I have used the inverted cola bottle trick successfully 3 times... its a waiting game though. i would imagine the trap with the large mouth and the door would work very well. i almost instantly get the fish to go into the first part of the soda bottle, it takes much longer for them to go through the hole. if i could have just dropped a door on it, it would be easy. especially because i believe the acrylic box is basically invisible to the fish.
Catching an uncatchable fish
- Thread starter Sk8r
- Start date
yellowbellied
New member
if the fish is in the rocks, how does shining a flashlight help?
redneckgearhead
Active member
Well, it wont. LOL I guess I have just gotten lucky and have caught mine out in the open. As long as all my lights are on my fish do not think it is "bed time" yet and are all usually out in the open. As soon as the "daylights" kick off they start getting ready for bed and will usually head into the rocks.
Reefaddict24
New member
I felt the pain of trying to catch a fish in a 400g tank. I had to take out all my rocks and was hectic.
solitude127
Proud user of IO Salt!
I was able to use a fish trap with a rotating door. My goal was to catch a sixline wrasse and was successful. Instead of food in the trap, I placed a mirror in there. 24 hours later he was trapped. 
more info?
more info?
Rotating door????
more info?
I was able to use a fish trap with a rotating door. My goal was to catch a sixline wrasse and was successful. Instead of food in the trap, I placed a mirror in there. 24 hours later he was trapped.
Rotating door????
Yesterday i needed to Get an tang out of my 1600 l. A fishingnet with fine mesh did the job in 15 min. Just placed it in the aquarium and chased the fish into it. Just like they do when they catch them in the wild. Then picked the fish out of the net by hand. And i can tell you that that tang is not something you catch easy with neither a trap or a normal net.
BillyHalloween
New member
I starved my fish for 3 days, cut the top off of a plastic juice bottle, poked a hole in the side of it and put a suction cup on it. I suctioned it to the side of the tank and attached a piece of fishing line. This way, i could pull up on it and rotate the bottle up so the fish could not get out. Put some mysis in there and they swam right in. Rotated it and had no problems. Caught 2 dominos and 2 clowns this way. Had to fish a watchman goby out though. That sucked. Hope this helps!
ilikefish34
New member
I used to work in a pet store that had two owners. one would tell myself and other employees to put fish in the 125 gallon reef tank then the other would come behind her and tell us to take it out. the tank was over loaded with live rock (325 pounds). it seemed like every week we had to catch something out of there. the aquarium had pendant metal halide lighting so the top was open.
damsels were the easiest. i would simply use the largest net available and flake food. keeping the food on the surface, forced the fish away from the rock work. had to go after them just before they got to the food as they were on the way up because they turn back down the instant they get to the food.
for a blenny, psuedochromis or any other fish that liked holes in rocks, i would use a whelk (similar but smaller) shell. anything that was new in the aquarium would get a full inspection and this was no exception. they would go in and i would take them out, shell and all. caught a coral nipping juvenile majestic angel this way.
acrylic dividers were a must for the larger fish. dividers were a must for larger fish and we would disassemble a section of the tank.
those are some of the tactics that i never use at home. in my personal aquarium, i net feed my fish. i thaw the frozen in some tank water in a coffee mug, strain it into a fish net and then dip the net in the tank. the fish become accustomed to this and don't see the net as a threat to the point that i have to be careful not to accidentally catch a fish during normal feedings.
hope this helps someone.
damsels were the easiest. i would simply use the largest net available and flake food. keeping the food on the surface, forced the fish away from the rock work. had to go after them just before they got to the food as they were on the way up because they turn back down the instant they get to the food.
for a blenny, psuedochromis or any other fish that liked holes in rocks, i would use a whelk (similar but smaller) shell. anything that was new in the aquarium would get a full inspection and this was no exception. they would go in and i would take them out, shell and all. caught a coral nipping juvenile majestic angel this way.
acrylic dividers were a must for the larger fish. dividers were a must for larger fish and we would disassemble a section of the tank.
those are some of the tactics that i never use at home. in my personal aquarium, i net feed my fish. i thaw the frozen in some tank water in a coffee mug, strain it into a fish net and then dip the net in the tank. the fish become accustomed to this and don't see the net as a threat to the point that i have to be careful not to accidentally catch a fish during normal feedings.
hope this helps someone.
308systems
New member
I caught a crafty sailfin tang by simply making a fish trap out of a 1 gal clear plastic water bottle from King Soopers. Cut the end off, cut a 2.5" diameter hole in the end, invert the end and sew it back together with fishing line, or tape it with clear tape, then set it(or hang it) in your tank and put a piece of nori inside.
My crafty sailfin was inside the bottle within 30min of placing it - then i just lifted the whole thing out and dumped him in the QT
Mark
My crafty sailfin was inside the bottle within 30min of placing it - then i just lifted the whole thing out and dumped him in the QT
Mark
I caught a crafty sailfin tang by simply making a fish trap out of a 1 gal clear plastic water bottle from King Soopers. Cut the end off, cut a 2.5" diameter hole in the end, invert the end and sew it back together with fishing line, or tape it with clear tape, then set it(or hang it) in your tank and put a piece of nori inside.
My crafty sailfin was inside the bottle within 30min of placing it - then i just lifted the whole thing out and dumped him in the QT
Mark
pic please?
trapped dotty...
trapped dotty...
i had a purple stripe dottyback (aka devil-dottyback, to me that is) that was eating my lil blue legged crabs and was mean to my pajama cardinal.
to catch him i used a sheet of glass (can get cut to your size needed at ace) cut to the width & height of my tank. i slid it down in, but now all the way down... chased devil-dotty between that sheet and end of tank... slid the glass down once he was over there... now he was kinda in his own narrow tank with nothing to hide in/around. i put the net down in and easily caught him.
trapped dotty...
i had a purple stripe dottyback (aka devil-dottyback, to me that is) that was eating my lil blue legged crabs and was mean to my pajama cardinal.
to catch him i used a sheet of glass (can get cut to your size needed at ace) cut to the width & height of my tank. i slid it down in, but now all the way down... chased devil-dotty between that sheet and end of tank... slid the glass down once he was over there... now he was kinda in his own narrow tank with nothing to hide in/around. i put the net down in and easily caught him.
monopolybag
New member
Didn't read everything, but have to add, plexi glass sheets, patients, and or a solid net or specimen cup always works for me. I use the plexi glass sheets to corner fish in reef tanks where I can not move the rock yet the fish can easily get away.
I was able to use a fish trap with a rotating door. My goal was to catch a sixline wrasse and was successful. Instead of food in the trap, I placed a mirror in there. 24 hours later he was trapped.
I like this idea, specifically for the sixline, and angels of sorts
Reef Gently Inc. makes awesome acrylic traps. I caught every fish I have in 2 hrs. No tearing out rock and coral. It was the perfect solution. The hardest fish to catch was a flame angel. That was one smart fish. It almost knew I was attempting to trap it. I still trapped it, but it took 2 hrs. All the other fish were trapped almost instantly.
BrooklynBandito
New member
Well this really helped. I ended up catching my fin nipping damsel by catching with a net in his sleep.
308systems
New member
2 liter soda bottle fish trap
2 liter soda bottle fish trap
Have a crafty fish that needs to come out?
Buy a clear 2 litre soda bottle, or I found a water bottle that worked perfect.
Cut the spout off to make a 2.5" diameter hole, then cut the spout end off at the shoulder, then reverse it and push it back into the soda bottle body. Then punch some holes in the seam with a paper hole punch, or use a hot coat hanger to melt holes, and sew it together with fishing line.
Then dump some favorite food inside and set it in the tank, and voila' - 2 hours(or less) later you will have the fish inside and ready for retrieval.
Mark
2 liter soda bottle fish trap
Have a crafty fish that needs to come out?
Buy a clear 2 litre soda bottle, or I found a water bottle that worked perfect.
Cut the spout off to make a 2.5" diameter hole, then cut the spout end off at the shoulder, then reverse it and push it back into the soda bottle body. Then punch some holes in the seam with a paper hole punch, or use a hot coat hanger to melt holes, and sew it together with fishing line.
Then dump some favorite food inside and set it in the tank, and voila' - 2 hours(or less) later you will have the fish inside and ready for retrieval.
Mark
ReefPharmer
Active member
i have had luck catching tangs and angels using the lights out technique. Turn off the lights completely when its dark around the tank (complete blackout) so fish go to sleep. In 30 mins to 1 hr, turn all the lights on full blast and fish are disoriented for about 5 mins. You can net them easily. I've actually bumped fish with the net or stick to get them to move out of rockwork and scooped them out with absolutely no resistance... very easy if you can at least semi get to them
Ofcourse you can wake up in the middle of the night yourself, trip your way to the tank, and possibly knock the lights into the tank as you are dazed by the light flash along w the fish. Do this at your own risk.
Ofcourse you can wake up in the middle of the night yourself, trip your way to the tank, and possibly knock the lights into the tank as you are dazed by the light flash along w the fish. Do this at your own risk.
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