My Oscar wants to eat me

[Karlsbad]

Everytime I do a water change I have to keep chasing this guy away from my hand or he'll bit me. He's only 5", I assume it's going to hurt when he's bigger. He lets me pet him when I put my face up to the tank with a little posturing first, but he always gets a few cheap shots in during water changes :eek: . I think I need to get an arm lenth chain mail glove before he gets big enough to take a piece out of me.

[Bucho]

Wait until your Oscar gets 13" and gets ahold of your whole finger. Then the question becomes who scared who the most... you because you got bit or him because you jerked away so quick.

[net_shark512]

You have nothing to fear I had a Oscar for several years before HITH got the best of him. Anyway the teeth are in the back of the throat by the gills. They swallow stuff whole then grind it up in the back of the throat. Thats why the make such a mess the extra comes out the openings in the gills. So unless you put your finger all the way back there he can't hurt you. HTH.

[snakeskinner]

what's the difference between a 12" oscar biting you or a 7lb largemouth bass? I know the bass has little tiny teeth all around their jaws and are rough but don't hurt. Does an oscar have teeth I've never seen? Kyle

[Bucho]

There really isn't a difference other than you purposely grab a bass by the lip, but the oscar always seems to catch you by surprise.

[travelinman1969]

My oscars bite me all the time during a water change. Nothin to worry about. They are just playin. Look at it this way, if he didn't do it that means he doesn't like you. He can't take a chunck out of your hand. Oscars have small teeth on their lips too and I've been bit by a 3 lb bass and it's about the same. Nothin to worry about. Have fun with it. :p

[Karlsbad]

I just don't want to hurt the little guy yanking my arm out of there. I've wondered if I didn't jerk away would he hold on like my cat does. Hmm I'm beginning to see a pattern here. Maybe I should lay off the chum cologne.

[travelinman1969]

LOL!! I have cats too and no the chum cologne isn't it. If you play with them through the glass then they will play when you put your hand in. Don't yank your hand out, let him play. I let mine bite me then I chase em. They love it. They always come back for more. Mine hold on for a second or two. If yours is holding on longer than that, maybe he has a territorial issue, but I would say that is rare.

I treat them just like my cats. I make play time for the cats and I make play time for the oscars. They truely are a pet in a glass cage. :D

[diehardFinsFan]

My one Oscar was very fond of biting my hand as soon as it hit the water. If I didnt put my hand in fast, he would leap out of the water for it like he was trying to pull it in. My other Oscar was not like that at all. She was very timid and never bit me. Yeah, their teeth are harmless. However, I also have a Dempsey that I would NOT want to bite me. She has some big mean lookin orange teeth.

[snakeskinner]

you guys better be quiet or I'm gonna have to rack up some more credit card debt to get an oscar tank. can't wait! Kyle

[Mark_b]

Last week i was just picking a dead leaf out of the top of my tank. I completely forgot about my Mbu. Anyway he must have thought he was about to be fed and was waiting right by the surface. Im sure u know whats coming - as soon as the tip of my finger touched the water he bit it. I was a little surprised to say the least and jerked my hand away sending my Mbu arcing through the air and into the other end of the tank! He nearly cut a chunk out of the end of my finger! Surprisingly he wasn't too upset by the experience although he refused to come to the surface to be hand fed for a few days!:D

[Fresh04]

Go fins!:D

[Oscar_Mania]

When I first got my Oscar, the guy at the lfs said that if you put your hand in the water and the Oscar bites you it means that he is challenging you and you should take a fish net and chase him around with it to establish that you are the boss. Luckily my Oscar is not a biter. Although I must say I have to be careful around feeding time as Oscar gets a little excited.

[Bristlenose Chuck]

This is funny. :) My two severums do the same thing. I think its cool...granted they are not a big as an oscar. ;)

[125gJoe]

My brother has a pond in south central Florida. When the Oscars were spawning, and even after, they would jump all they way out and bite at your feet if you came near where the eggs were laid! They are extremely protective of the young...

:)

[Dragon_Lord_Tia]

i have a scare on my left hand from a 14" RD which was protecting its fry the different their between the RD and the oscar is the RD have teeth at the front lol:D

[DarthV]

I've had my old JD chomp on my finger before...it was only 5" or so, but I could definintely feel the teeth! My severum has taken nips at the side of my hand as well. You definitely can't beat central american cichlids for large teeth...I'm thinking about getting a longer tube for my python before my 2 juvi Midas get too much more size :P

[Gulp]

So I go to clean the inside of the glass with the magnets today and Gulp (around 9") is REALLY interested in my hand every time it goes near the water. I was trying to place the inside magnet at the surface and he definitely wanted to eat me. I thought about this thread.......remembered all the people mentioning how "fun" it was to let their oscar "play bite" and decided I wouldn't pull my hand out if he went to bite me.......

BAM! Gulp tagged my finger and took off..... I looked at my finger and it is bleeding..... There is about a 1/4 cut that isn't super deep, but it stings like crap. :laugh: For those of you that do this for "fun"..........you are a little sick in the head. :p


It's a crappy pic (looked better on the view screen of the camera) but you can see the "massive" flesh wound that has crippled my poor birdie finger. :P
http://www.roadrashed.com/Other/Gulp%20bites.JPG

[Bucho]

Now you just have to teach him the consequences of biting the hand that feeds him!!!!!!!!!!