catfish whiskers are sensory organs. if i recollect properly, they assist in smell and touch during their foraging for food. i have a gut feeling that such an organ might not be a simple as a fin, when it comes to regeneration. i think it will certainly heal and the wound will close, but i'm wondering if it will actually grow back and look normal. AI kind of have my doubts. good luck with that and keep up posted on your efforts and progress.
catfish "whiskers"
- Thread starter Youngbuck5009
- Start date
I accidently cut off the end of one of my catfishes wiskers when I was switching my substrate. He wouldn't move out of his corner and I was trying to scoop around and got too close. It's healed but it hasn't grown back. That was about a month ago so it hasn't been that long but I'm really hoping it does. I feel bad
I've seen a barbel grow back completely on a young catfish. It was a madtom and I managed to pinch off one whisker with a gravel vac. A couple of months later, it was just there again, unexpectedly. I don't know how fast it grew back. But madtoms are short-lived and have very high metabolisms for catfish, and this was a young one.
one of my RTCs lost half a whisker in a feeding frenzy, but the tip of it healed in 4 days and its slowly growing back.
Old thread, I know, but I was reading the Baensch Aquarien Atlas and on page 562, the author claims Pimelodus Ornatus will regrow barbels after water quality is corrected if they have degenerated due to high nitrates. Anybody observe this?
When I moved my ARTC, one of his small barbells got damaged. It turned white and fell off. It now seems to be growing back. At least the nub has gotten longer, its about half as long as the other one.
I rescued a bullhead catfish a few months back with ammonia burns and all messed up whiskers. They were actually a blood red on the end of one. It healed fine but two of his whiskers a half in inch or so shorter than the others. Does it affect his eating habits in anyways? Nope not at all, should be fine either way. Now your RTC will be unique compared to others.
