I can pet my arowana, Drogo. He only really tolerates it if he's about to get fed and wants something from me. If he's fat and happy, he swims to the bottom to avoid me. The bugger knows that he has to put up with my shenanigans to get what he wants sometimes.
I've succeeded in touching my GATF at times, but that makes me nervous. When he was little and I was in the tank, I could move him by hand if I had to. Since he's started getting bigger though, he's getting frighteningly confident and has begun to challenge me. Recently I was trying to shoo him away from some rocks that I was trying to place that he insisted on being near, but he wouldn't move. So, I gently brushed him to the side. He proceeded to turn back to me and fin up and display at my hand quite aggressively.
I let him stay near the rocks.
I always stayed away from petting anything other than cichlids. When I was a kid I petted a red tail barracuda and I barely got away with my fingers. My bichirs are too scared to allow me to touch.I pet my Fahaka puffer, kind of. He is young and only about 6". I want him to let me pet him but not be aggressive. I don't hand feed him becuase I am afraid he will look at my hands as a food source. That could mean lost fingertips or chunks of my hide when cleaning the tank. I used to have a Jardini that I could pet and hand feed. He would bite fingers when feeding. I am trying to get my Leichardti relaxed enough to pet. I need to start working on my Irwini and Giraffe cats. I don't really trust my bichirs since they are such pea brains.
I never heard of it. I've been doing that with fish I can trust for quite a while now, and I never had much troubles.Has anyone heard that petting can compromise the immune system of the fish since it removes some of the slimecoat. Just curious not trying to troll honest
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