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Im a little worried about her...

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Mrs. Banjo

Well as you know this has been there a long time, looks like a small crush injury that the bloodflow retreated from thusly causing a hole, its scarred but doesnt look infected. It'll probably rip through to a tear, and then start to reduce in size over 6 months to a year. Small fish with a very slow metabolism, it will heal, but slowly. It wont affect Mrs banjo too much. If it gets caught on anything or opens up just put a little melafix in the water to prevent infection. It'll probably heal without assistance, but like I say, it may split first.She'll just have a raggy fin for a while.

Thanks for all the support LHG. Greatly appreciatte it. Settles my nerves. Ill keep monitoring to make sure it doesnt evolve but receeds.

Thank you again,

James

My God, you pierced him? What are you planning on doing next, tattoing the poor fella?

Lol no, red didnt pierce him, it was probably a gravel cleaning or decor moving related incident, its all too easy to do, I once gave one of my banjo's a hell of a whack with a gravel cleaner, purely by accident of course.

Not like that freak on youtube who gave three oscars a lip piercing. He should have been drowned at birth.

Ive heard a couple of his employees at the office have the exact same thing on their hands......maybe it isnt an accident.....

His employees have holes in their hands? Lol. Ah the blessed stigmata, its a holy banjo!

Teenage rebellion or Holy calling... We won't ever know the source of the mystery!

Back here again,

Currently I've restarted the addition of Melafix and Pimafix to the banjo tank since infection still seems to be set. The hole on the left pectoral fin has expanded somewhat and there is some tearing and decay showing on tail fin and dorsal fin.

I will treat this 10 gallon tank with Mela and Pima for a week, stop for a 3 day break and restart treatment another week, in an attempt to nip the infection in the behind.

The stocking of this tank is 4 otocinclus and 2 X 2.5" banjo catfish. Substrate is aquarium gravel on one side and White pure sand on the other half. There is a piece of DW that has some dark greyish growth in the manner of tufts on it, could this be the source of the infection? Filtration is a 10 gallon Penn Plax, Internal Cascade Filter and a Sponge filter connected to an air pump.

Any help or suggestions are welcome, thanks in advance,

James

Certainly could , saprolegnia, and column bacteria grow on any surface where they can find nutrition and a foothold. Its more likely a bloom than the actual cause though. I'd lay odds on the problem being the sand.

I would change out the sand and exchange it for fine gravel that the banjos can still bury themselves in. I had nothing but trouble using sand with banjos, they just dont move enough to turn it over enough to stop it stagnating and trapping dirt.

I reckon a lot of people lose their banjo's to the wrong substrate, much the same as they do with freshwater stingrays and various eels, the trouble is, in aquaria we just cant give the sand the circulation it needs to stay as fresh as say , a fine gravel. The bacteria and fungus just builds up, and then fins are lost and sores develop.

I'd rather have something I can gravel vaccuum the hell out of, even with species that like to stay buried. Its just so much safer. Sand in freshwater is so much riskier than in marine tanks as regards fungal presences. It can raise the whole contagion level in the tank in only a few weeks. It causes more problems with ammonia releases and hydrogen sulphide gas too.

Thank you LHG,

Your integral perspective of a problem outstands me, you even managed to answer a question I had in the back of my head for a while concerning sand.

Currently cycling is happening for a 20 gallon tank with smaller pebble substrate instead of sand. Make them happier and healthier.

Most grateful,

James