Handling our wet pets.

[jjohnwm]

...JJ's Jelly merely thought this was a continuation of the feeding. It was doubtless a feeding grab of the missus' fingers. Sorry to laugh but this is way funny at your wife's expense. This is exactly what not to do when trying to feel Jelly's skin and body. Unknowingly, she's done everything wrong! I loved it though that she had the curiosity to try - this is heartwarming and commendable despite the ensuing adrenalin spike

That's pretty much my thought process on this as well, although I will probably avoid mentioning it for a few more days. The addition of the "...for now..." when describing the cat's health makes me think I will be a bit cautious in raising the topic anytime soon, for the fish's sake if not my own.

Thanks, Viktor, for posting this reply; I am sending a link to her now so she can read it. She does indeed put up with a lot from me and my hobbies. I guarantee there would be no aquariums in the house if I weren't around, so I'm pretty lucky she is as accepting of them as she is.

 

[jjohnwm]

I just had to follow up on this thread. My wife and the Jelly Cat have kissed and made up (figuratively, of course). She has grown quite fond of him; and, for his part, he no longer attempts to swallow her. After she calmed down and cooled off a bit, she was willing to admit that she had made a few errors in her approach to petting the fish. She has since managed a few tentative pats without being bitten, and is so fond of him that his full given name of "Lump'o's#%t" has now been shortened to a more family-friendly and affectionate "Lumpy".

Lumpy is now just under 12 inches in length, with a much more stocky physique than he had when smaller. He reacts to anyone sitting down on the stool in front of his tank by leaving his hide to hover vertically at the front glass, mouth just below the surface, ready to engulf any food items dropped in with a rifle-like crack!

My granddaughters love it! They want Grams to re-enact the finger-biting episode; she resists the idea. Lumpy's smile seems to indicate that he is willing if she is.

A good time is had by all.

 

[Deadeye]

I would pet my piranha...it would just play dead...

Otherwise my fish are too scared of me.

Except my clownfish. They have a fun game called “bite till it turns red.” Haven’t drawn blood yet, but they are only 1 inch now, so time will tell.

 

[Jexnell]

I would pet my piranha...it would just play dead...

Otherwise my fish are too scared of me.

Except my clownfish. They have a fun game called “bite till it turns red.” Haven’t drawn blood yet, but they are only 1 inch now, so time will tell.

I had a pair of HRPs that did the same thing. Attacked my arm during maintenance like starved piranhas, but it tickled more than hurt.

 

[esoxlucius]

I would pet my piranha...it would just play dead...

Otherwise my fish are too scared of me.

Except my clownfish. They have a fun game called “bite till it turns red.” Haven’t drawn blood yet, but they are only 1 inch now, so time will tell.

I'm going back just over 30 years ago now but I used to have three piranhas. The sole reason I got them was to show off in front of my drinking buddies. I know, I know. My weekends then revolved around partying. On Saturday nights a group of us would all crash back at mine and as soon as we got in the door they'd be pestering me to feed my beasts and dare me to put my hand in the tank.

I had another tank down the cellar which held my live minnows. I'd throw a handful in and my mates would cheer at the butchery, and of course young stupid me loved it. I'd put my hand in the tank as they wished, knowing full well I'd be safe, but of course they didn't know that, they thought I was "the man".

One night one of my stupid mates threw a full packet of cup o' soup in the tank, those which you add boiling water too for an instant drink. The croutons and powdered soup made a right mess in the tank as you can imagine.

Needless to say I stopped the parties after that.

When I look back I cringe, what a complete twonk I used to be. Some would argue I'm still a twonk, lol.