What to do with a Pictus Catfish with pieces of net stuck to his barbs.

[tweak]

I recently purchased a 29 gallon aquarium with stand from craigslist and it came with fish. One of them is a Pictus catfish. I never owned one before and the previous owner scooped him out with a net and he got trapped in the net. We had to cut the net with scissors to get him loose but he now has pieces of net stuck to both barbs. I don't mind it if he doesn't. My kids like him just the same but I am concerned the net is agitating him and I have noticed almost a week later that there is something growing around the points of contact with the net. I can't tell if it is a slime coat or infection or what. Should I make an attempt to take him out of the water, hold him down, and cut the rest of the net away? I am concerned I will really traumatize him then. I am hoping that he will break free of the net on his own. He is big but not fully grown yet.

Anyone else have this problem?

Thanks for your time,
Tom


I have the following fish:
90 Gallon Aquarium: 1 otto, 18 panda cories (All but two from a breeding pair I own), 1 rainbow fish, 1 glass fish, 1 neon tetra

29 Gallon Quarantine tank: 12 albino bristlenose plecos

29 Gallon tank: 8 serpae tetras, 2 upside down catfish, 2 congo tetras (pair), and 1 pictus catfish.

[oo7genie]

I had a pictus that had the same problem. It ended up getting a fungal infection where the net was stuck, looking like q-tip pom poms. I ended up taking him back to the shop I bought him from, since they were the ones who got him stuck, cut him out, then said he'd be alright. Unfortunately, I don't have an answer for you, aside from saying that you need to do something, or he may very well end up with a serious infection.

[tweak]

Thank you for the reply. I am going to do something today to try to get the net free. Not looking forward to this.

[Lab_Rat]

I had a pictus get caught in a very fine weave mesh (supposedly pictus safe, was wrong). He got one of his fins wrapped in netting. After a day of looking really stressed I knew I had to remove it. I got a towel and dampened it with tank water. I had cuticle scissors and tweezers ready. I wrapped the fish in the towel, covering his eyes but leaving the fin exposed. I was able to remove the netting quickly with the scissors and tweezers, then plopped the fish back in the tank. He returned to normal behavior immediately and has been fine since. No infection set in.

[Big Mike]

Good luck. Let us know how it went.

[tweak]

I got the net off using cuticle scissors while he was in a shallow pan of water. I held him in place with a screwdriver tip against the netting while my wife held the flashlight to give me enough light to cut the net only. It was not easy but the netting is gone and he is back in the tank. I didn't give him any medicine (not sure what to use) and it took about 30 minutes total to get him out of the tank and remove the net. I hope he does alright. I don't blame him if he never comes out from behind the driftwood ever again.

[Eclipse_sky]

Maracyn oxy or pimafix. But pimafix takes a while to work.

[slackline]

It will help to do lots of partial water changes over the next few weeks.
Good luck,
Scott

[tweak]

It's been over a week and the catfish is doing fine. He is much happier too. Thanks, everyone, for the great advice!

[Lab_Rat]

Awesome, glad to hear it!