn't drink it, but it may have touched my hand, and she licked it later.

Answer
Check the filter by looking at the cord and all connections. Make sure there are no breaks or tears in any of the cords. You will have to check the cord that leads to the filter as well as the cord section that leads to the outlet. The tank is ok for the 2 that you have but if you want more, you will have to get a larger tank. Remember that they like to be in groups of at least 5. Your dog should be ok. The only way to regulate the water temperature is by using a heater.