Has anyone ever been a "victim" of a Remora?

[Deefstes]

Actually, this question has two parts:

1. Has a Remora ever attached itself to you? I know of cases where they've tried and I've seen a few that showed an interest in me but they've never actually succeeded in attaching themselves to me. I'm curious if anyone has ever experienced a Remora attaching itself and how it feels.

2. Do Remoras pose any threat to divers? I can't imagine that they do but I've encountered more than just one seasoned diver who gets totally freaked out by Remoras. Do they have a good reason that I just don't know of?

For some light entertainment, I found this video on Youtube

 

[Tortuga68]

1. Yes, I've had them stick on to my arm - my legs are probably too hairy - on occasion. It's not unpleasant, I think it's cool that they think I'm just a part of their normal environment

2. No, unless you panic as a result. They use their hosts for transport - like sharks they don't have a swim baldder - and eat any food that drops out of their mouths (mine would have starved) which I guess is why you mostly see the larger ones on big species like sharks and turtles (more food to spill)

There are some smaller ones that stick on the mouth and provide a cleaning service, but obviously that's not going to happen with a scuba diver

 

[Zenyetti]

Howzit bud, never given one a lift but one did scare the hell out of me once. I was busy decending onto the reef, a bit apprehensive at the propsect of seeing sharks for the first time (it was at aliwal shoal) and I was relatively new to the sport. Next thing, out of my blindspot this "thing" comes swimming right past my face about 5 cm from my mask - cue freak-out! You actually got to feel sorry for the buggers though, a face only a mother could love!

 

[ams511]

It happened to this dude.

 

[Deefstes]

It happened to this dude.

Holy smokes! That's hilarious.

 

[Tortuga68]

Well if he was wearing a scuba tank that would never have happened

 

[Crowley]

For sure... Had them attach to my knees, my fin (stopped finning with one leg just to keep it there, which is entertaining all by itself) and my tank.

As soon as I see a free-swimming remora I start looking for whatever it *should* be attached to!

C.

 

[Zieg]

I had one attack my ear. He bit onto my left earlobe and shook. I had lots of small slices in the lobe and it bled quite a bit. My wife actually called the dive short because she was so worried about the green cloud emanating from my ear.

 

[drl]

I've had them try to attach to me, but I kept shooing them away. I don't know if they would have stuck to the neoprene anyway. Maybe next time I'll let it try...

 

[chrisgp007]

For sure... Had them attach to my knees, my fin (stopped finning with one leg just to keep it there, which is entertaining all by itself) and my tank.

As soon as I see a free-swimming remora I start looking for whatever it *should* be attached to!

C.

I second Crowley's saying if i see a lonely remora swimmin look for ur buddy and for that SHARK hehehe