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Is it true that you can pet a fish? Is this harmful? What will it do?

Occasionally, a let my fish nibble my finger, or let the gourami feel me with its feelers, but ive never held a fish and pet it!

The reason im asking is that i have been seeing a lot of people pet their fish lately, and they start to talk to them..........

I think it is because they want a dog, but dont want to care for one.

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hmm interesting the i think the care for fish is great than that of a dog or cat.

*click *flash *click "whered he go???"

Petting fish is actually a very,very bad idea. A few very large fish may not sustain damage from petting,marine sharks and rays have tough denticles that prevent damage and there is no real harm in touching them (apart from the risk to you, obviously) but normal bodied fish under a foot in length have a slime layer running over the skin that is so delicate it can easily be damaged by contact with human skin, particularly if any pressure is applied.

This skin slime layer is their first and most effective protection from parasites , fungi and bacteria, it also helps maintain the fishs osmotic balance. If you keep damaging it with contact, eventually the fish will probably succumb to a whole range of omnipresent aquarium diseases. there is enough risk from having to net fish etc, why anyone would want to risk their fishs health by touching them is beyond me. This aint a puppy!

The other reason is stress. Fish do not generally appreciate human contact. Forcing contact will lead the fish to thinking its being attacked or harried and this can over time affect its immune system, and may lead to other problems like lack of feeding, and generally being timid.

Ive seen videos of people handling their fish excessively on places like youtube etc, its really a pretty stupid thing to do. Its not clever, these people are just risking their fishs health to entertain themselves. Its pretty sad.

If fish want touching, they will come to you. You'll be waiting a long time, although I have had cichlids bite me, and the odd fish flick against me because I looked like a good place to scratch, but this is always at their own volition, thusly meaning no stress.

Dont pet fish. They are not a suitable animal for it.

I agree with longhair, petting your fish is bad. Maybe hand feeding is as close as you should come to touching a fish. After all, doesn't most additives have a slime coat protection. I think fish keeping is and has always been a look don't touch hobby.

Djrichie
"Don't Panic"

Djrichie
"So Long, and Thanks For All The Fish" Douglas Adams

I've met one fish that seemed to like getting pet... It was a 13" Argus Grouper (Cephalopholis argus I believe) that lived at the store where I worked. Whenever I would stick my arms in to clean the tank, it would come up and lightly brush up against my hands, then turn around and do it on the other side. This fish was like a dog - I could even hand-feed it (large foods) without getting bitten.

Strangely, however, the fish absolutely hated everyone else who worked at the store. If they tried to clean the tank, the grouper would bite and attack them. I didn't know of this aggression for some time after I had been taking care of the fish, though, or else I obviously wouldn't have stuck my hands in. Once we learned that I was the only one who could safely reach into the tank, I became the grouper's unofficial caretaker.

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I'm not your neighbor, you Bakersfield trash.

Also a bit of Job Security.

Djrichie
"Don't Panic"

Djrichie
"So Long, and Thanks For All The Fish" Douglas Adams

yeah natalie Ive seen marines do that sort of thing lots of times, ive seen lots of footage of big groupers in wild situations take advantage of a good scratch from divers.They get all sorts of parasites and I suppose a good scratch from a diver is a less harsh alternative to ripping bits off yourself on sharp corals. Still, big marines are a breed apart from small freshwater fish. Some huge marine fish like sunfish even let seagulls rip plugs of flesh out of their sides to get rid of parasites, but I guess a ton of fish can afford to lose a few grams of skin.

Perhaps you looked like a big cleaner shrimp?

The lfs i go to, the person there always pets the gobies(theyre soooooo long!). I thoght this stressed it, but she told me it was ok.............4 weeks later it died.

Yes, that was my goby (hence the memorial name) and i still am sad when i see it in stock in the stores.........

EDIT: Oh, and BTW i just figured out why the goby died, thanks to all of you! My goby was also in a small tank. I never pet him, and he seemed to do fine...........Oh well!

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All about the slime coat...

Don't do it.

Chris

I some times have to physicaly lift my blind weather loach out of the way to clean because it wont move when im cleaning lol but im allways careful. And my angel fish likes to swim around my hand but i try not to touch them unless they are fighting a lot my gourami are recently so i have had to break it up a bit sometimes. I'm giving them to some friends soon though so hopefully that will stop.

But on the whole i wouldnt touch them i rememeber once when cleaning i caught my oranda and felt the slimecoat its not the nicest feeling lol

Sometimes you will have to touch the fish, depending on species and circumstances it may be necessary. I often have to move banjo catfish so I dont accidentally chop them in half when doing gravel cleaning, but they are a heavily armoured and tough fish. Youve always gotta do what youve gotta do, but touching fish for fun is not reason enough.

yeah, um...bad idea...