Help! Trying to catch bully six line wrasse!

Cancun

Member
Hi there! I have had my six line wrasse for 3 years...never was a problem....then the other day he just snapped.. .he is terrorizing the whole tank...I need to yank him out....does anyone have any ideas...I have tried DIY fish traps....regular fish traps...etc...nets...please help! Thanks!
 
oh man... the horrors of 6line. honestly it's really really hard to catch that fish. how many other fish do you have? it may be easier to catch most of the easy ones and place them in a QT. then drain your main tank until there's only 1 inch of water. Then catch that 6line. or just drain your whole tank with all your fish. They are going to get stressed anyways
 
oh man... the horrors of 6line. honestly it's really really hard to catch that fish. how many other fish do you have? it may be easier to catch most of the easy ones and place them in a QT. then drain your main tank until there's only 1 inch of water. Then catch that 6line. or just drain your whole tank with all your fish. They are going to get stressed anyways

What he said.
 
This worked for me:

Take a water bottle. Cut off the top and invert it. Put some food inside. Then put the bottle in the tank standing upright.

Don't lay it on its side. I found that the wrasse can back it if the trap really easy when it's sideways. But when it's upright, it settings down or to the side when you reach down to it, trapping itself. Also, wait until it's all the way inside before you go for it, or it will back out. They're sneaky bastards.

But once I figured out how to place the bottle, it took about 20 minutes to catch it.

Sent from my SM-G935T using Tapatalk
 
This worked for me:

Take a water bottle. Cut off the top and invert it. Put some food inside. Then put the bottle in the tank standing upright.

Don't lay it on its side. I found that the wrasse can back it if the trap really easy when it's sideways. But when it's upright, it settings down or to the side when you reach down to it, trapping itself. Also, wait until it's all the way inside before you go for it, or it will back out. They're sneaky bastards.

But once I figured out how to place the bottle, it took about 20 minutes to catch it.

Sent from my SM-G935T using Tapatalk
That bottle idea sounds good...but question...how do I keep my other fish out of it? If that is even possible. ..LOL!
 
I'd go with a fish trap.I've tried the bottle, but it never seemed to work very well. I finally bit the bullet and bought the Aqua Medic acrylic trap.

Key IME is to leave it in the tank for at least a week without doing anything with it. After about a week all of my fish went in and out of the trap without much thought, even without baiting it with food. Then it was just a matter of waiting for the right fish to go in, and springing the trap.

Patience is the key IMO.
 
That bottle idea sounds good...but question...how do I keep my other fish out of it? If that is even possible. ..LOL!
I did it in the morning before the lights turn on. My wrasse usually woke up before most of my other fish. Plus the bottle neck was too small for my angel. Clowns didn't like it because it was too far from their nem. My gobies don't like to swim up from their sand burrow to go back down into the bottle neck, so it was perfect for my wrasse.

Sent from my SM-G935T using Tapatalk
 
IMHO almost any fish is going to take the bate before a 6 line, and once one get's trapped they will all be scared of the thing. I've successfully used them, but it's a pain and I've decided it's not worth the effort. When I need to catch a fish I just pump all the water out of the tank, grab the fish, and pump the water back in. I have a 120 and it takes about 15 min. Corals can easily survive the exposure- in many areas of the world they get exposed for hours during tides.

An alternative I have heard used with wrasses is to turn the lights on to full brightness about an hour after the light are usually completely off. I've been told they come out dazed and you can easily net them- never tried it myself
 
Years ago I had a 6-line that always slept it a crevice on the underside of a rock. It went to the same spot every night after the lights went out. Luckily, it was a rock at the top of my rock structure. When I needed to get him out, I just waited until a couple hours after the lights were off and lifted the rock and held a bowl under it. As soon as the rock came out of the water, the 6-line dropped straight into the bowl. Maybe keep an eye on him after lights out to see where it sleeps.
 
If it's a now type thing, you're draining tank and moving rocks.... (use a piece of egg crate to help separate him from everyone else by cutting the tank in half)

Mine was so wily a whole month of patience and every trick in the book wasn't enough...he knew I was coming for him...
 
Thank you all for responding......gives me some great ideas....the worst part about catching a fish in my reef tank is stressing out my other fish in the process....so the fish trap...or bottle....seems to be the least stressful....
 
I agree with ronl. Mine always stays in the same spot every night and if he is in a spot that is easy to access that would be your best bet without stressing out the other fish and inhabitants.
 
I agree with ronl. Mine always stays in the same spot every night and if he is in a spot that is easy to access that would be your best bet without stressing out the other fish and inhabitants.

Right, since lights were out for a couple of hours, the other fish were all in their nighttime spots and had no idea the 6-line was being evicted. It only works though if the 6-line sleeps in an easily removed rock. If he slept in a lower rock, I would have had to resort to other methods. Just watch him after lights out and he'll retreat to his normal spot. Mine used to wedge himself up in there pretty good.
 
Back
Top