Regular Member tangelo123 Posted August 11, 2008 Regular Member Share Posted August 11, 2008 (edited) I have a 3.5in banjo cat in with 2 1.5in cories in my 10gl qt. When I came home tonight one of my cory's tails was half gone! He can't move his tail when he swims and I'm not sure he's gonna make it. I'm gonna give him a chance cuz he's still looking for food on the bottom. Nothing I read about banjo cats would suggest they're aggressive but he took a pretty good chunk out of my cory. Anybody have any experience with these fish? Edited August 11, 2008 by tangelo123 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Sushi67 Posted August 11, 2008 Regular Member Share Posted August 11, 2008 Catfish are opportunists, and have a sweet tooth for meat. However, banjo cats are considered peaceful so attacks are rare, especially on other species. Are you positive it was him? I would put your injured corry in a seperate hospital tank, and then observe the cat to see if he goes after others. If he has developed a bad habit of attacking the other fish, you should get him a new tank. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member tangelo123 Posted August 11, 2008 Author Regular Member Share Posted August 11, 2008 Catfish are opportunists, and have a sweet tooth for meat. However, banjo cats are considered peaceful so attacks are rare, especially on other species. Are you positive it was him? I would put your injured corry in a seperate hospital tank, and then observe the cat to see if he goes after others. If he has developed a bad habit of attacking the other fish, you should get him a new tank. I don't know what else would have happened to him. There's nothing else in the tank that would have injured him that badly and the filter's not strong enough to suck part of his tail off. I don't have another tank so I have to chance it by leaving them together. I think I'm gonna take the banjo cat back to where I got him and get store credit on another couple of cories. The injured one is not doing so good today, I don't think he's gonna make it. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member tangelo123 Posted August 11, 2008 Author Regular Member Share Posted August 11, 2008 Well I took the murderous banjo cat back to the store and picked up a couple more peppered cories. The one with the chewed on tail is still hanging in there but he can't swim very well. I don't want to flush him while he's still alive but I hate to see him suffer . I'm gonna give him a while longer to see if he can adapt to swimming with most of his tail gone. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member jsrtist Posted August 11, 2008 Regular Member Share Posted August 11, 2008 Don't ever euthanize a fish by flushing it!! That merely prolongs its suffering and it will die a much slower death. There are some links on proper fish euthanasia on here under emergency, I believe. Your cory should be able to regrow its tail so I wouldn't consider putting it down at this time. Isolating it would be better for the time being so it can heal properly. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member tangelo123 Posted August 12, 2008 Author Regular Member Share Posted August 12, 2008 Don't ever euthanize a fish by flushing it!! That merely prolongs its suffering and it will die a much slower death. There are some links on proper fish euthanasia on here under emergency, I believe.Your cory should be able to regrow its tail so I wouldn't consider putting it down at this time. Isolating it would be better for the time being so it can heal properly. I didn't mean to imply that I would flush a live fish, I've never done that even when I didn't know anything about keeping goldfish, it just didn't seem right and I like to give them the chance to possibly pull through at the last second. I don't think this one's gonna make it though, the entire tail was eaten up to his anal fin. He's floating upside down at the surface, he's still breathing but it's not looking good. Somebody posted in another forum that when banjo cats get hungry they will get aggressive and to keep them with fish bigger than their mouth. I did notice that wherever I put food in the tank he would find it within seconds and start chowing down. I think I got a psycho one. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member balashark Posted August 12, 2008 Regular Member Share Posted August 12, 2008 Yea, floating upsidedown isn't a good sign. I'm sorry about your cory. Only you can decide when its time, but clove oil is a peaceful way to go. Returning the banjo was prolly a good idea, and the more corries in the tank, the happier they'll be. I guess it doesn't matter now, but how much and what were you feeding him? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member tangelo123 Posted August 12, 2008 Author Regular Member Share Posted August 12, 2008 Yea, floating upsidedown isn't a good sign. I'm sorry about your cory. Only you can decide when its time, but clove oil is a peaceful way to go. Returning the banjo was prolly a good idea, and the more corries in the tank, the happier they'll be. I guess it doesn't matter now, but how much and what were you feeding him? I was feeding him algae wafers, frozen bloodworms and aqueon flakes. He got a few flakes every day and either the wafers or bloodworms every other day. I thought I was feeding him plenty but who knows. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member balashark Posted August 12, 2008 Regular Member Share Posted August 12, 2008 Hmm, sounds like good variety. Catfish in general do like to hunt, but like Sushi mentioned, the Banjo catfish usually aren't as agressive as others. For intance, I can't put small fish in my tank anymore since my Pictus has gotten as big as he has. How's the tailless cory doin? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member tangelo123 Posted August 13, 2008 Author Regular Member Share Posted August 13, 2008 The cory passed away the night before last . I'm suprised about the banjo cat too since everything I read about them suggested they were docile and good tank mates for just about any fish. Mine was a little more active than most though. He swam around the tank constantly and like I posted before he would instantly go after any food I put in the tank no matter where it was. I think I may have just gotten a mean one. My new cories are happy and healthy though and showing some good schooling behavior so I'm gonna stick with them for now. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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