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this might not be the right forum but i was cleaning my tank. giving it that really good clean. ie take all the plants out and clean and prun them. well hidding in my plants is a fish i havnt seen since the last time i did this. an upside down catfish.

HE HAS NO FINS!!!

he can swim great. but he has no fins. like none.

i cant figure out how he does it. but more importantly how it happened and fins dont grow back (do they, stupid question)

i dont have any fin nippers in my tank. i do now
but just now like after i found him.

since the last time i have seen him. ive had rasboras, tetras, two different plecos (one of them eats my dead fish) dwarf frogs and gouramis

Last edited by judz at 19-Jan-2006 22:41

Fins, if not permanently damaged will grow back, in time. What kind of gouramis do you have?

that's very odd... especially since (i think) most catfish have fairly spiny fins.

as far as what happened to him goes, i'm not sure... but fin and tail rot (a fungal/bacerial infection) may be a possibility (although not an entirely likely one). this disease eats away at a fish's fins and tail, sometimes to the point of them appearing to be gone altogether. because he has been hiding a lot (or always) it is possible that he's stressed, which would make him more suceptible to disease. but, if everyone else in the tank is okay, like i said this is only a slight possiblity. just a thought!

also i'm pretty sure that upside-down cats are schooling, so if you get him a couple buddies, he may come out more often. the other thing to consider is that because he's "special needs" he may have trouble competing for food, so it may be a good idea to put some sinking pellets near his hiding spot after lights out so that he has a better chance of finding it before anyone else does!

I don't see mine much as they're nocturnal. If you do, they'll look like hell because they're trying to rest

i think im just going to let him be for right now
he seems happy enough.

I know mine had a bad habit of getting lodged in small crevices in driftwood and rocks. And when I would take them out I wouldnt even notice the fish lodged into the driftwood. I doubt it could have happened, but maybe some structure was placed on him in your tank bc you didnt notice he was about. Ive almost done it several times myself.

Fish CAN fly!