Catching an uncatchable fish

Okay.....I need help!

I've emptied my 300g of fish EXCEPT my dang Yellow Coris Wrasse. I was STUPID (see...ya'll don't need to tell me because I admit to it....) and did not quarantine. I paid the price. Lost a Naso, Yellow Eye Kole, (2) Yellow Tangs, and my clowns to ick. Most died after I got them into quarantine.

I CANNOT for the life of me catch my Yellow Coris Wrasse. At 300 gallons, I do NOT want to drain the tank just to catch him. The net is useless in an 8ft tank (even though thats how I caught all my other fish). I tried a homemade trap with a clear 2 liter bottle of soda with the top cut off and turned inside out with food in it. He won't go near it. I've purposely NOT fed the tank for days hoping he'd finally give in and go to the food in the trap. Nope....nada....aint' happening.

Any ideas? This has been going on for a week and I hate it because I can't start the clock on the tank being fishless until I get him out!
 
All you can do is setup a fish trap with bait, stop feeding completely and wait it out. Although, him starving to death is a real possibility. Wrasses are one of the hardest fish to catch IME.
 
I hear ya! I'll starve him to death if need be. I love that fish...real active and a great flash of color in the tank, but if he dies from not eating at least I'll be able to start my fallow period. Sucks saying that....but it is what it is.
 
Have you tried feeding in the net? I left my net in the tank for day and then i put some mysis shrimp in the net and set it down, PH off course, and just waited...my melanarus wrasse all of a sudden was actually in the net eating..ran back and scooped him up.
 
Sk8r said:
Nuff said. It can be a problem.
1. find out where they sleep and net them in the dark.
2. a liter wine carafe makes an excellent fish trap if the fish is eating well. Set it slightly tilted with its lip on the rockwork, and hope the fish will go in after the treat. Have your net ready. Fish don't navigate 'out' well because of the narrow neck.
Let me add, however, the thin glass display dome from our Anniversary Clock is nearly invisible under water and is one of the best fish-catching devices for somewhat larger fishes I have ever found.
3. feed in the net---closer and closer to the glass.
4. last-ditch: de-water your tank fast. TURN OFF YOUR AUTOTOPOFF AND PUMP. Dig a fist-sized depression in your sand in one corner, and pump the water out of the tank very rapidly into a garbage can liner'ed container, or a Rubbermaid Brute trashcan [wipe a new one down with white vinegar]. Fish will gather in the low spot. Take your pick. Caution: also keep a head count going, because a few species that burrow may stay too long in the rockwork---be sure you know where all your fish are. This procedure will not hurt corals, or inverts, or even sponges, which are ok so long as they stay wet, even if they are in air. Just don't let this go on long enough for them to dry. Nab your fish and dump him into the hospital, and immediately devote yourself to pumping water back into the tank---helping it along with a pitcher is not a bad notion. Turn ON your pump and autotopoff.
Click to expand...

I like ur last one... catching a fish that don't wanna be caught is no fun... usually have to tear the tank down... Thank u for ur help...
 
I had 4 anthias in my tank that I could not catch, they'd just dive into the rockwork and I wasn't prepared to rip my reef apart to try and get them out.
I watched this video:-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2gKizvpGKPk

Made the trap and the next day when I got home from work......4 anthias in the trap! I couldn't believe I'd wasted hours standing there with a net when this option was out there!!
 
Whatever you do, DO NOT LEAVE A NET IN YOUR TANK UNATTENDED. I tried this yesterday in order to get the fish "acclimated to the net" so I could swoop them up. Found one of my banggai dead below the net in the evening, guts carved out, I'm guessing he got stuck in there and a shrimp attacked him though I don't really know. :(

As for catching the Yellow Tang:
I tried a homemade bottle trap with Nori. I didn't sew it together, the cut off end just sort of stuck there. However, the Tang was either too stupid or too smart depending on your perspective to swim inside, he just kept trying to get at it for the side. I only left it for 2 hours though, so maybe he would have gone in eventually. Ended up moving some rock. Tang went in a hiding place under one rock and I cornered it off with two nets. Then I dug the nets under the sand and he tried to escape straight into a net :)
 
125mph said:
The worse is when the clowns are hiding around my haddoni... they would even dive deep into the nem's mouth.. Very tough to get them out at that point lol.
Click to expand...

Ok so this is my exact problem. I have one Sebae clown left to get out so I can let the tank go Fallow but it will dive into the Haddoi or rock work/corals any time I try and approach it with a net or Glass.
I used a Fish trap to catch all other fish including the sometimes difficult dart fish but this little guy has no interest in going in the fish trap. I have starved him for weeks now only adding food to the fish trap and doing everything not to let the food escape so he can eat it.

Frustrated here as its been weeks now trying to get him out waiting patiently to go in the trap.

What other ideas can anyone share? I have a 150 gallon mixed reef and do not want to try and pull everything out for this one little fish.
 
ReefABCs said:
Ok so this is my exact problem. I have one Sebae clown left to get out so I can let the tank go Fallow but it will dive into the Haddoi or rock work/corals any time I try and approach it with a net or Glass.
I used a Fish trap to catch all other fish including the sometimes difficult dart fish but this little guy has no interest in going in the fish trap. I have starved him for weeks now only adding food to the fish trap and doing everything not to let the food escape so he can eat it.

Frustrated here as its been weeks now trying to get him out waiting patiently to go in the trap.

What other ideas can anyone share? I have a 150 gallon mixed reef and do not want to try and pull everything out for this one little fish.
Click to expand...

I'm in the same boat and I'm about to take out my rockwork in order to catch my blue tang. He wants nothing to do with a trap and he even left a frozen cube of mysis in the trap for over 4 hours without going near it. The way I see it, the only 2 options are take rocks out or take water out. In my case taking water out won't help because of my aquascape. I suppose I could try the small hook idea but he's way to shy.
 
Thought I would share I finally caught my Sebae Clown early this morning. 
So happy now I can start the Fallow period. As mentioned this clown was difficult he would scamper behind the Handonni anemone or rockwork any time I tried to approach him.

This morning he was deep in the Haddoni. I grabbed a tall clear beer glass that was cleaned and wiped so it would not stick to the anemone. The room lighting was low as it was early am and only some sun light in the room just enough to see into the tank. The anemone was folded as it does during the night so I had to somewhat blindly and quickly push the glass down over where I thought he was in the anemone. I kept enough pressure on the glass so he would not escape under the glass lip but not enough to hurt the anemone. (Previous trials he escaped under the glass because I was scared to apply pressure). Once he knew he was in the glass he went crazy and tried to escape. I slowly slid /maneuvered the beer glass towards the sand, still maintaining enough pressure so he would not escape under the glass lip. When close to the sand, I quickly slide off the anemone and then I could insert the glass about a half inch into the sand. Got him, I could not believe it!
Now I took a net in the other hand and slowly dug it into the sand and under the glass. I then started to lift the glass and net up. As I got the top of the tank I inverted the glass with the top up. Some sand went to the bottom of the glass but no worries. Let some water out of the glass and presto had him. He is now safely in the QT tank with his paired girlfreind
It took me 4 weeks but finally figured out how to catch him. Thanks to a previous post that a clean glass does not stick to the anemone.
 
I also was able to get my blue tang out. I bought a 48"x24" piece of plexiglass from Home Depot. I had to have someone help me take the canopy off and only had to move 2 rocks out of the way. We did this before the lights came on, and I could see where the blue tang was hiding inside of one of my man made rocks. We put the plexiglass in the tank so in case he decided to make a run for it he would only have half the tank to hide in. I was able to pick the rock up that he was hiding in and put a big net underneath it and take the whole rock out with him in it. Now it's time to stock my tank with sps and add a bigger clean up crew. All fish will be qt'd before going in the display.
 
Catching them in the dark or while they are feeding are the two easiest ways to catch difficult to catch fish.

Thanks for some of the heads up!
 
My only fish experience is aquaria, not an outdoor type at all.
I had been trying to get a Clarkii out of my reef since Christmas.
Net: Nope. Missed him on the first try, never got a second chance.
2 Liter trap: Had him once, but he jumped out of the opening on the way up. Never went near it again.
Hook, Line & Sinker: The nice folks at Bass Pro got a me #24 fly hook, a couple feet of line and a sinker for about $5. Added a small piece of shrimp and had him out in less than a minute.

I don't advocate this as a preferred method, but it beats ripping a tank apart.
 
I can vouch for the "lights" trick.
First thing in the morning, before the sun has come up, turn your lights on full blast and you can practically reach in with your hand and take out any fish you want.
As long as they are out of the rocks it's easy pickings!
And you have at least 5 minutes to find them. I have been surprised at how long they stay fairly disoriented.
 
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