Have you ever really looked...

[PheonixKingZ]

Hey, it isn't just the amazon. Have you ever been spiked by a bluegill or green sunfish? Channel catfish can nail you pretty good, too.

Seriously, though, thanks for calling this to our attention. I love seeing and thinking about these adaptations. Did you know kuhli loaches have a retractable spike under each eye that they can extent when they're attacked? Most fish predators prefer to swallow their prey head-first, and it's almost impossible for them to gag down a kuhli. I love knowing stuff like that. I never realized that the lowly cory-cats were so formidable! It makes keeping them that much cooler.

But they look so cute, and...and, innocent!

 

[CassCats]

YES! Of my word, when I caught the biggest largemouth bass I have ever caught (it had to have been over 9 pounds, close to a Lunker), it stabbed me with one of its spines, and it went down to the bone, I could literally feel it.

Hey, I guess I deserved it for catching him?

Sunfish are almost worse, because they tend to flop/flap more once out of water.

@NCaquatics - cool photo! I never knew they were spiny. I also heard their barbels hurt? They look soft...

I think you mean their "barbs" which is referring to the fin spines, their whiskers are super soft and tickly.

What I found interesting is that the cory spines are serated! Not smooth.

 

[PheonixKingZ]

I think you mean their "barbs" which is referring to the fin spines, their whiskers are super soft and tickly.

What I found interesting is that the cory spines are serated! Not smooth.

Oh, I was always told they were spiny/sharp, similar to Catfish.

 

[CassCats]

Oh, I was always told they were spiny/sharp, similar to Catfish.

Cories are catfish

 

[PheonixKingZ]

Cories are catfish

I know...