“Gotta make sure they are cherished”

Someone with a degree in biology please explain this, is the grouper really cruising for cuddles or are we misinterpreting its behavior?

Because it looks awful cuddly is what I’m saying

Fish are WILDLY intelligent and many are so social that they naturally have social behaviors for interacting with other different species as a whole reef-wide community!! When it comes to interaction with humans, many fish can learn to recognize specific humans and increasingly seek attention such as scratches, rubs and simple play behaviors!

@linddzz can you confirm the fishy desire for skritches?

I’ve had a 4ft goliath grouper come up to me and stare reproachfully until I started giving her scritches and gravel showers. Picking up handfuls of the gravel and gently dropping it over their back is a nice fish massage. We encourage the behavior bc it’s a great time to check over them for any health concerns.

Also this looks like maybe a diver helping with a gravel vac tube. Basically a big siphon used to take junk out of the bottom of tanks.

But yeah this is pretty standard grouper neediness lmao

My betta fish used to love getting little pets

I’ve had 5-6 bettas over the years that have enjoyed cuddles. Half of those would do just about anything to swim into my hand or butt up against my fingers during tank cleaning to “ask” for attention. Fish are smart and some species are very, very sweet if they happen to imprint on you.