betta nips at my hand... good? bad?

[cjschmelzer909]

My little baby betta used to be very cautious with me and was very afraid of my hand. Anytime I'd place a finger in the water she'd swim away. So, at feeding time, I started placing my finger into the bowl and when she got close to my finger, I'd give her a pellet. Gradually, she started coming closer and closer. Now, when I place my finger in at feeding time, she takes a playful nip at it and it's the most adorable thing ever lol But... Although I want her to be comfortable with my hand in the water, I don't want her to be taking nips at it thinking that my hand is a piece of food when she's bigger. Should I correct this behavior somehow or just stop putting my finger in the water or what? Or do you think she'll stop nipping eventually? I just remember seeing a video on youtube of a betta swimming right up to it's owner's hand and sitting inside the palm of it. I would like my betta to be that comfortable with me but I don't want her taking nips at me all the time

On an unrelated note, I can't believe how much bigger she already is. Just got her 5 days ago and she couldn't even fit a single pellet in her mouth and now I'm feeding her 2 of them in the morning. and I swear she grows more and more and gets more and more blue every night... Most of the time I can't even see her stripes anymore! Can't wait until she's full-grown. She seems soo happy too, greets me enthusiastically at the front of the glass every time I walk into my room :)

This morning when I woke up, I even noticed her swimming back and forth along the side of the bowl that faces my bed, like she was waiting for me to wake up lol

[MSG]

Your fish is more comfortable around you now. Nipping is no big deal. I highly doubt they can actually cut you.

A King betta might be able to leave a mark though. I haven't kept a king before, but those things are massive.

Bettas and most fish in general get very excited during feeding time.

I would too if I only given food once a day.

[Perseusmom]

Thats sounds sweet I would call them love nips...lol Perseus has never nipped me but sometimes I wish he would just to see what if feels like..lol ! Do they have teeth ? Someone on FB said they did.

[noellezim]

my fish do that. i get the flake to stick on the edge of my fingernail and I can get him to jump all the way out of the water now. thank goodness I have a covered tank.

[cjschmelzer909]

Originally Posted by Perseusmom

Thats sounds sweet I would call them love nips...lol Perseus has never nipped me but sometimes I wish he would just to see what if feels like..lol ! Do they have teeth ? Someone on FB said they did.

Yeah, I call them kisses haha But I honestly don't have a clue if they have teeth or not... Really it just feels like a kiss by a tiny tiny mouth

[cjschmelzer909]

Originally Posted by noellezim

my fish do that. i get the flake to stick on the edge of my fingernail and I can get him to jump all the way out of the water now. thank goodness I have a covered tank.

I want to try to teach her to jump to get food, that would be pretty cool... Not until I get a bigger tank for her though, the top of my 2 gallon bowl isn't the biggest opening and I wouldn't want to risk her jumping out of the bowl

[LizzyP]

Dumbledore doesn't nibble my fingers, he flares at them and then swims away. But I doubt their mouths are big enough to do any damage. If you don't like her nipping, don't place your finger in her tank.

[cjschmelzer909]

Originally Posted by LizzyP

Dumbledore doesn't nibble my fingers, he flares at them and then swims away. But I doubt their mouths are big enough to do any damage. If you don't like her nipping, don't place your finger in her tank.

It's not that I don't like it, it's just that I want her to be comfortable with my hand in the water rather than aggressive towards it

[Aus]

.. they're really not that smart. It'll be a case of big hand= food, and likely less aggression than sheer greediness.

My big plakat attacks hands like a tiny shark, flaring like mad. But he's a thug.

[cjschmelzer909]

Originally Posted by Aus

.. they're really not that smart. It'll be a case of big hand= food, and likely less aggression than sheer greediness.

My big plakat attacks hands like a tiny shark, flaring like mad. But he's a thug.

Oh, I know, fish really aren't too smart at all lol. She's obviously associating my hand with food... But I'd rather it be a "Oh hi there, please let me have some food pretty please?" as opposed to "Hey, gimme some food or I'm gonna keep attacking the crap out of your hand" lol lame example, but you know what I mean.