BettaBuddy ~ Miley

i stick the tip of my tank a bit in the water and Oscar will swim up to it - if he bites will it hurt me and is that bad should i stop doing that? ii like pull out before he gets to my finger cause i am scared he will bite.
Miley

Golden Fish

If "Oscar" is not a Oscar, than you should be fine. It feels kind of weird. My Barbs see my fingers and go into feeding mode and nibble away until i remove my hand. It is pretty funny, they also attack my gravel cleaner! LOL

Golden Fish

Unless of course you have really small fingers.

BettaBuddy ~ Miley

oh i am sorry i didn't even relize that i made it seem like Oscar was an Oscar - Oscar i8s a crowntail betta! sorry! also my fingers are normal size lol - so a betta biteing my fingers won't hurt at all just feel like a puppy knibbling on me

Golden Fish

I kind of guessed he was a betta...The puppy bites alot harder than Oscar will.

BettaBuddy ~ Miley

so it won't hurt it will just feel funny? Miley

Golden Fish

No Ma'am not a bit.

chickadee

If Oscar is angry from seeing another betta or he has been teased he can bite HARD and draw blood, but for the most part he will give you little bitty love nips and they will not hurt. Just be very careful not to have any lotion or anything on your hands and that they are clean when you put them in the tank and do not put your hand or any finger in the tank that has any cuts or open areas on it. (for your own safety as well as his)

Rose

BettaBuddy ~ Miley

ok will do an when i stick my finger in hes very skittish so not flare but cowardly but not afraid ya know? like respectful. Miley

BettaBuddy ~ Miley

i juist thought of this - what if he thinks i am food and bites me hard? do they bite their food hard? Miley

Phloxface

My Bettas bite my fingers all the time. Even when they bite kind of hard it just feels like a piece of tape stuck to your finger for a second. It doesn't hurt at all. Their teeth are too small to bite through human skin. Maybe if he bit you in a spot where the skin is thinner or more sensitive, like on the inside of your wrist, you might feel a sharp pinch. If he kept attacking and biting the same thin spot I suppose he could draw blood, but there no way your little Oscar would ever be that angry with you. When my females were together and attacking each other and I had to put my hand in to break it up. They all started biting me hard because they were so angry at each other they didn't know what they were doing. I felt the bites on my wrist and it left little red marks but no blood. I wouldn't say it hurt really, but it was a bit startling. Still, I have no fear of my fish and they can nip me all they want. Unless they are really angry, like when they are fighting with another fish (which you don't have to worry about anyways), their bites are just playful. Sometimes they bite and hang on for a few seconds so don't get scared and pull your hand up suddenly, or he might go flying across the room! Most of the time it just feels like a peck. One of my Bettas, Lava, will even jump up and kiss my nose if I hold my face close to the water.

AesSedai

Miley

I remember a woman who posted here who had her Betta's tank on a stand next to where she sat and she said she just dangled her fingers in the water as she watched tv and her Betta would play with them

My mom swears that when she had Bettas (I don't recall her having them and yet saw her tanks soo many times and even rebuilt the caves she made from rock often and still don't remember them....) that they would come to her hand and actually sit in it! I've heard others say their Betta does that too.

Your Betta sure has to trust you to do that with you I'd think. I'm not comfortable enough for Zen to go uncovered long enough for me to be dangling my hand in his tank. He jumps at his food alot so....don't want him jumping out.

Like Rose said, don't forget to make sure you don't have soap, lotion or even fresh nail polish on when your fingers are in the tank. Zen has nipped my fingers when feeding him brine shrimp. It hangs off the tip of my finger just under the surface and he comes and gets em. You can barely feel his lil bite. Not a bite that would startle you or make you jump at all, unless like someone said, he's mad or irritated.

AesSedai

Phloxface, you said, "One of my Bettas, Lava, will even jump up and kiss my nose if I hold my face close to the water."

That is just SOOO cute, so sweet. Great image to carry around today

Phloxface

Lava's my big mommy's boy! It was my brother that first discovered that Lava will kiss your nose. He always held his face close to the water and tried to encourage him to do that. That was when he was in the ten gallon. Now that he's in the 5 gallon Hex it's just too much of a pain to take apart the whole top. He will also sit in my hand and sleep if I put my hand under water and cup it, and he likes to have his tail stroked. All my Bettas swim close to my hand and nibble me while I'm in there cleaning but Lava is the most affectionate.

AesSedai

That's soo cool, soo sweet.

I wish I dared try that. I assume though that since I'm nervous, I'd make him nervous too, afraid that I'd hurt him..or that he'd jump out. I should just get over it! lol I'd love to have that kind of trust with Zen!

(((((Lava, you sweet, sweet mommy's boy!!)))))

0morrokh

My Platys used to nibble at me when I did water changes. I think they were just looking for food though. Felt kinda wierd, a lot stronger and firmer than you'd expect for such a little fishie but of course not at all painful.

BettaBuddy ~ Miley

thank you all for your great advice and stories - also


would it hurt if a betta takes a nibble and do they usually get agressive tword fingers? Miley

0morrokh

I have never heard of fish being aggressive towards fingers, unless they are in the middle of a fight and all worked up so they bite at everyhting. Fishy nibbles don't hurt at all. They're just playing, or tasting you to see if you are food. Considering Bettas are picky eaters, I doubt they'd really bite you before tasting to see if you taste good (which you don't) Mostly I think nibbling and nipping is just in play.

Golden Fish

Loose any fingers in the tank yet Miley?

cherryrose

chickadee

I am going out on a limb here and just saying "keep your fingers out of the tank if you are worried about whether he will hurt you or not". He is not going to gash your finger or take a chunk out of it. He would probably not even nip you unless you are trying to feed him something on the end of your finger and he misses it and hits your finger instead or if you can see that he is agitated and upset for some reason and then you try to mess with him. They are not tempermental and nasty little fish, just do not like being messed with and it makes them nervous. If you want to play with him put your hand on the OUTSIDE of the tank and talk or sing to him for a few weeks and let him get to know you and then he will be confident when you are around that you are not going to hurt him.

Rose

BettaBuddy ~ Miley

ok - thank you all and like i talk to him all the time and hes eats his peas out of my hand! its adorable!.

not yet! lol Miley