I got bit and for the first time it hurt and drew blood...

[Scrappy71113]

He mustve got you with the pharyngeal jaw. It packs more of a punch than the lips.

That's something I recently heard about. I knew a lot of fish have pharyngeal teeth (and thinking about it now, it makes sense that it would be attached to a jaw) but I was under the impression that those would be further back and I didn't have to worry about them.

 

[Scrappy71113]

My oscar Brick nailed me on the wrist once and it hurt...felt like a serrated clamp with sandpaper (or a monkey wrench). Had red welts for an hour...I was impressed by the strength of the bite. He was pissed because I kept moving stuff around in the tank. Usually I can put my hands in the water with no issue so this might have been a 'one off' deal. Was over a year ago.

I honestly hope this was a one off thing. Part of me thinks I was mistaken for food, part of me thinks he got impatient with me and was tired of waiting, and part of me wonders if I just managed to pick a day he was in a mood. I've been bit by a few creatures because I have a bad tendency of "ooh! look at that! I'm going to CATCH it!" So I've had way worse than this, but it did hurt my feelings. I have to admit, I yelled at him
"BRUTUS!!!! NO!!! YOU ASS HOLE!!! WHY ARE YOU SO MEAN?!?!?! GIR WOULDN'T HAVE DONE THAT TO ME!!!" lol
He's just too cute, I can't stay mad at him.

 

[FINWIN]

I honestly hope this was a one off thing. Part of me thinks I was mistaken for food, part of me thinks he got impatient with me and was tired of waiting, and part of me wonders if I just managed to pick a day he was in a mood. I've been bit by a few creatures because I have a bad tendency of "ooh! look at that! I'm going to CATCH it!" So I've had way worse than this, but it did hurt my feelings. I have to admit, I yelled at him
"BRUTUS!!!! NO!!! YOU ASS HOLE!!! WHY ARE YOU SO MEAN?!?!?! GIR WOULDN'T HAVE DONE THAT TO ME!!!" lol
He's just too cute, I can't stay mad at him.

lol. With Brick it was a mood. Usually I'll give him a pat and tickle and he's good. I hand feed him daily with no issues. In fact he's pretty delicate the way he plucks food from my fingertips with finesse. When he was an 8" juvie he would bite anything near his mouth to get food...he'd leap out of the water and grab my finger up to the knuckle. I was truly glad when he outgrew that 'excited' phase.

On some days when he's moody I get the big ole swole cabbage head like "go away."

 

[Jexnell]

My Amphilophus Saggitae Casper used to bite quite often.

So to prevent it I started in tank netting while I cleaned

After a about 1.5 years of this he finally signed the peace treaty and would just hang out on the side I wasn't cleaning and calmly switch sides as I cleaned the tank.

 

[Scrappy71113]

lol. With Brick it was a mood. Usually I'll give him a pat and tickle and he's good. I hand feed him daily with no issues. In fact he's pretty delicate the way he plucks food from my fingertips with finesse. When he was an 8" juvie he would bite anything near his mouth to get food...he'd leap out of the water and grab my finger up to the knuckle. I was truly glad when he outgrew that 'excited' phase.

That was gir. He would circle around and try to get the perfect angle, and he missed a lot, but he tried. Gir was so goofy and sweet. I miss him. One time, I came home from work and his tank was empty and I was freaking out, I found him next door in the 20 gallon Cory cat tank. He jumped out of the opening for the filter and landed in the 20 gallon (he was just a 3 or 4 inch baby at the time) and he was just like "Hi!!! Can you feed me now please?" Best Oscar I ever had and I don't think I would ever find another one like him.
Calcifer was grumpy, but he wasn't mean. He would flare up at me every time I walked by the tank, but once I got my hands in there, he would rub against me almost like a cat. He did nip at me a lot, but I think it was more of a "hey, get off my lawn!" kind of thing. You know, like the old men in cartoons and movies bopping people with a cane lol.
Flower has never tried to bite, nor does he take food from my hands. He avoids human contact outside of begging for food. Flower was not a planned fish either, he was more of a *knock knock* "can you save it? Please?" kind of thing.
Brutus is just an ass.

Below is me and baby Gir

 

[Scrappy71113]

My Amphilophus Saggitae Casper used to bite quite often.
View attachment 1506736View attachment 1506737View attachment 1506738
So to prevent it I started in tank netting while I cleaned
View attachment 1506742
After a about 1.5 years of this he finally signed the peace treaty and would just hang out on the side I wasn't cleaning and calmly switch sides as I cleaned the tank.
View attachment 1506743

I'm acquiring a Jaguar next weekend. I might have to start doing this. She's already layed her current owners hand open twice and he's done with her. She's about 12 inches long at the moment.

 

[kzimmerman]

I have a pao cambodgiensis named mr. Murder lips. I’m careful in his tank cause he has a serious bite and could take a chunk out of your flesh. He got me one time but couldn’t get a purchase, thank God.

 

[Scrappy71113]

I have a pao cambodgiensis named mr. Murder lips. I’m careful in his tank cause he has a serious bite and could take a chunk out of your flesh. He got me one time but couldn’t get a purchase, thank God.

That's a cute little fish. I've heard puffers can be bitey and fingers are nice sausage sized snacks to them. My kiddo wants an mbuna, and I had to tell her no. We shall live the mbuna life through our local pet store. They have a 10 inch one named Dave. I want to pick him up and cuddle him.

 

[kzimmerman]

Here’s the murderous little guy. It’s not so much that he is aggressive, he just regards every living thing as food and seems to be insatiable!

 

[kzimmerman]

Okay, there he was going to be, but it won’t upload the pic.