Catfish barb question

[hereticlosmorte]

hi guys,
tonight i was relocating my fish, and my iridescent shark catfish got its fin caught in my net. stupidly, i reached down and grabbed the fish, and got nailed by what i'm guessing was a barb.
i'm no expert on catfish so i was wondering, are the barbs the whiskers, or are they on the fins?
do they contain any poison?
should i be concerned?

thanks in advance.

 

[Kai]

I'm guessing u got nailed by its spines, catfishes have a strong, hollow, bonified leading spine-like ray on their dorsal and pectoral fins. As a defense, these spines may be locked into place so that they stick outwards, which can inflict severe wounds (credits to wikipedia)

i dont think the iridescent has poisonous spines

 

[discus-dude]

you just got hit by the spines in their fins nothing to worrk about pleco have them too

 

[hereticlosmorte]

thanks kai and discus dude
i'm guessing it was the fin that was caught, he flicked around when i reached for him and got me on that side of his body. hurt like hell.
good to hear on not having to worry about poisonous spines. i definitely wasn't as careful with him as i am with my stingrays.
in the future i'll remember to be careful with him.
oh well, just a hurt hand and cut up net tonight, at least it didn't die, i've had it a few yrs and am pretty attached to it despite the size it will one day get to be

luckily the clown loaches and rays didn't tag me as well. (different tanks of course)