# Stressless water changes!



## nochoramet (Oct 2, 2009)

Well I have finally taught Chance how to swim into his cup so he doesn't get all stressed while I chase him around to get him in the cup. I would dangle my fingers in the opening so he would swim in and then I'd quickly scoop him up so he couldn't panic and swim back out. I'd feed him once he was in the cup. I did this everyday, whether or not I was changing his water. Now he just swims right in! I dip the cup in, he swims in, I scoop him up, feed him, and he waits very patiently until I'm done! Ta da! No stressful water changes!


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## BerkB33 (Oct 23, 2009)

Great Job! Folks in here are really knowledgable and inventive... I intend on using this AND other ideas from this website...Thanks!


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## nochoramet (Oct 2, 2009)

Thank you! It wasn't really that hard, because he associates my fingers with food, so when I put them in the cup he swam after them. Good luck with your fish!


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## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

I need to start doing this with Demetri. I used to do it religiously with all my new fish but have gotten bad in the past months (spring semester for ya ). Demetri gets REALLY stressed when he gets cupped.. more so than any fish I've ever had. 

Jasper, Phoebe, and Chaos (the newest fish) are all fine with being cupped, although I have to worry about the PKs because they are jumpers!

I need to clean Demies tank today anyways so I guess I should get started :-D


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## vaygirl (Sep 10, 2009)

It works. I do this with Tango every day and he goes in with no fuss. It helps if you teach them to eat from your hand too. They're SO smart. Fish always amaze me. I have my dwarf puffer eating from tweezers now so there's less mess. They can learn things way faster then people give them credit for.


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## nochoramet (Oct 2, 2009)

Yeah, Chance will eat off my finger as well. They amaze me how intelligent they are. I mean, of course they aren't Einstein or anything but for a fish, they're very smart and they learn fast! I don't take my other 3 out when I change their tanks, they're pretty much chill when I vacuum the gravel out so I figure it would be pointless for me to take them out. I need to train them though, since my last day of school is May 4th...


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## Betta Fish Bob (Dec 31, 2009)

Nochoramet, that is smart!

You are well on your way to becoming a betta fish pro!(If you aren't already!)


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## nochoramet (Oct 2, 2009)

Yay! I'm trying, it's definitely a lot to learn, and even the pro's have problems, i'm sure. But hey, you gotta start somewhere! And thank you!


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## DarthMaul (Mar 30, 2010)

i net mine then get em in a cup fast haha they dont like being chased with a cup lol however, when i dip the net in, they swim right in


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## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

Got demetri in the cup :thumbsup: Fed him and now he's sitting in there. Gonna do his WC then put him back in and give him a FD blood worm


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

I'm going to start feeding mine when they go in the cup.


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## nochoramet (Oct 2, 2009)

I think that's why he's so eager to swim in because he's thinking FOODFOODFOOD


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## vaygirl (Sep 10, 2009)

Clearly their motivation is NOT hard to find.


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## nochoramet (Oct 2, 2009)

Nope, not at all. It's like they're wearing large neon signs on their foreheads that blink FOOD-FOOD-FOOD-FOOD-FEED ME-FOOD-OMGFOODFOODFOOD-MORE FOOD PLZ-FOOD well you get the point.


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## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

LOL... I think my dog has a similar sign on her forehead except hers says FOOD FOOD FOOD FEED ME FOOD OMG FOOD FOOD SQUIRREL!!!!!....... FOOD FOOD FEED ME FOOD PLEASE FEED ME FOOD LOL

Cupping Demi didn't work so well (think I left him in too long) **smacks forehead** darn Bones side tracked me for an hour LOL


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## nochoramet (Oct 2, 2009)

I can picture her saying that in the voice of the dogs on Up! My master made me this collar because he is a good and sma-SQUIRREL!!!!


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## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

Haha... yeah. Bella starred in that movie LOL. She even does the thing where she's looking at you and all the sudden turns her head and pricks her hears LOL


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## FuulieQ (Jan 10, 2010)

Hmm... Freedy's such a skittish fish, I always was afraid to freak him out by putting my hands in the tank... but perhaps I should give it a shot, after reading about everyone's successes.


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## nochoramet (Oct 2, 2009)

@1f2f, Yeah, actually I think I saw a dog that looked like her! LOL I bet that's hilarious to see when she does that
@FuulieQ, you probably could do it, the trick is just take it slow, and if he seems like he's freaking out to much stop and leave him alone. Chance was skittish as well, but I've worked with him since February and he's gotten a lot better. Just watch him carefully and if it seems like it's too much, back off for a while.


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## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

Yup.. you have to take really slow.. let the fish decide when its going to swim in the cup.


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## vaygirl (Sep 10, 2009)

Kilo is fine with my hand in the tank but when I try to cup him, he gets stress stripes like you would NOT believe. I suppose I better start working with him. When I switched him to the ten gallon he acted like I murdered him. He was pale and stripey.

I mean, fish get stressed in the real world so I don't worry too much over it. They're chased by predators and whatnot. It's perfectly normal in short bursts. It's prolonged stress (like days) that I think would be a real danger to a fish's health. If every fish that went 'AHHHHHHHHHHH!' got sick and died, there wouldn't be many fish left in the world.


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