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Post by parker002 on Oct 16, 2009 21:38:49 GMT -5
I have 3 julii cory cats and two of them appear to have lost whiskers. The third has extremely long, fine whiskers that don't appear damaged at all.
One of them has only one whisker that appears damaged. The other has two. They don't appear injured. It looks almost as if they are worn down or "rounded".
My substrate is actually large (pea-sized) rock - very smooth stones - purchased purposefully because of the cats. I don't have anything in the tank that could be considered sharp or abrasive.
So I'm just wondering if them losing a whisker once in a while is natural.
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Post by babygeige on Oct 17, 2009 11:21:34 GMT -5
The same thing happened to my cories when I had them. It was a mystery to me as well what happened to them. Do you have any other fish in the tank that could have hurt them somehow?
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Post by kagome on Oct 17, 2009 22:25:50 GMT -5
Catfish and loaches wear down their barbels by rubbing them on substrate surfaces as they search for food. Even the smoothest of rocks, unless polished to a high finish is still an abrasive surface. Many catfish oriented sites suggest that they be kept in a tank with a sandy substrate to prevent this, but I have seen catfish with worn down barbels even in tanks with sand. This is nothing to worry about as they will eventually grow back. One of my big female peppered cories broke off all of her barbels several weeks ago while she was spawning and now she has grown them back almost completely. I think your catfish will be just fine.
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Post by parker002 on Oct 18, 2009 9:19:38 GMT -5
The same thing happened to my cories when I had them. It was a mystery to me as well what happened to them. Do you have any other fish in the tank that could have hurt them somehow? Any fish could potentially harm another fish, and my tetras can be a bit aggressive at times. But I've never seen the tetras even look at the cory cats, let alone nip at them. The livebearers don't generally swim at the bottom of the tank and I don't see them doing anything. Like I said, the barbels don't look "injured". They look "worn". And the cats are playing and eating just like they always do. So I'm guessing it's just something that happens.
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Post by parker002 on Oct 18, 2009 9:20:41 GMT -5
Catfish and loaches wear down their barbels by rubbing them on substrate surfaces as they search for food. Even the smoothest of rocks, unless polished to a high finish is still an abrasive surface. Many catfish oriented sites suggest that they be kept in a tank with a sandy substrate to prevent this, but I have seen catfish with worn down barbels even in tanks with sand. This is nothing to worry about as they will eventually grow back. One of my big female peppered cories broke off all of her barbels several weeks ago while she was spawning and now she has grown them back almost completely. I think your catfish will be just fine. Thanks for the response. I feel better now. I obsess about my cats - they're by FAR my favorite of my fish. They're lively and hungry, so I don't think it's affecting them one way or another.
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