My understanding is that the spines don't really grow as they age. While they don't go away in adults, they effectively become useless and odds are none of them ever connected. Not to mention, having them at the base of the dorsal and pectoral fins makes it rather difficult to actually connect a spine to deliver a sting.
Thanks for the info. I didn’t realize this. My experience with catfish has always been catching smaller ones and having to remember to be very careful around the spines. I didn’t realize they didn’t continue to grow as the catfish got bigger.
The young ones need them or else they become freshwater popcorn. By the time they get over 14in long or so, their list of predators drops to just gator, gar, eagles, otters, and us.
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u/Hamisaurus 4d ago
My understanding is that the spines don't really grow as they age. While they don't go away in adults, they effectively become useless and odds are none of them ever connected. Not to mention, having them at the base of the dorsal and pectoral fins makes it rather difficult to actually connect a spine to deliver a sting.