catching a maroon clown

Pico1

New member
Any tips on catching a maroon clown without moving the rockwork or knocking over corals? I've tried luring him to the top with flake and cornering him with no luck. Any suggestions? TIA.
 
I heard Anthony Calfo say the easiest thing to do was drain water out of the tank into a holding container. When there is very little water left, it's easy to net a fish and then slowly/carefully pump the water back. He said it was much less stress than chasing a fish around and the corals would be fine in a short low-tide. I know he wrote an article on it but I can't remember if it was RC or another board.
Found it!
 
Be careful and don't use a net with a maroon (cheek spines can be damaged and kill the clown).

I have had to catch mine a number of times and I just use a clear container and heard the fish into the container with the handle of a net. My female is large enough to bite hard so I don't use my hand. Usually maroons are aggressive enough that catching them is not a problem. If yours is not, I agree with MandM, don't chase them around, drain the tank.
 
Thanks for all the info guys! I tried the clear container meathod for the forst time today and almost got him. I'm pretty sure if I feed in a clear container everyday they will eventually get comfortable enough for me to catch him. He is very territorial of the cleaner magnet when it tries to clean the glass near his host the green bubble coral, but won't defent it against my hand or a net. If this doesn't work I will just drain the tank I guess. Thanks for the offer John but I don't think I'll need it. If I do I'll be sure to PM you. Thanks again everyone!
 
I bought a big black net and finally caught the sneaky little clown. I fed flake food and waited for him to come to the surface then scooped him up. Thanks guys!
 
^my thoughts exactly! I've probably spent 4 hours trying to catch him. It felt so good seeing him in the net. :)
 
Back
Top