Touching my pufffer

A place to discuss general puffer care or news.
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dzarren
Puffer Fry
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Joined: Sat Aug 20, 2011 9:43 pm
Location (country): Canada

Touching my pufffer

Post by dzarren »

My puffer is fond of me and i hand feed him/her often, is it alright if i touch, him/her? Or might that damage his/her outermost layer?
He/she likes to come up to the top and swim around my fingers and i touch him/her quite often.

This is a Green Spotted Puffer. Thanks for any replies!
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PufferMe!
Green Spotted Puffer
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My Puffers: One green spotted puffer in 70 gallon, marine tank. Soon to add 3 yellow tail damselfish
Location (country): USA, New Mexico
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Re: Touching my pufffer

Post by PufferMe! »

Ahhh! I can't imagine it would do any harm. Love to see what others say. I'm sure you are risking getting bit at some point, but I've heard of people giving their puffers a belly rub :)

Gwen

Life is a sum of all your choices - Albert Camus
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Terrance
Fahaka Puffer
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My Puffers: Retired Puffer Addict
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Location: Seattle

Re: Touching my pufffer

Post by Terrance »

The risk of getting bit is always there. I think the likelihood of getting bit increases as a puffer mature or when a puffer is really hungry.
Kind regards,
Terrance
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scpion
Fahaka Puffer
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My Puffers: 23in Mbu, donated to SEA Aquarium
4in Fahaka 150g
Location (country): singapore

Re: Touching my pufffer

Post by scpion »

Every time u dip your hand into the water, there is always a chance of your hand contaminating the water or vice versa. Not to mention that u could damage their slim coat. I will never attempt to touch any living fish bare handed just for fun, unless really necessary.
I am not a Troll, I am just pissed..!
dzarren
Puffer Fry
Posts: 7
Joined: Sat Aug 20, 2011 9:43 pm
Location (country): Canada

Re: Touching my pufffer

Post by dzarren »

Yes he does bite quite often, but not always. When he does bite he never really bites hard, but once i had just fed him a snail, so he had his teeth in mega crush mode, and i stuck my hand in and he did break my skin.

Well if that's the case i will avoid touching him, even though hes very cute and appears to like me. :(

But just so you guys know, i always rinse my hands at the sink WITHOUT SOAP very well before i reach into any of my tanks.
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scpion
Fahaka Puffer
Posts: 672
Joined: Sat Sep 11, 2010 10:57 am
My Puffers: 23in Mbu, donated to SEA Aquarium
4in Fahaka 150g
Location (country): singapore

Re: Touching my pufffer

Post by scpion »

:grats: :)
I am not a Troll, I am just pissed..!
RTR
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Re: Touching my pufffer

Post by RTR »

No fish, and especially no puffer should be exposed to the hazards of being touched by humans. It is disruptive to their slime coat and can damage their thin elastic skin itself. Petting any fish is terrible practice. I very strongly disagree with those unaware of how important an intact skin and intact slime coat is to fish. Lack of knowledge is no excuse. Warnings about handling fish are common, and especially so for scaleless fish such as puffers.

Do not do it!

Hand-feeding (by fingers rather than tongs or chopsticks) puffers automatically qualifies you for the Darwin Awards.

Don't do that either.
Where's the fish? - Neptune
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