fish trap not working-wrasse must go-help

[banga13]

I've tried to catch it with a net, have taken most of my lr out, and now I've tried to use a fish trap and nothing has worked. I can't see where he sleeps at night to catch him. Does anyone have any other ideas. I need to get this sixline out!
Thanks,
Leslie

 

[dendro982]

Nothing worked for my cleaner wrasse - had to remove most of the LR from 90g tank to catch him :mad2:

 

[karid]

I have used a 2-liter bottle successfully for a lot of fish - including wrasse.

Just cut the very top off with the cap (or maybe slightly father down to allow bigger fish), invert the top portion of the bottle, fill it with water and get all the airbubbles out (so it sinks), put some food at the bottom, and put it in the bottom of your tank. I leaned it against some rocks at about 45°, careful not to touch or squash any corals.

You can put it in when the lights are out so the fish wake up and it's there. Or maybe put it in first thing in the morning. Then they go investigate and voila. Most fish go in but can't get out. My wrasse figured out how to get out. When I caught the wrasse, I waited until he went in and then quickly pulled the bottle out of the tank.

 

[Gluestick]

why are you trying to remove him?

 

[banga13]

yeah I've had the bottle in my tank for about 6 hours. I need to remove him before he kills my mandarin. The only thing I can think of is take it out for a few days and try to put it in before the lights come on. I've got fish line tied on so I can quickly pull it out if and when the wrasse goes in.

 

[Gluestick]

sixline killing a mandarin? that sounds unusual

 

[twon8]

sixline are mean fish, mine picks on anthias

 

[Gluestick]

i'll have to keep that in mind

 

[dadonoflaw]

also because they are competing for copepods the mandarin is fighting a losing battle unless you have a well stocked refugium and plenty of live rock

 

[dendro982]

Same with the cleaner wrasse, only other fish. I kept them separate for more than a half-year - thought, that wrasse's nature changed - no luck. In two days he started again.

 

[King-Kong]

my sixline was bad news.

Got him to go into the 2-liter container, but as i pulled it up he rocketted out.

Finally had to find out which rocks he sleeps in, and pull it out at 1am.

 

[RokleM]

I had to get a sixline out of my 180 at one point too. I worked for a week trying to get him out with a trap with no luck. Instead, I got a 10-12" net, and just let it sit in a spot I know is in his swimming pattern. It took him about a day to get use to it, about another day to get use to me standing next to the net, and then it was all over (first try).

 

[SDguy]

You have to give the trap some time. It's not magic. The fish has to get used to eating out of it. I caught every fish in my tank multiple times over with my trap. Usually takes about 2 maybe 3 days for the fish to get comfortable with it. Just be patient. Plus, sounds like your previous attempts (the net, removing LR) have probably spooked it at this point...it may take longer.

GL

 

[jacob30]

#28 dry fly hook with the barb filed down, 2.5 pound fly line and a medium sized mysid shrimp caught my wrasse after the third baiting. Witholding food for a few days will get them more interested. I tried everything else and this worked the best for the sixline.

 

[bobafett]

I have had a few problem fish and the only way I got them out was with a fish trap and in some cases a small fish hook.

If the fish likes to hide when you try to get him take the fish trap and cover it with rocks so that it looks like a cave. Every day put the fish food in the cave (don't put food anywhere else in the tank) Within two weeks the fish should be comfortable enough to go in and get it's food and thats when you trap him. It has worked for me many times.

If the problem fish is agressive it will usually hog up the food so try a very small fish hook and very thin fishing line and literally go fishing in your tank. I have also used this method successfully on some of the bullies in my tank.

 

[banga13]

I don't want to kill it, Just remove it. Wouldn't a fish hook kill it!?

 

[jim48]

No. Just don't wait until he has it down his gut. As soon as he takes the bait hook him!

 

[mc-cro]

IME, draining the tank is still the quickest, easiest, and least stressful way. especially if you only have a 75g tank. I did this again just recently trying to catch a hippo tang.

Just used a lenght of 1" spaflex, and 3-4 sturdy rubbermaid containers. sucked the tank dry in about 10minutes or less, reached in grabbed the fish, threw him in a bucket, hooked that spa flex up to a mag7, and filled the tank back up. No moving rock, chasing with a net, hours of standing by the tank, no midnight ambushes.

All the other fish just hang out in the low spots that still have a little water, no issues. Corals can handle being out of water for a long time.

 

[nava405]

good luck man, i was trying to catch my powder blue with fish "traps" , and all other fishes went in just not the powder, so i spent time to take " everything out" to catch it, i bet wrasses is going to be worse.