Do you punish your fish

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nothing more then tap on the glass for me maybe a flick if they wont stop fighting even after the tap on the glass. but i guess im more just stopping conflict not punishing them. but i could see punishment working, fish do have the capacity to associate cause and reactions to a point(you can train a goldfish to do tricks.).
 
I've "chased" my Oscar a few times with my own hand when he's been overly aggresive towards my fire eels. The big bad hand now only has to dangle above the tank if he's being naughty for him to get the point. I htink he associates it more as another fish then actual punishment... he's messing w/ my hands mates!.. rofl.. But he also gets bored and rams the tank too, particularly when I'm tryign to read a good book -.-.... he seriously needs a hobby i think. They need to make Oscar toys.. like they do for Parakeets..
 
Punishment serves one of two functions… it teaches a less.. Or as torture…

Since fish are wired to learn a lesson… punishing a fish is only torturing them… which most would probably consider abuse…

I suggest you properly house your fish as opposed to trying to torture their nature out of them…
 
DucatiDragster;3440856; said:
My way of punishing my fishes is taking them out with a net and giving them some fresh air.

haha, self satisfaction.

I've seen a fish chasing another fish relentlessly before I stuck the net in there and chased him around. I saw it again, and did it again a few other times. It still does it, worse I think.
 
i once saw a coworker punch a big male texas cichlid after it bit him. he didn't hit it hard but the fish got the idea and backed off
 
yes you can definitely punish & train an oscar or jack dempsey, i did it with 2, but i had another oscar that was responding well (if he would nip my hujeta i would run over to the tank & tap him gently with the net-if he was following him very closely ready to bite-i followed the oscar with the net very closesly)-this works on some fish & on others it doesnt, eventually the oscar got too big & started getting brazen, altho they are DEFINITELY smart enough to teach/punish-it takes a long time to accomplish this task (months & a lot of close watching/net tapping).
 
I generally scream and curse at mine when they make me mad. If that doesn't work I start talking about their momma's.
 
well my fish are doing great if i have to i guess ill try the taping idea if the oscar goes after the aro again but nothin to crazy id rather not hurt them they are pretty much defenseless to us
 
nc_nutcase;3440914; said:
Punishment serves one of two functions… it teaches a less.. Or as torture…

Since fish are wired to learn a lesson… punishing a fish is only torturing them… which most would probably consider abuse…

I suggest you properly house your fish as opposed to trying to torture their nature out of them…


:screwy:... Your one of those people who has a lil' yappy dog that bites people aren't you? And actually Punishment and Torture imo are one and the same. I look at it as more conditioning and encourageing a positive response. I've trained horses, dogs, cats, and I train my fish. Offering what personal experiances have done, and what do's and don't people should do would be much more helpful then simply saying "properly house your fish!" my fish are housed properly, I just have a nasty Oscar who needed an attitude adjustment. And thats how I did it. I used a psychological adaptation that he could identify with and rationalize as a fish.

takeing your fish out of water... yeah thats torture.
flicking your fish on the nose to release another fish... I'de do it too!

"Houseing your fish properly"....

I housed my horse properly.. I got her as a late weanling... I raised her myself and started saddle training her at 4yrs old... I raised her gentle, and spoiled her rotten... and at around 1000lbs.. no provication... she tried to corner me in her stall and kill me.

So haveing no discipline, no respect, almost got me killed because I didn't want to be "mean!"...

Granted a majority of Fish can't kill you... But there are certaintly some in the industry that can. I'de prefer not to see my Oscar bash his face into his tank in a mentally unhealthy way if I could find a way to train it out of him. And I'm sure with some aggresive species thats simply their nature and you can't expect them to change and live with guppies and minnows.. But realistically you can encourage healtier mentality in a tank.
 
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