Petting fish

[LadyAqua]

The only thing in my tank that I "pet" per say is my cleaner shrimp. As soon as my hand goes in he seeks me out like a missile and jumps on and starts "cleaning" me. I think its cute, his name is "Kitty".

[FragFarmer]

Fish have a natural slime coat on their body to protect against outside disease and parasites.

Rubbing their body with something unnatural (your finger or hand) removes that slime coat and exposes them to disease.

I say no. Pet your dog or cat. Pet your lizard. Pet your snake or spider. But please don't pet your fish.

[Basile]

Originally Posted by FragFarmer

Fish have a natural slime coat on their body to protect against outside disease and parasites.

Rubbing their body with something unnatural (your finger or hand) removes that slime coat and exposes them to disease.

I say no. Pet your dog or cat. Pet your lizard. Pet your snake or spider. But please don't pet your fish.

That why i did that thread i see to many petting and then they wonder why the fish get sick suddenly.

[Bigpapa]

I have a large naso that likes to eat dried seeweed from my fingers then I leave my hand in as he swims carefully around. It seems to get both him and I comfortable with each other-now he comes to one end of the tank when he sees me enter the room and follows me across the tank till I reach in with it.
On the other hand, I have had freshwater mollies from berth and when I put my hand in there tank, they will actually rest in the cup of my hand.

I dont recommend touching as I also am aware of the slime and other issues but I also like to interact and with the naso-about 10" so he has large tail spikes- I think it is benificial for him to feel comfortable with me like that-if he startles it would cause major havoc in the tank.

[SiNiStEr NaTiOn]

Well I for one would never pet a fish in my tank, and i do use gloves when i do have to put my hands in the tank for some reason. But as far as petting your fish is ok, well if thats what you want to do then do, even though allot of people in this thread gives reason why you shouldn't.

If you had a FO or a FOWLR and the 3 most beautiful fish in that tank is a Lionfish, Scorpionfish, and a morey eel (sorry if I mispelled morey), would you want to stick your hand in the tank with gloves or no gloves to pet them?

[seafansar]

Originally Posted by SiNiStEr NaTiOn

If you had a FO or a FOWLR and the 3 most beautiful fish in that tank is a Lionfish, Scorpionfish, and a morey eel (sorry if I mispelled morey), would you want to stick your hand in the tank with gloves or no gloves to pet them?

I wouldn't want to pet them at all gloves or no gloves!

Does anyone who "pets" their fish actually touch them that much? I mean when I say I "pet" my fish I barely touch them with my finger. They really don't let me do much more than that.

And the slime coat thing, got me wondering about game fish you catch and release in the wild. They seem to do fine if you're not an idiot about holding them before releasing them. Just a thought.

[nightfire76]

one day our leapord shark jumped out the tank and my dad and i tried to get him back in the tank with bare hands......BAD IDEA does that constitute petting ya fish by accident lol

[seafansar]

Oh that's like when my dad picked up his eel that jumped. Bit him a few times before he got it back into the tank.

[nightfire76]

one word for anyone wanting sharks,eels and for general protection for ya fish...gaurd on the top of the tank...well thats more then one word ,but hey,im not great at math

[Frankie]

I voted no. Like a few have stated, petting your fish is unhealthy for them and possibly you also.

[johnmaloney]

hurts their slime coat doesn't it?

[kathywithbirds]

I only said yes because the CBB rubs up against me if my hand gets in the tank. He eats out of my hand (washed with antibacterial soap beforehand). He doesn't seem to be real good at catching food in the water column.

[Kingfish]

have you ever put your penis in the tank? that should have been the question.

[leebca]

Fish should never be touched nor hand-fed. People think it's 'cute' but fish are in a different environment than say dogs and cats.

Fish bacteria can be transmitted to people and people bacteria can be transmitted to fish. We should avoid altering the bacteria in the water.

However, there are some bacteria that are disease bacteria that can infect humans from fish and from humans to fish. These bacteria of the Mycobacterium sp. are responsible for tumors, lesions, etc. which are very difficult to heal in humans and usually cause fish to die.

Use gloves if you have to put your hands into the water. There are many thick gloves on the market if you have to put hands into water where fish might bite or sting, and there are thin gloves for cleaning and general landscaping. Both types of gloves are shoulder length.

Marine aquariums should not be put into public places like schools, doctor's offices, etc. unless the school and office understands this information about disease transmittal and still approves of the marine aquarium being on their premises.

[l3fty999]

Originally Posted by Frankie

I voted no. Like a few have stated, petting your fish is unhealthy for them and possibly you also.

Kinda sounds like we have two schools of thought here: those who actually "pet" their fish and those that just want their fish not to panic when hands are in the tank for maintenance. I myself enjoyed having my sailfin tang eating from my hands, but I never tried anything more than that. In my opinion, if they're not afraid of you, then tank maintenance can be seamlessly implemented. And yes, I use gloves, I have a microscope and have seen lots of things I don't want infecting me and my fish or other animals in my care. Just my opinion, of course.

Aaron