Picky Porky

[puffykid]

I don't know if this will work for you guys but after my gsp bit me for the first time (which surprisingly hurt since he is only 1.5 in long lol) I decided to train him. Now if I am going to feed him before I open up the top I show him the food that I am about to feed him (either the can of blood worms, shrimp, snail, etc) and then he knows to come racing to the top to feed. However if I am not going to feed him and instead work on the tank. I just open up the top and stick my hand right in, and he ignores me and lets me do whatever it is that I need to do (usually staying on the other side of the tank) Hope that helps. I've done this for a few weeks now after the bite and I have yet to be bitten again.

[El Scorpio]

My GSP would swim over to my hand but only if I held it palm facing up. If there was food in it, he would take it (he would occasionally miss and nail my hand, though). If there was no food in it, he would literally sit in my hand. If my hand wasn't facing palm up, he would completely disregard it. It was pretty cool seeing a 5 inch GSP just paddle over and sit in your hand. I miss that little guy.

[jus85411]

mine was almost to the point of sitting in my palm. he used to rub his body along my finger when i put it in. for a while when i first was doing this he would try to bite me but i would move my finger out and eventually he got the idea that those werent food lol. when mine ingested air or something and i had to handle him in the water i noticed and so did my roommates that it had more of a sense of security because when my hands were around it was the only time it spread its tail out while near death

[PuffMommy]

Thanks El Scorpio. I'm sure that's probably the case. I got him to eat some Mussels (frozen) the other day, and I also had some food tied on a string for him so it looked more...well, alive. That seemed to work pretty well. I think it's going to be a combo of enticing him with live bits with a little bit of hard ball as well.