Fish Abuse???

[Cheese Specialist]

Mine sits on my palm too, I would never hold them like that.

 

[nitro]

This seems to be the usual way of holding plecos within the import and wholesale trade.

Yup ive seen a website with simialr pics.

 

[CFC]

Beleive it or not that is the advised way to hold plecs for display and photography out of the water. As already suggested by letting the plec suck on the thumb it eases the stress and having the body away from the palm minimises slime loss and prevents over heating from our warm blooded hands, fish are cold blooded.

 

[benz_020]

If you've ever tried to handle a Plec, especially a large one, you'll know this is the best way to hold them. Their fins often have spines which can hurt and then make you drop the fish, thus really harming it. While it looks bad, it's not as stressful or dangerous for the fish as you think.

I have a 15" FAT sail fin and you would not want to hold him like that.
a couple of you fingers would dissappear in his mouth.

i rarely try to move him but if i have to i try to grab him like you would a cat fish
fingers under the side fins and palm over the top one holding it down.

 

[Teelie]

With one that large, you'd hold it differently, preferably with both hands.

 

[bunjiweb]

The correct way to hold a pleco if you HAVE to get a close look at it is in a similar way to how he is holding, but placing the finger which is on top of the fish further up just infront of the dorsal fin, this way the fish does not struggle.

However, the best way to get close up pictures or inspection of a fish is to catch it and place it into a fish shop bag with a small ammount of water.

Ben

 

[fufanu360]

well, i would think he is removing the fishes slime coat, and also burning the fish, the fish was in about 79degree farenhiet, then somethign 96 degrees is touching it, thats like us getting branded with a hot peice of iron

 

[Teelie]

I doubt that. The extremeties of the body aren't that warm, and besides, it would take more then that to burn the fish.

 

[fufanu360]

hmmmm i could be wrong, but still it would be quite warm

 

[Dwarfs]

It's not that much of a temp difference Plecos have an armor-like skin, which protects them from most things, incuding fingers

 

[Teelie]

It would be warm but not hot enough to actually discomfort the fish, especially since the fish isn't held for very long.

 

[fufanu360]

ok ok everyone, you all got ur burns in, you could stop telling me im wrong anytime now

 

[Opcn]

By the time your 80 degree skin (at the very most, my hands are about 70 degreese rght now, but my house is about 55) heated up the fish to a noticable degreee it would die of asphixiation (sp?) in addidtion to the specific heat of the body of the fish you have to consider the evaporation off the surface of the fish, If anything in most of our homes they would get cold