I suppose it is certainly possible that the cats are the culprits.
Those are pretty large compared to the darters and minnows. I would
also keep in mind the possibility that the logperch are the
aggressors. So you just have to start removing people until you get
to the point where the damage stops. On the other hand, if you do
have a bacterial infection, that's not going to do the trick. You
should be able to identify it by color/transparency. Bacterial rot
generally appears as a whitish, opaque discoloration-in-the margins
or where ever it is heavily infected. Typically the fins erode
rapidly and it moves into the flesh and the fish die in a day to a
few days. You could also end up with both: The fins are physically
damaged by aggression and then infection sets in. Infection is
sometimes transfered to the mouth of the other fishes that are
attracted to the white color and nip-in-it, I mean even the other
darters and minnows.
-- Mark Ohio USA <))>< /----------------------------------------------------------------------------- /"Unless stated otherwise, comments made on this list do not necessarily / reflect the beliefs or goals of the North American Native Fishes / Association" / This is the discussion list of the North American Native Fishes Association / nanfa-in-aquaria.net. To subscribe, unsubscribe, or get help, send the word / subscribe, unsubscribe, or help in the body (not subject) of an email to / nanfa-request-in-aquaria.net. For a digest version, send the command to / nanfa-digest-request-in-aquaria.net instead. / For more information about NANFA, visit our web page, http://www.nanfa.org