# My fish bite me?



## FVernese (Jan 12, 2012)

My Acei bit me when I put my arm in the tank. It stings and leaves little red marks. I almost broke the hood the first time but I am getting use to it. Anyone heard of this I did not know they have teeth? Not sure why since the tank is good size and I take real good care of them. It is only the Acei I none of the other Mbuna bite me. 
I guess I will have to get gloves to put my arm in when I change rocks around or move them to clean tank as I am getting to many welts now. LOL but it hurts.


----------



## GTZ (Apr 21, 2010)

I haven't gotten any welts or noticed any real pain from any of my fish when they nibble.


----------



## Super Turtleman (May 21, 2007)

Yeah, they usually can't really get a good bite on you. You sure it's an Acei? ;-)


----------



## vann59 (Jun 20, 2011)

The fish which I have taught to hand feed will nibble my hand, but the others don't at all.


----------



## theswede (Oct 5, 2009)

Crabro injurys! :wink:









By thesweed at 2011-05-07


----------



## FVernese (Jan 12, 2012)

Super Turtleman said:


> Yeah, they usually can't really get a good bite on you. You sure it's an Acei? ;-)


Ya they are the yellow tail Acei. No they really do not get a good bit as they are small now, but they bite the under part of my upper arm when I go to move a rock and I do have little red dots where they bite me. It is kind of like a horse fly sting. I can live with it since they are only 2 inches but when they get to 4 inches not sure how it would feel. Do you know it they have teeth?

I just started this tank about three months ago and added a full load of 36 fish on a fishless cycle. I have all Mbuna except I added five crimson tide (4f and 1m) as I really like the male colors. They are all doing great and the Acei have grown well but are the only ones that bite me.


----------



## FVernese (Jan 12, 2012)

theswede said:


> Crabro injurys! :wink:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Wow a lot worse than my bites but mine are still small.


----------



## vann59 (Jun 20, 2011)

The crabros appear to have a piranha complex.

:lol:


----------



## k7gixxerguy (Jan 12, 2012)

vann59 said:


> The crabros appear to have a piranha complex.
> 
> I used to reach in my old piranha tank all the time for cleaning. After they were fed of course. They never came near me, but I was always wary of them too.
> 
> :lol:


----------



## Dawg2012 (May 10, 2012)

vann59 said:


> The crabros appear to have a piranha complex.
> 
> :lol:


LOL!


----------



## Thatfishkid7 (Mar 19, 2012)

Had a 7 inch male acei ngara draw blood, it was bad. I was moving his pot and he clamped into the back of my hand.


----------



## vann59 (Jun 20, 2011)

Thatfishkid7 said:


> Had a 7 inch male acei ngara draw blood, it was bad. I was moving his pot and he clamped into the back of my hand.


Never mess with a fish's pot.

I got bit by a chihuahua once, but it didn't draw blood.

On the bright side, maybe now there's a market for chain mail tank cleaning gloves.


----------



## SMoKe0uT (Aug 27, 2011)

My 3" Kenyi Bites all the time its like it locks on to my arm. I leave it on there on purpose to watch him LOL he goes for moles thinking they are food Hahaha.

Also My 5" Red top zebra leaves a nasty mark They have wide mouths.


----------



## FVernese (Jan 12, 2012)

Nice to know that others have this issue as well. Thought it was just my fish.

Thanks all


----------



## theoryguru (Oct 11, 2011)

Wow, aggressive!

I dare not put my hand in with my 12" red devil, he's rips off the coarse sponge from the handle I clean his tank.


----------



## vann59 (Jun 20, 2011)

Is there some kind of support group for battered aquarists?


----------



## cichlid7 (Mar 22, 2007)

I have had this w an unknown to me species that was probably overeager to breed w younger fish, no dice. this fish was an angry male that killed a few, and I gve him to the local fish store. then another one was the boss not letting any fish in sight without being tortured, then another one, (common yellow labs exct) in the haunted 30 gallon. I restocked & started over in that one sevral times, and bought a 55 & things calmed down.


----------



## pmdf (Sep 20, 2006)

The only fish I ever had that used to bite me every time I placed my hand in the tank was a male Altolamp Compressiceps. Probably my favourite of all the fish I've ever kept, but he obviously wasn't quite so keen on me!

I've also had a few Neolamprologus Multifasciatus that have had a nibble on my hand now and again - those little things are tougher than miniature Mike Tysons and would be deadly if they were ten times bigger!


----------



## Dawg2012 (May 10, 2012)

vann59 said:


> Is there some kind of support group for battered aquarists?


Looks like you'll have to start your own... I googled "battered aquarist syndrome" however none of the results listed related to a support group lol.

God grant me the Serenity to accept those little nibbles that do not hurt, Courage to withstand the ones that do, and the Wisdom to know when to fillet that fish for dinner!


----------



## DIAMOND_CICHLIDS (Sep 22, 2011)

vann59 said:


> Is there some kind of support group for battered aquarists?


 :lol:

I have had fish bite me , at first i was scared it would hurt, then when i noticed it didn't do anything i started tu put my arms in the aquarium with no worry....but now... that i see this i'm gonna start to be scared of them and be reticent in the next wc!! lol


----------



## HealyPara1640 (May 26, 2012)

In my south American tank I have a convict cichlid that draws blood! He's only about 3" now and it hurts like ****. Can't wait until he gets bigger ...


----------



## Eskimette (Jun 7, 2012)

theoryguru said:


> Wow, aggressive!
> 
> I dare not put my hand in with my 12" red devil, he's rips off the coarse sponge from the handle I clean his tank.


upon reading all this.. and looking at my little 1.5 inch babies.. I'm going to go get one of those rod-arms for my tank..lol.. you guys have all instilled fear..and I have tiny arms and hands.. so I'm that much more afraid LOL


----------



## Runt105 (Jun 8, 2012)

wow...u all got me worried now..i had never been bit by my others I had in the past and recently started over again as my last one recently passed away after having him for about 5 years...i think he was a livingstonii...i admit i am not the most knowledgeable but know it was a male as he fathered the young of my OB Zebra...unfortunately, he was the only one that survived due to my mistake of grabbing the water clarifier instead of the tap water conditioner when i was adding water to main and nursery tanks but seemed real happy to have a whole tank to himself  ...anyways back to topic, is that nearest pet shop in walking distance only sold the mixed africans and i think i may now have 3 kenyis and 1 Yellow Tail Acei at the time being who seems to be the dominant one in the tank at the time and I thought I read that kenyis were more aggressive than the yellow tail. After reading what y'all wrote, I went over to the tank corner she (i think) likes to greet me in waiting for food and getting all excited and I told her she better not bite me!!....LOL.....on another curious thought, one of the mbunas I used to have was addicted to bubbles..he would go over to where the bubbles were coming up, suck them in his mouth, swim across to opposite side of tank and blow them out and would keep repeating...Has anyone else had this experience?


----------



## Dawg2012 (May 10, 2012)

Runt105 said:


> ...on another curious thought, one of the mbunas I used to have was addicted to bubbles..he would go over to where the bubbles were coming up, suck them in his mouth, swim across to opposite side of tank and blow them out and would keep repeating...Has anyone else had this experience?


Ah ha ha that's funny! I haven't had any fish do that but can easily imagine it. Their personalities and quirks are part of what makes keeping cichlids fun 

I do have one fish that spits gravel at the plastic side of the time out tank when she's pissed. I swear she does it just to say she's pissed. She spits it hard so we can hear it in the other room. If you stand and watch her she'll do it right in front of you and look at you like... what are you going to do about that #$%&^*!?


----------



## repeter (Dec 11, 2011)

My friends flowerhorn bit his dad during a water change and his arm was shooting out blood. Feisty fish they are.


----------



## sus (Aug 29, 2009)

Tiger barbs (I know non-cichlid  ) and Tanganyikan hecqui are the two kinds that used to nibble on my hand, later ones specifically during gravel-vacuuming. :fish: 
Initially I couldn't believe this and was lil scared (as mentioned by Diamond_Cichlids), but finally found it didn't hurt.


----------



## bcoleiro (Jun 14, 2012)

My Victorian Haps will bite my finger if I hover my finger around the surface of the water. I kinda trained them to do it though haha!! I would get my finger wet, stick some flakes to my finger and hover it about 3cm above the surface and they would jump out of the water to get the flakes!

Its quite a sight


----------



## slava2929 (Dec 24, 2017)

The fish I love more than life itself (fully grown male rainbow cichlid) BIT me today. I removed a large plastic plant from his half of my 29 gallon (tiny female convict in other half) and he went nuts. He turned black and was vibrating like crazy and wouldn't stop. Eventually I figured I'd put the plant back and for I second I thought he was going after me. Normally he runs from me. Any doubt I had about him biting me was removed when he hit me hard on my index finger. Felt like a firm pinch. He wasn't happy with me messing around in his territory. I'm relatively new to cichlids but didn't ever see this happening. I guess he was just protecting his small part of the world so I can't be too angry, but it's still weird.


----------



## DutchAJ (Dec 24, 2016)

Pretty old thread resurrection! My mbuna will usually nibble at me but haven't gotten aggressive.


----------



## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

I never had this happen until I got maingano...they are very nippy!


----------



## Hock (Mar 23, 2012)

My fish in my 125 would attempt to nibble on any freckles i had on my arm. My wife thought it was funny until i made her put her hand in there and they nipped her also lol


----------



## Cyphro (Mar 23, 2018)

Some fish will attack my cleaning tools and even try to do it through the glass but they always are friendly to my hand in the tank, thank goodness.


----------

