How dangerous is an oscar really?

[fourty2]

LMAOOOOOOOOOOOOO!! I told my middle son that the bite didnt really hurt but just shocks you. so i demonstrated for him no problem. i go get a sandwich and his older brother comes running laughing hysterically. " dad shazaam wont let his finger go. i got down there and he was actually pulling the oscar around the front in tow. if i didnt know any better id swear he was teasing my son cuz he was little. me he bites

Bet he didn't do that again in a hurry

 

[Fish on Fire]

Not near as bad as the other large predatory cichlids, lol.

 

[notablonde89]

yeah try having your hand in with a mean jag or dovii

 

[TrikkyMakk]

I usually have my wife hold the net and fend off dangerous fish.

The idea above about using a scrubber with a handle and taking the water down to where the python can be used safely is good advice.

 

[skene]

Really... an oscar bite is like getting pinched with sandpaper. It really doesn't hurt, but they can surprise you if you aren't paying attention. My 11" Albino doesn't go after my hand when it's in the tank, but my 9" goes after knuckles when I clean the tank. When he gets too feisty, I just flick him once and he doesn't like it. Stays away from me after that.
The only thing I really fear in my tank is a lapradei that I have in the tank. I look at his teeth and make sure my fingers stay away from him when in there.

 

[FSM]

My GT will attack my fingers if I just have my hand in. Maybe he thinks it is food? Once I have my entire arm in the tank he stays away though.

 

[señor_pescados_felices]

haha any fish Ive ever had attack my hand I bop it on the nose like a dog and it eventually stops.

The worst one I had was a Jag, In which case I would put my hand in the water in a flicking position and when he came to bite me I just flicked him on the nose as hard as I could flick under water.

 

[killerfish]

not really a threat at all they can have teeth but lack the territorial niss and determination of say a midas or dovii

 

[AMG]

Oscars are extremely dangerous to glass thermometers and heaters. To a finger, not so much. But they can draw blood with a good hit.

 

[RDW]

I guess I am fortunate because I have a 13" Oscar myself, and he doesn't do anything to me at all, he is pretty much passive. The only thing he does is be the dominant one in the tank, and does that to his fellow fish living in the tank with him.