Help mandarin dragonet in overflow

[Tiberione]

Hi!!

After a few days of searching for my mandarin I decided to look at my overflow for answers. Turns out he made a home in there. Dunno how he got there. Anyways I'm concerned that he's going to die in there and I can't get him out. Taking the durso out is not an option. Any ideas what I could do? I can't stick my hand in there. Its a marine land corner overflow. If he's really close to the top I might be able to but he would swim away. Help!?

 

[Betta132]

Get a cheap net, cut it up, and put it back together just large enough to hold him.

 

[robs.mark]

turn your pumps off and very slowly fill the overflow with sand. eventually the fish will be high enough in the overflow that you can just grab him! once finished syphon out the sand.

 

[Tiberione]

turn your pumps off and very slowly fill the overflow with sand. eventually the fish will be high enough in the overflow that you can just grab him! once finished syphon out the sand.

Thanks for this idea!!

Would I be able to just use play sand? Or should I buy some sand from my LFS? I don't have enough of my own to fill my overflow

 

[Reef Junky]

Play sand would work, maybe rinse it first and just siphon it all out via 3/8" hose or something.

 

[Tiberione]

Thanks for the suggestion, I'll let you know how it goes, he'll have to live in there until I can get some play sand

 

[Betta132]

You could put some chaeto in there to add pods and keep him alive.

 

[Jeff210]

I had a box fish get into mine. I took a small net and duct taped it to my feeding tweezers/pincers so it would reach the bottom and just fished (pun intended) around in there until I got him in the net...

 

[snorvich]

What other fish are in the tank? I ask to try figuring out why the mandarin escaped into the overflow.

 

[Tiberione]

Yellow tang (maybe 1.5inches) 2 false perc. And 3 chromis

 

[Tiberione]

You could put some chaeto in there to add pods and keep him alive.

I've done that until I can get the sand to get him out. I might let him live in my fuge if I can stop him from going to my return pump

 

[Betta132]

My guess would be he just got curious and that's why he's in there. Mandarins like to methodically explore everything they can find.