how can i catch my damsel?

memorisa

memorisa

protoZOA
hi guys,

i think i am posting in the right place for my issue at hand, if not my apologies.

so i have purchased 2 yellow belly damsels. well they used to be yellow bellied now their body is a color blended between yellow and navy with sorts of brown all over.

well the color is not an issue actually, at first few weeks they came they were adjusting, now they are bullying tangs 5 times their size. i have no idea how and even when i try to clean my tank and work inside, the bigger one attacks my hand. they also dont leave any food for the other guys.

so basically, i have had enough, i will give them to a friend so how can i catch the mean muthas? i have a few fish the same size they are, so a small jar won't do the trick i'm afraid. i also tried to use a net to catch em when they go for my hand, but they turned out to be a lil too smart for that
 
thanks for the inputs buzzbombtom and akmugen -
sadly where i live (turkey), there are no reef clubs :.( and the LFS around here are doing it for the money, and bring only the profitable and easily sold items- which means i can't find the fish trap either.

any other way i can solve my problem?

i was thinking about a tiny glass jar or bottle and have food in it and wait with a net to block the mouth once teh damsel goes in
 
that was definitely very helpful.

the soda bottle as trap thing didnt really work out. no one came close to it. except for the shrimp who tried to go in from the bottom of the bottle, which didnt work out so well for him.

i did try the light in the middle of the night trick. and was able to catch one of the damsels. woohoo! i couldnt believe it.

however it didnt work as well for my other, bigger damsel. his "sleeping" spot is in the middle of the rocks where i cant reach him.
 
I love threads like this, thanks everyone who chimed in and thanks to you Memorisa as well. I have been trying to get some fish out all week and couldn't as the anthias and cardinals I was trying to catch were to smart for traps, so I tried the night fishing idea and sure enough, I was able to catch two cardinals and one anthias. But as you mentioned one chromis and one anthias I wasn't able to get them as their sleeping spots are right in the middle of the rockwork where I can't get to them.
 
tangwich you are very welcome. and i must add, this is one of the best parts about RC, where it is a vast source of knowledge and practical information that is easily accessible and every forum is filled with people that are willing to help out.
sure helps teh hobbyists and our pets in decreasing the frustration and stress and extends teh pleasure we get.


on a side note, i still dont know what to do about the fish that sleep in the middle of the rock work. but i have been observing the remaining evil damsel closely and trying to figure out other spots where i may be able to catch him.

although i'm not very willing, i may have to resort to fishing with hook and bait... but im still thinking on that.
 
If you can find the fish in the rockwork at night, you can remove the rock, and coax him out. :D
 
Which soda bottle trap did you try??


What I did to catch mine was cut the top off a 2 Liter Soda Bottle cut it right where it starts to taper in. Invert that section back into the bottle, so it kind of looks like a crab trap.


Put food in the bottle and submerge the bottle so it's all full. If your damsel is that aggressive of a feeder (like mine was), he should plow his a$$ right into the bottle and he'll be caught.
 
i tried with a one liter soda bottle. i cut it off a couple inches before it started tapering in.
i used pellets which i usually feed and also a piece of shrimp. the flow was a little too much at first, so i tried once with it resting by a rock. and second time i put some coral rubble in there. i waited like an hour. but no luck in either try.
i didn't feed my fish tonite tho, so tomorrow morning i'll give it a nother go
 
i am currently trying with a two liter bottle
my damsel is really hungry but he's not even looking at the bottle nor the food inside....
i dont know what to do
 
This may sound extreme but it was recommended here in the forums before and it is guaranteed to work. Use a powerhead or whatever means you choose to drain your tank as fast as you can. If you have any super sensitive corals that must always be in water, move them in advance. Sponges come to mind here as one of the few that must not be exposed to air even briefly. Try to get the damsel in a corner or somewhere easy to catch with the water at a low level. Once you get enough water out all you have to do is pick him up and put him in a container. Then get the water back in the tank as quickly as possible. This whole process can be completed much more quickly than all the time required in attempting to trap him and is less stressful than you might think compared to other methods. I know it worked for me and I learned my lesson. No more damsels for me!

Gpow
 
Thanks, Gpow. However I dont have any means of storing 1000 lt. (900 considering i wont empty the whole thing.) i'll talk to some LFS to see if he can help me out.

Another question relating to this - - i have some corals like a torch and an octopus epoxied to the rock. is it ok if they are exposed like for 20 mins?
 
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