"Patting" fish...

[BlueTurquoise]

Hi All,

I had a very rewarding experience on the weekend with my fish.

For some time now (about 3 weeks) my fish have recovered from a very stressful period. They have bounced right back and they are now showing full colour. Their thin dorsal fins are beggining to fill out and boy, that are fat! they are plump and hungry all the time.

Anyway when I feed them, one of my red scribbles gets soo excited about the food that she trusts me enough to let me touch her in the water! I can stroke her sides and her fins without protest. It has taken time and alot of patience but now I can virtually put my hand in the tank at feeding time and pick her up without resistance! She is like a puppy dog! I fact when I put my hand to the tank she rushes right to the front and I honestly think she enjoys me patting her!!! (or him, not sure of sex)

On the weekend for the first time every she let me touch her without feeding any food at all! it was a profound moment... It felt very rewarding to be so close to my fish... I just had to share it with you guys... :'( :)

On a side note: I also found that this was the best way to check their slime coat! I found that a week earler her slime coat was virtually non existant around the tail area. Of late I have been raising the temperature and adding a small amount of salt into the tank. I stopped salt treatment on Sunday and they are doing very well. Her slime coat is nice and even now.

The other tank mates will let me touch them too but only briefly and hesitantly, but I am sure in time they will come round.

PS. Wash your hands touroughly before and after, be gentle, and it takes a long time (I started hand feeding them when they were 6 months old)

Chong

[fishfarm]

Hi Chong Ly, a number of my breeders will come right up and let me pet them. They are so acustom to me and know I have FOOD, they are very willing to allow me to do this. It sure is cool! I have some pairs that when they have eggs and I am cleaning their tank that will come up to my hand or arm and try and push it away from the eggs, One big Pigeon male will even bite me! Ken

[BlueTurquoise]

Wow Ken! that is a revelation to me! It's a heartwarming thing to a newbie like me! :o It is unbeleavably cool! You really get attached to your fish when you know they trust you for life. It's an amazing feeling...

Thanks for sharing
Chong

[chirohorn]

Not to make light of this 'moment' for you, but do you have other pets? A dog or cat would offer much more in the affection department. I like discus as much as the next hobbyist, but this post worries me. :-\

Hmmm...and my wife thinks I'm crazy for doing WC every other day! ::)

BTW, good job in getting it back to health.

[BlueTurquoise]

LOL I don't have pets other pets currently but that's not the point.

Dogs are dogs, fish are slightly different when it comes to human trust and human interaction... Am I making any sense?? LOL

Chong

[fcdiscus]

Yes Chong, It is a unique experience few but us Discus nuts could truly understand! ;) Frank

[BlueTurquoise]

;D I am glad you understand hehe

[limige]

yes, i have a pair like that too!!!

whenever i need to change them to a different tank i simply put my hand in the water and gently lift them out, they trust me and it's much easier on both of us. this way they won't get scraped up by a net or other fish trying to avoid a net.

taking a while though, i used to feed lots of frozen foods, i think this is partially why. i would hold the food underwater sometimes and rub it as it melted and they would come eat it. sometimes i would just hold a cube in my fingers and let them peck the food off the cube in my hand.

i've very rewarding and tells you your doing something right!!!!

but, it's not good to do it often, fish aren't meant to be handled.

[BlueTurquoise]

That's true... I have only done it once so far without feeding and a few times at feeding time. The trust is there now so I just have to re-affirm the trust every so often, not all the time...

They let you pick them out of the water?? :o :o :o wow that is true trust!!!

Chong

Hey everybody..... my fish do the same- allow me to pick them up and they will even come to my hand when its in the water and swim through my cuffed hand over and over again. It is very cool. I too feed them by hand and they dart to the hand come feeding time. When Julz gave me her 2 very tame discus, they let me pick them up out of the bag and place them in their new home. My hands are always in the tank cause I do so many water changes and I wipe down the inside glass everyday!!!! (Need Julz to come fix me with PVC piping!!!!) They know who feeds them and does their water changes EVERYDAY!!!! heeheeheehee...

Weezy ;D

[TheDiscusKid]

Yea, my ss male lets me pet him. Its so cool how these fish get to know you very well to the point where they are not afraid. But when my other borthers come into the room, they hide lol. I guess cause they are not the ones that are feeding them lol :)

Bruce

[Tyler]

Weezy, mine used to swim through my hand too....but now that they are bigger than my hand, that doesn't happen much, lol.

Tyler

[Ashish]

Oh coool ,,, my discus also love me then ;) ! in my all tanks i have a glass partition in which i feed them so that the food doesn spread elsewher in the tank ,, so when they are hungry , which they always are , they all go and swim in the partition watchin me and givin me such a look as if they didnt had food since many years ,, they look so cute when they give such a innocent look :P ! But the discus in my show tank have a bad habbit they are with me last 2yrs and fed them with the same technique that is hand feeding , which i now avoid to my other tanks , cause now they are used to that so much that they dont eat food when i just throw it in ,,, they behave like small babies then i have to dip my hand in the water to feed them , pat them , cuddle them like puppies and they just rip the food from my fingers , im glad that my piranhas dont have such a habbit !! :)

my english is bit weak i guess :P

[larry lob]

Hi,

My community tank fish eat from my hands and let me pet them. it started when i added 3 juveniles to the other 4 adults, the juvies started picking my fingers when i did maintanance in the tank then they all lost thier fears of me. the funny thing is if my 5 year old daughter feeds them they eat from her hand but anyone else, NO WAY, just me and her.
My son gets upset and crys so i have to cover his hand with mine when he wants to feel them, he is 3. ::) ::) ::) ::)

Larry