Will black skirts take a nip at me?

I don't imagine that it would hurt much, if at all...

If it does nip you, it will do little more than tickle a bit. Quite a few of my fish are hand tame, and will nip my hands and arms when I'm doing maintenance. I barely feel it, even when my halfbeaks spear me at ramming speed. A little tetra isn't going to hurt you.

hahahahaha, 'ramming speed', sweet.

anyways, i very highly doubt a bst would nip you. my blind cave tetras do, but they cant see anything. more than likely it will try its best to run away from you, but even if it were so bold, you wouldnt feel it beyond a little tap or tickle.

I agree, even if they bite it shouldn't hurt. My cherry barbs nip my arm and hand when I do maintenance. It doesn't hurt, but it does feel a little strange

Not to out do any one but, I have a pair of 13" Oscars in a 300 gal and I constantly have my arms in there rearranging rocks and deco and I guess they think it's funny to clamp down on my arm and hand cuz they do it all the time but it does not hurt at all! It just feels like someone is putting pressure on my skin. So I really wouldn't be worried about some bst's nipping your fingers!

yeah, i have a two and a half inch bp who thinks hes a little ghengis khan and tries to drive my hand out of the tank everytime. his attempts, however heartfelt, remain futile.... however, ambushes from a predator like a mature dovii or full grown pacu I dont think would be as minor. YIKES!!!

Ahh, cute! My mollies constatly nip at me when I am pruning or moving plants, or if I put my hand in the water during a gravel vac. It doesn't hurt a bit, doesn't leave any kind of mark and only makes me laugh.

My Black Skirts school together in the corner of the tank every time I do some tank maintenance and don't nip me at all. I don't think you have anything to worry about. Oh, and my BST are quite aggressive too.

Just as a point--some fish can do some serious damage. Small fish like tetras, swords, barbs, etc are harmless-their mouths are not designed to break our skin. But many aquarium fish--especially larger cichlids and many marine fish--have the dentition needed to cause some serious damage. I've had a 12" oscar break the skin latching on to my finger, and a couple of different marine fish bite hard enough to create an open wound that bled. Whenever working in an aquarium, it's a good idea to know what fish may be able to cause damage, and have water proof bandages or gloves on hand. Open wounds in an aquarium are a bad thing!

Also--if you have animals that can grab on to a finger, it's important to control your reaction! My african clawed frog recently grabbed the finger of a visitor, and was pulled out of the tank when they jerked away. She's fine (the little girl whose finger it was probably was more traumatized), but just a warning--some critters can hold on tight even if it doesn't hurt!