Biting

[pat_man_ta]

So my pair of black false percs do fine with their tankmates but they don't seem as tolerant of ME. They know I feed them but if my hand goes in the water, i get tagged. Has anyone had this problem? I know I've read about this kind of thing before.

Anyway, the point is, that I'm trying to find a way to discourage this behavior before they get big enough to do more than startle and amuse me. I am thinking about making a hand analog to sit/float/suspend in the tank so hopefully they become accustomed to there being a hand or hand shaped THING in their territory. Has anyone else tried this or had success in NOT GETTING BITTEN ANYMORE?

 

[Slakker]

...don't go near their stuff?

Clowns defend their territory...your hand is scary...do the math, man. My clowns do it, your clowns do it, everyone else's probably do too. It's probably just going to get worse as they mature, too.

One more reason to keep your hands out of the tank.

 

[billy73]

A guy I know had 1 named jaws it would bite the webing between your fingers. He never had any luck nor have I.

 

[Zaita]

Our Occ bite. Can't discourage it, it just annoys them more

 

[pat_man_ta]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12725892#post12725892 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Slakker
...don't go near their stuff?

Clowns defend their territory...your hand is scary...do the math, man. My clowns do it, your clowns do it, everyone else's probably do too. It's probably just going to get worse as they mature, too.

One more reason to keep your hands out of the tank.

eh, they don't have a defined territory other than THE WHOLE TANK as far as I can tell and I'm not just gonna leave that frag sitting there on the sandbed (damn brittle stars).

 

[fyrefysh]

lol, that's great, I think that EVERYBODY's clowns do that once they become established. You could try wearing rubber gloves!

 

[pat_man_ta]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12726119#post12726119 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by fyrefysh
lol, that's great, I think that EVERYBODY's clowns do that once they become established. You could try wearing rubber gloves!

I should be wearing them anyway

Eh, I'll try what I'm gonna try and see if they mellow out on me. Otherwise I'll just have to take it like a man

 

[myreefcentral]

mine hasn't started biting me yet...but then again, it's a juvi picasso clown...

 

[pat_man_ta]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12726264#post12726264 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by myreefcentral
mine hasn't started biting me yet...but then again, it's a juvi picasso clown...

Try not to panic when it does! :eek2:

Instinct will tell you to jerk your hand out and that could make bad things happen!

 

[sk8rreefgeek]

My clowns don't seem to mind my hand in there

I've had the B&W for almost two years. They both seem accostomed to me. Maybe they know when I'm done, they'll have fresh cleaner water :smokin:

Guess I got lucky. my GF swapped out her false perc for biting her. she got a much cooler true perc so it ended up good

 

[sk8rreefgeek]

which tank are they in?

 

[pat_man_ta]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12726581#post12726581 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by sk8rreefgeek
which tank are they in?

The 58.

They are 1" long.

They don't give a @#$%! how bit I am

 

[pat_man_ta]

i meant, "big"...

 

[billy73]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12726413#post12726413 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by pat_man_ta
Try not to panic when it does! :eek2:

Instinct will tell you to jerk your hand out and that could make bad things happen!

Yes the elusive flying fish


:lol:

 

[sk8rreefgeek]

that'll teach em

 

[davocean]

I accidentally found a way to discourage my maroon from biting me.
I noticed everytime I wore my stainless dive watch, she'd hit the watch.
Got to the point that wearing that watch became a regular part of maintenence.
After a while, she gave up, not sure if she thought she couldn't hurt me, or if it dulled her teeth or started to hurt or what, but she doesn't bite me anymore, even w/out the watch now.

 

[jtreefdweller]

Ya with my maroon clowns (especially the big female who is about 6inches) they will attack me if I move anything around in the tank or get too close to them. The female really packs a punch too and when they both bite at once it just gets too much to handle. Luckely they usually only do it when I move the rockwork, which isn't very often. I dont know what to say other then use gloves.

 

[littlefish72]

you'll get used to the bites in time.........but it's funny that a 3 inch fish can make a grown man scream like a girl the first time it happens

 

[schnell76]

Distract them with something else. When my hand is in "their" tank I put a plastic algae scraper between my hand and the female. That way she goes for the scraper and not my hand.

 

[ddawson]

LOL My Maroon use to pull the hair off my arms. Always made me jump.

Now with the new tank my Algae Blenny bites me and I'm wearing gloves again.

The new Perc’s are babies so hopefully they will be good kids.