taming cichlids

[alabaster]

is it possible to get a large central/south american cichlid when it is small and acclimate it to seeing your hand in the tank? Will a fish of an otherwise aggressive species accept your hand in the tank if it has gotten used to it from the time it was about 2" long?

 

[Synirr]

Sure, I think it's possible, but you have to establish your hand as the dominant fish
My midas hybrid has tried to be nippy with my hand on occasion, and when she did that, I'd move my hand towards her and kind of gently chase her... she figured out not to bite me, hehe.

 

[alabaster]

thanks for your response, very helpful.

just to clarify: mostly what i'd like to know is whether or not the fish will instinctively attack your hand every time you stick it in no matter what, or if they are capable of learning and remembering not to attack my hand.

 

[Dwarfs]

Young fish will generally flee from your hand, not attack it Adult specimens may be more aggressive

 

[Synirr]

thanks for your response, very helpful.

just to clarify: mostly what i'd like to know is whether or not the fish will instinctively attack your hand every time you stick it in no matter what, or if they are capable of learning and remembering not to attack my hand.

From my experience, they can definitely learn not to attack you. For a lot of them, though, the thought never even seems to cross their mind... my oscar has never bitten me except when mistaking my thumb for food
They just get used to seeing you and know you're not a threat. Only the most aggressive are going to attack, I'd say.

 

[juanveldez]

thanks for your response, very helpful.

just to clarify: mostly what i'd like to know is whether or not the fish will instinctively attack your hand every time you stick it in no matter what, or if they are capable of learning and remembering not to attack my hand.

From my experience, they can definitely learn not to attack you. For a lot of them, though, the thought never even seems to cross their mind... my oscar has never bitten me except when mistaking my thumb for food
They just get used to seeing you and know you're not a threat. Only the most aggressive are going to attack, I'd say.

agreed, there are fish out there that will never learn not to bite my midas has got ahold of me on more than one occasion but on others he flees its crazy but I will say this the the glass of his tank sure knows his bite he is constanly trying to eat his way out of the tank

 

[freddyk]

It depends on the fish. My Jaguar would attack my hand, but only because it was expecting food out of it, it didn't mean actually harm me, I don't think.

My Oscar on the other hand, is very curious and will come around to see what's going on when I'm working in the tank. Sometimes I actually need to push him away