tiger moray aggressiob

[shern]

i keep a couple of fish in my tank that have very little info online so i was wondering about the aggression of tiger morays to ones of the same species. i keep tiger morays or gymnothorax polyuranodons and i never read anything about them attacking one another of the same species yet i find myself here. earlier i was moving around the scape when my moray came over to my hand and wrapped around it, in around 2 minutes time the other one came out and bit the one wrapped around my hand on the neck and they started fighting. i came back to check five minutes later and found them both doing okay with no scars or injurys. is this normal? or is this just uncharted behavior of the tiger moray.

 

[tlindsey]

i keep a couple of fish in my tank that have very little info online so i was wondering about the aggression of tiger morays to ones of the same species. i keep tiger morays or gymnothorax polyuranodons and i never read anything about them attacking one another of the same species yet i find myself here. earlier i was moving around the scape when my moray came over to my hand and wrapped around it, in around 2 minutes time the other one came out and bit the one wrapped around my hand on the neck and they started fighting. i came back to check five minutes later and found them both doing okay with no scars or injurys. is this normal? or is this just uncharted behavior of the tiger moray.

Moray eel have poor eyesight maybe mistaken the other one for food.

 

[shern]

Moray eel have poor eyesight maybe mistaken the other one for food.

i can confirm their eyesight is horrible but the attack seemed intentional, whenever i feed them food they are always taking a long time to eat even if i hand feed them, their smell works but the other moray gave off no visuals, it was just a random attack that felt off

 

[litigator666]

i only have 1 big moray, but have not seen it aggressive to my other fish. I even have a few 1 inch menerambo on the tank and he doesn't touch them. I agree, it has a poor eyesight as it'll take time for him to eat a large frozen prawn even if it's already in front of him. he seems to have a good sense of smell as he will go out from hiding to look for the prawns.

 

[Trouser Bark]

IIRC you have had several catastrophic fish related failures in the last 90 days.

I'm no moray expert but allowing a moray to wrap itself around your arm seems like a precursor to another catastrophic failure. Whatever behavioral expression you assume that might be, it is not an expression of joy or respect, etc.

 

[shern]

IIRC you have had several catastrophic fish related failures in the last 90 days.

I'm no moray expert but allowing a moray to wrap itself around your arm seems like a precursor to another catastrophic failure. Whatever behavioral expression you assume that might be, it is not an expression of joy or respect, etc.

I indeed have had my last moray die on me in the last 90 days but I usually hand feed my fish, him wrapping around my hands didn't seem abnormal. Is it seriously unnatural for a fish to be around your hand when you feed? same applies to all of the other fish I've ever kept.

 

[Trouser Bark]

Is it seriously unnatural for a fish to be around your hand when you feed?

Wrapped around? Yes, absolutely.

 

[shern]

Wrapped around? Yes, absolutely.

him being wrapped around shouldn’t be a sign of an issue, during normal feedings he openly comes into and around my hand to eat shrimp, wrapping around isn’t something that should raise a concern beyond normal behavior

 

[Trouser Bark]

him being wrapped around shouldn’t be a sign of an issue, during normal feedings he openly comes into and around my hand to eat shrimp, wrapping around isn’t something that should raise a concern beyond normal behavior

Have you now morphed from the guy that asks questions about why you've had yet another catastrophic failure to the guy that now suggests having a fish wrap around your arm and another subsequently bite it is normal behavior?

It is not, and you may be less of a fish whisperer than you have assumed. Fondling your fish is not normal and there are science based reasons for you to avoid doing so. That such an action in your tank might also trigger related unwanted aggression or other behaviors doesn't change the fundamental issue which is that you should not be handling your fish unnecessarily or with any regularity. Though you may be able to condition a fish to exhibit this and other similarly unusual feeding behaviors that does not mean it's in the fish's best interest nor does it mean it's even ok.

In my mind it's more gentle on a fish to transfer it from one tank to another by hand rather than by net if the fish will allow it. Under certain circumstances you may need to touch your fish to examine or disentangle it from something but conditioning your fish to think that feeding time is synonymous with having its slime coat removed is a precursor to yet another ultimate failure.

You are responsible for the life of a rare and unusual animal that will be on life support 24/7/365 for the balance of its life. Assuming that you may also introduce unnatural and wholly unnecessary contact between that fish and anything else is unwise. Learn first to be a good steward of the life you've chosen to become responsible for before you also decide which unnatural events must also be acceptable to your fish.

Fondle your dog if you must.

Never fondle your fish.

 

[shern]

Have you now morphed from the guy that asks questions about why you've had yet another catastrophic failure to the guy that now suggests having a fish wrap around your arm and another subsequently bite it is normal behavior?

It is not, and you may be less of a fish whisperer than you have assumed. Fondling your fish is not normal and there are science based reasons for you to avoid doing so. That such an action in your tank might also trigger related unwanted aggression or other behaviors doesn't change the fundamental issue which is that you should not be handling your fish unnecessarily or with any regularity. Though you may be able to condition a fish to exhibit this and other similarly unusual feeding behaviors that does not mean it's in the fish's best interest nor does it mean it's even ok.

In my mind it's more gentle on a fish to transfer it from one tank to another by hand rather than by net if the fish will allow it. Under certain circumstances you may need to touch your fish to examine or disentangle it from something but conditioning your fish to think that feeding time is synonymous with having its slime coat removed is a precursor to yet another ultimate failure.

You are responsible for the life of a rare and unusual animal that will be on life support 24/7/365 for the balance of its life. Assuming that you may also introduce unnatural and wholly unnecessary contact between that fish and anything else is unwise. Learn first to be a good steward of the life you've chosen to become responsible for before you also decide which unnatural events must also be acceptable to your fish.

Fondle your dog if you must.

Never fondle your fish.

i understand that touching fish removes slime coats as i’ve researched before on my ckf, however i do not go out of my way to touch my fish, at most i hand feed like i’ve previously mentioned and if any contact is made it’s either the fish coming to my hand and deciding to be there. now is it normal behavior for a fish to chill around your hand? that question remains unknown but it is proven for fish to be able to connect with others in a non negative manner, with this being said if no stress is applied and it is in their own choosing to do so, the fault is not on me when i feed. i hand feed my eels because my other fish enjoy stealing food and presently due to the fact that morays don’t have the greatest eye sight. i find hand feeding more productive that waiting it out and giving the other fish a chance to steal it. I can here because i was confused about why the other moray bit him, given current understanding it was likely just because he couldn’t see too well and mistook my hand as feeding. I do not presently force my eels to behave this way as it’s the best way for them to eat, i found out that the last eel only died because of starvation. this adjustment is correct as it provides nutrient to my eel rather than having it rely on the scraps that the others leave behind. I am responsible by researching and spotfeeding, if not then they would have a worse off life. I understand my responsibilities as a fish keeper of rare fish and this is why i hand feed them, the others in the tank can eat fine if i drop the food in but for my eels and flagtail who have a much lower chance of feed, i choose to hand feed as i believe without it they would be in grave danger.