petting zoo inside a tank?

crankbait09 · 10/14/2015, 11:27 AM

I was reading a thread on here about fish interaction with humans and was surprised when i read that fish allow themselves to be pet/scratched by human hands.......

that blew my mind. Fish like to be pet/scratched??!! how awesome is that?!

so with that, how many of you pet your fish and or scratch them?

and what kind of fish do you have that allows you to do so?

CedzAquAddictio · 10/14/2015, 11:32 AM

My sailfin, Scarus Parrot, and just about all of my wrasses let me do it. The wrasses actually act like they want me to do it...

lifeoffaith · 10/14/2015, 12:58 PM

I think with a little work, I could get my clowns to let me "pet" them.

Bent · 10/14/2015, 02:16 PM

when I had my big FOWLR I had a porky puffer and a blue spot argus grouper that would let me pet them. They were like dogs.

billdogg · 10/14/2015, 02:20 PM

Hannibal, my 4' Gymnothorax Undulatus would come to the surface and stretch himself out after feeding. It would really freak out friends/family to see me stick my hands in there with him. Before feeding, you couldn't make me try it. I like my fingers too much.

crankbait09 · 10/14/2015, 02:20 PM

that is awesome.......so from the sounds of it, the BIGGER fish in the BIGGER tanks are the "friendliest"

crankbait09 · 10/14/2015, 02:21 PM

are snowflake eels friendly?

lilyep125 · 10/15/2015, 01:06 AM

I had a friend with a HUGE puffer that liked to be pet

ozmedic80 · 10/15/2015, 06:17 AM

where if I put my hand anywhere near my clowns I get tagged....

I think that they dont like me target feed their anemone. But having said that, the female will come up at feeding time and poke her head out of the water.

3dees · 10/15/2015, 11:29 AM

the only fish that will allow me to touch it is my one spot foxface, but lets be real, I'm not that stupid.

hotelbravo · 10/15/2015, 11:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by crankbait09

are snowflake eels friendly?

i love my snowflake eel its very active, and even shares holes with my firefish sometimes its kinda fun to see them both sticking there heads out. however I will not dare to pet it. it nips things to see if its food. when i put the feeding tongs in the tank it does bite around until it finds the food. their eyesight is poor. they smell food and hone in on it. so im nervous when i clean the tank and the eel comes out and see's my hand and starts inching over to it. im not sure if this is accurate but ive heard their bite can infect since it has bacteria in the saliva.

Mackenze · 10/15/2015, 11:40 AM

My emerald crab loves to climb on my hand. At first hed get into his fighting pose and attempt to battle my finger, but now he reaches for my finger every time, climbs on top and just looks down at everything while I hand him a pellet food. So im pretty sure he trusts me lol

Sk8r · 10/15/2015, 11:44 AM

Koi. Freshwater fish. They're hedonists, and love to rub against each other, rocks, or the hand that feeds them, total blissout.

Morfishlee · 10/15/2015, 12:50 PM

I had a pair of GSMs in my last tank 5 years ago that loved to be pet. The female would rub against my finger like a cat does your leg. I miss them.

kmbyrnes · 10/15/2015, 04:29 PM

All my FOWLR fish eat out of my ( and my granddaughter's ) hand. I can pet my Naso Tang, Flagfin Angel and Koran Angel. Not always, but we just started training them.

crankbait09 · 10/15/2015, 06:21 PM

GSM's? what is that

Bent · 10/15/2015, 06:25 PM

Green spotted mandarins?

Or
Gross Smelly Moms, take your pick. Though Im not sure I would want one running against my fingers like a cat. That's just me though, not here to judge.

10/14/2015, 11:27 AM	#1
crankbait09 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Cincinnati, Ohio Posts: 932	petting zoo inside a tank? I was reading a thread on here about fish interaction with humans and was surprised when i read that fish allow themselves to be pet/scratched by human hands....... that blew my mind. Fish like to be pet/scratched??!! how awesome is that?! so with that, how many of you pet your fish and or scratch them? and what kind of fish do you have that allows you to do so?

10/14/2015, 02:16 PM	#4
Bent I got nothin' Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: The anals Posts: 6,420	when I had my big FOWLR I had a porky puffer and a blue spot argus grouper that would let me pet them. They were like dogs. __________________ Quitters never lose. [QUOTE=CStrickland]Who gets mad at a starfish?[/QUOTE] Current Tank Info: 75g DT, 30G refugium, 10g chaeto tank, 50g stock tank basement sump

10/14/2015, 02:20 PM	#5
billdogg Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Grove City, Ohio Posts: 10,806	Hannibal, my 4' Gymnothorax Undulatus would come to the surface and stretch himself out after feeding. It would really freak out friends/family to see me stick my hands in there with him. Before feeding, you couldn't make me try it. I like my fingers too much. __________________ I'll try to be nice if you try to be smarter! I can't help that I grow older, but you can't make me grow up! Current Tank Info: 120 mixed reef with 40b sump, RO 150 skimmer, AI Sol Blue x 2, and a 60g Frag Tank with 100g rubbermaid sump. 2 x Kessil A360w lights, BM curve 5 skimmer

10/15/2015, 11:44 AM	#13
Sk8r RC Mod Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Spokane WA Posts: 34,628 Blog Entries: 55	Koi. Freshwater fish. They're hedonists, and love to rub against each other, rocks, or the hand that feeds them, total blissout. __________________ Sk8r Salinity 1.024-6; alkalinity 8.3-9.3 on KH scale; calcium 420; magnesium 1300, temp 78-80, nitrate .2. Ammonia 0. No filters: lps tank. Alk and cal won't rise if mg is low. Current Tank Info: 105g AquaVim wedge, yellow tang, sailfin blenny,royal gramma, ocellaris clown pair, yellow watchman, 100 microceriths, 25 tiny hermits, a 4" conch, 1" nassarius, recovering from 2 year hiatus with daily water change of 10%.

10/15/2015, 04:29 PM	#15
kmbyrnes Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2013 Location: Mesa AZ Posts: 2,055	All my FOWLR fish eat out of my ( and my granddaughter's ) hand. I can pet my Naso Tang, Flagfin Angel and Koran Angel. Not always, but we just started training them. __________________ 125g Mixed Reef 5/26/2015; 350 Butterfly Dominated FOWLR 11/26/2015 - 11/17/20217 & 07/31/18 to ??? ; 100g Mixed Reef 11/16/2013 to 06/16/2017 Current Tank Info: Too small

10/14/2015, 11:32 AM	#2
CedzAquAddictio Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2012 Posts: 931	My sailfin, Scarus Parrot, and just about all of my wrasses let me do it. The wrasses actually act like they want me to do it...

10/14/2015, 12:58 PM	#3
lifeoffaith Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2013 Location: Grand Rapids MI area Posts: 737	I think with a little work, I could get my clowns to let me "pet" them.

10/14/2015, 02:21 PM	#7
crankbait09 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Cincinnati, Ohio Posts: 932	are snowflake eels friendly?

10/15/2015, 01:06 AM	#8
lilyep125 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2014 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 65	I had a friend with a HUGE puffer that liked to be pet

10/15/2015, 06:17 AM	#9
ozmedic80 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2015 Posts: 29	where if I put my hand anywhere near my clowns I get tagged.... I think that they dont like me target feed their anemone. But having said that, the female will come up at feeding time and poke her head out of the water.

10/15/2015, 11:29 AM	#10
3dees Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Chicago burbs Posts: 793	the only fish that will allow me to touch it is my one spot foxface, but lets be real, I'm not that stupid.

10/15/2015, 11:40 AM	#12
Mackenze Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2015 Location: Austin, Texas Posts: 74	My emerald crab loves to climb on my hand. At first hed get into his fighting pose and attempt to battle my finger, but now he reaches for my finger every time, climbs on top and just looks down at everything while I hand him a pellet food. So im pretty sure he trusts me lol

10/15/2015, 12:50 PM	#14
Morfishlee Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2015 Posts: 3	I had a pair of GSMs in my last tank 5 years ago that loved to be pet. The female would rub against my finger like a cat does your leg. I miss them.

10/15/2015, 06:21 PM	#16
crankbait09 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Cincinnati, Ohio Posts: 932	GSM's? what is that

10/15/2015, 06:25 PM	#17
Bent I got nothin' Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: The anals Posts: 6,420	Green spotted mandarins? Or Gross Smelly Moms, take your pick. Though Im not sure I would want one running against my fingers like a cat. That's just me though, not here to judge. __________________ Quitters never lose. [QUOTE=CStrickland]Who gets mad at a starfish?[/QUOTE] Current Tank Info: 75g DT, 30G refugium, 10g chaeto tank, 50g stock tank basement sump