Our fish is wounded

Question
We have a white catfish and yesterday he "sprouted" a 1 cm diameter wound
on the front of his gill flap. It looks like a puncture wound, like maybe he
speared himself on part of his hiding rock. My husband thinks it may be a
parasite or a fungus. It is bright pink and for a few hours looked to have a
nasty flap of torn flesh hanging off. Today, the flap's gone and it looks less
angry. The skin around it is pink, radiating to about the size of a quarter. Any
help would be greatly appreciated!

Answer
Hi Wendy,
 Are there other fish in the tank, i.e., another fish which might have attacked him?   It can be challenging dealing with catfish because they tend to be very sensitive to medications.  In most cases, I would say that the best thing is to do nothing and see if he can heal on his own.  Good, clean water is the best thing for any fish, including sick fish.  

-- Ron
  rcoleman@cichlidresearch.com
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