Rams attacking me!

[Bur01014]

Hey all.....I just started a GBR tank with live plants. I've only had the rams 9 or 10 days now. Anyways, I went to go move some the plants around and readjust them, but couldn't put my hand in the tank without the male GBR chasing my fingers and pecking at them. It is almost embarrassing that these little guys actually made me jump. I thought this might have been a one time episode, but now whenever i put my hand i the tank to adjust drift wood, clean algae, etc, the male chases me down and strikes at me. This normal? Is he just nervous being in a new tank? Recent experience usually resulted in new fish I get getting "settled" within the first 24 to 48 hours. Or perhaps he is now too settled....btw, do these fish have teeth capable of puncturing the skin? :)

[LethalResistanz]

I stuck my hand in my convict tank when the had eggs. It freaked me out some much lol. It bothered me for a little bit but now it doesn't. I know convicts have small teeth and I haven't had a cut or anything.

When I do major cleaning or adjustment in my 55 I now take out my bichir. Not because of him biting me but when He sees a rock or driftwood move he goes totally nuts and almost jumps out.

I have noticed when my convict don't have eggs they don't attack my hand. Not to get your hopes up but they could be breeding or something.

[escamosa]

I have to say, that Rams do seem to be a curious breed of fish, i have bolivian rams and they don't miss much.lol
I put my hands in the tank, or a net or any of the cleaning gear and they just have to come and have a look. I have to be carefull not to suck em up in the vacume.

[red eyes]

ram are bold with just as much personality as a oscar, one wanted to see what was at the end of the tube and got siphoned! (thankfully not using python at the time)

[EddyC]

Rams do this all the time, whether or not they have eggs. For the most part it's just out of curiosity; but it carries with it a bit of a threat. Like they're saying, "Hey, I'm just inspecting you right now, but I'm not afraid to get mean if you try anything funny". Don't worry too much about it. It's a little disconcerting when it first starts happening, but you'll learn to ignore it with time. It does get annoying when you're cleaning the gravel and they're biting you and the siphon - I always have to be extra careful not to bash them up against the glass or the decor. And they won't quit, especially if it's breeding time.

They do have teeth, but they're so tiny they can't really hurt you. That being said, I did have a mosquito bite that I had scratched and it had scabbed over that the big male bit off one time. He must have thought it was food. I was bleeding a bit, but it didn't really hurt. When they're breeding, the big male has a nasty tendency to bite on to my hand and thrash wildly, kinda like an alligator or crocodile doing a death roll. This doesn't hurt, but it freaks me out a bit, so I clean that area REALLY quickly and move on to the other side of the tank.

If he's already biting you, I'd say you've done a good job setting up a tank that's to his liking, and he's just making sure you know who's boss. If you have a female too check her stomach - if it's bright pink and a bit bloated then she's ready to mate, and this will make him extra aggressive. But it's normal behavior anyway, just something you'll have to get used to.

And no shame in jumpiing. I still do everytime I get "death-rolled".

[hari-goshi]

My metriaclima callainos do the same thing . Everytime I stick my hand or arm in the tank I have a bunch of little blue cichlids trying to teach me a lesson. They pinch and pull to the point that if I was to suddenly jerk my arm out of the tank Im almost certain I would bring a few fish with it.

[Aeonflame]

My trahira bit me pretty bad on the forearm once. I thought I was safe since my hand was in the other side of the tank. There was so much blood, I had to change the water.

[XsquaredequalsX]

My angels will "taste" me from time to time when I have hands in, probably because I hand-feed them their weekly blood worms and they've associated my hand with FOOD (I do this partially to make sure the frozen worms are completely thawed before they eat them, and partially to make sure everyone gets some, but mostly for my own amusement and joy at watching and feeling them tug the worms out from between my fingers)!

It doesn't hurt at all to get tasted, but I jump (and giggle) every time! I always feel bad for jumping and startling the fish, though...

[Aeonflame]

My angels will "taste" me from time to time when I have hands in, probably because I hand-feed them their weekly blood worms and they've associated my hand with FOOD (I do this partially to make sure the frozen worms are completely thawed before they eat them, and partially to make sure everyone gets some, but mostly for my own amusement and joy at watching and feeling them tug the worms out from between my fingers)!

It doesn't hurt at all to get tasted, but I jump (and giggle) every time! I always feel bad for jumping and startling the fish, though...

Thank goodness you have angels

It would be a very bad idea to have piranha associate your hand with food

[XsquaredequalsX]

Thank goodness you have angels

It would be a very bad idea to have piranha associate your hand with food

LOL - I think it would be a very bad idea for me to keep piranhas! Too many "curious" people in this house... I'm sure they would associate all sorts of things with getting fed - hands included!

An image of pirhana begging for table scraps at dinner time comes to mind...