# Pictus Catfish



## AfricanLove (Jan 2, 2012)

Ever since I got my Pictus cat from a store something like -ET---ART, The lady there told me that they let of a small electric pulse through there whiskers. I asked her if she had ever been stung and she said yes and that it hurt like a #&@*$. And I'm to chicken to see if they really do, so I come here and ask. Do They?


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## TheFisherOfCichlids1 (Dec 19, 2012)

Yes they can sting but it doesn't really hurt that much at All to me 
the lady at my lfs said it hurts a lot too but it doesn't to me, but it's extremely hard to get stung by one unless you have it in a ten gallon and corner it maybe because otherwise they won't really sting you unless you do something to them to make them want to sting you
Mine will swim right through my hand and won't sting me but they can sting other fish too
My cichlids stay clear of mine


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## brinkles (Jan 30, 2011)

I remember hearing as a little kid that catfish can sting with their whiskers! It's not true, though.

All catfish I'm familiar with have hard and sharp bones in their pectoral and dorsal fins that can easily break skin, and I believe some of them have some kind of toxin in them that can cause a painful sting.

BTW, don't catch catfish in nets because their fins get tangled. I use Tupperware instead.

I hate catching them when I'm fishing, because it's easy to get impaled while trying to remove the hook!


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## Mschn99 (Dec 24, 2012)

brinkles said:


> I remember hearing as a little kid that catfish can sting with their whiskers! It's not true, though.
> 
> All catfish I'm familiar with have hard and sharp bones in their pectoral and dorsal fins that can easily break skin, and I believe some of them have some kind of toxin in them that can cause a painful sting.


This is exactly true. They have three "stingers" as you stated. One in each pec fin and one in the dorsal. They are very sharp and most catfish have a painful toxin that is released when they stab you. I have line caught many catfish (in america) and have been stung quite a few times. a bigger catfish can produce a TON of pain as well as some swelling and the hand (thats where i have usually been stung) to become slightly swollen and stiff to use. All catfish are a little different but you always want to be aware of the spines when handling them. The funny part is i have never been stung by any catfish in any of the aquariums i have ever kept.....i had never thought about it but you think by now i would have been.


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## brinkles (Jan 30, 2011)

You probably haven't been stung because you're not trying to get a hook out of the mouths of the aquarium fish!
I'm more scared of handling catfish than sharks or barracuda. I caught a sailcat a few months ago, and didn't even let him in the boat - spines as long as my hand!


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## AfricanLove (Jan 2, 2012)

I've caught plenty of catfish, Saltwater and freshwater, have been stabbed many times. To me it doesn't really hurt, just thought maybe pictus where different.


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## 13razorbackfan (Sep 28, 2011)

brinkles said:


> You probably haven't been stung because you're not trying to get a hook out of the mouths of the aquarium fish!
> I'm more scared of handling catfish than sharks or barracuda. I caught a sailcat a few months ago, and didn't even let him in the boat - spines as long as my hand!


My grandmother had 6 large stock ponds full of catfish mainly channel catfish. She was stung in her thumb in her 40's and she lived to early 70's with no feeling where she was stung on out to the tip of the thumb. She said it went in fairly deep. Just thought I would share.


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## mok3t (Nov 28, 2008)

I keep them and we sell a lot of Pictus at work. They can definitely spine you good. I've even had to cut few younger specimens out of nets when the new guy tries to catch them.


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