# Skin Shedding in Banjo Catfish



## Drakmanka (Oct 27, 2015)

I've read before that Banjo Catfish do shed their skin from time to time, so I wasn't totally freaked out when I started noticing bits of skin floating about in my tank after bringing home one of these little guys.
I was a bit freaked out today, though, when my Banjo looked like he was suffocating. He was panting heavily and was acting like he couldn't get enough water flow through his mouth and gills. I was just beginning to wonder if I should try moving him when he suddenly had a complete spazz-attack, and darted off, leaving behind a HUGE chunk of shed skin from his head and face. He spent a few minutes laying around panting heavily before he calmed down and buried himself again. I think he might have had the skin stuck in his mouth or gills and it was preventing him from breathing correctly.
Is it normal for these guys to shed like that?


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## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

Some armored cats will shed like that. Skin growing right on bone doesn't have much room to stretch.
The heavy breathing is the worrisome thing. Ich causes that more than anything else does.


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## Drakmanka (Oct 27, 2015)

Oh, that's definitely good to know. I'll keep a close eye on him.
What do you recommend to combat ich in a community tank?


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## BabyGirl77 (Nov 2, 2015)

To combat ich, you will need ich medication. Also raise the heat slowly to the highest that your fish can tolerate. Water changes will also help with getting rid of ich. I have dealt with ich many times. There is a strain of ich that is resistent to medication, but quinine sulfate has been proven to get rid of it and it is safe for most if not all fish, even the sensitive ones, like clown loaches.


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## big b (Aug 17, 2014)

Aren't banjo catfish scaleless fish?


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## toddnbecka (Jun 30, 2006)

As long as the fish can take a few days of higher temps raising the tank to 82 and adding salt to the water will kill Ich w/out any other chemicals. You can also simply add salt and wait a few more days w/out raising the temp, the extra heat just speeds up the life cycle of the parasite a bit. The salt will kill the free-swimming stage of the parasite's life cycle, while they're encysted on the fish anything that will kill them will also kill the fish.


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