How to capture/catch clownfish in a tank

[Aqua_boy]

Thanks for the information.......

 

[Chasmike]

Good advice.

 

[deangelr]

I have even thought of trying to catch him with a small barbless flyhook !!!!


that actually works quite well.. Im sure a most would never say to do that.. I have personally seen many fish caught and unharmed this way in the aquarium.

 

[Fishinboy84]

this makes a hard job easy.
thanks

 

[graysmurf]

I use a container to catch fish from my quarantine tank but its a little trickier when there are rocks where the fish can hide. My clowns are pretty agressive and easy to catch though. I normally just put food on the surface and they come right up, then i can net them. They seemed unfaced by the net.

 

[mr.iacuessa]

this is all awesome info, though i dont think ill be using cyanide anytime soon(sounds like a dumb idea) and since ill be getting some maroons in a couple weeks, im sure ill find this info useful...im new to saltwater so almost any info is good

 

[OrionN]

One way to catch a pair of clown fish from very sticky anemone like Gigantea and Haddoni is to use a clean wide mouth glass container. Anemone will not stick to clean glass. Glass that cover with a thin layer of algae is another mater.
Anyway, the glass in invisible to the clowns. It is very easy to scoop them from the anemone in the middle of the night. I got my Onyx A. percula from an 18 inches S. gigantea with just one try. Less than a minute to capture both of them. Plastic and dirty glass will be sticky and will cause injury to the anemone.

 

[rocride]

i haven't read through this thread but i'll throw my two cents....
when i moved my saddlebacks which were/are hosting a PLTA,hosting doesn't decribe what relationship they seem to have but anyways
i took a large juice jug,the ones with a handle and cut the top of it leaving the handle and gently uprooted the nem and slid him into the jug...and then sat and watched....the male went in right away and wallowed in the nem but the female was way more reluctant ...she watched that jug for 30 mins and all the time the male was in and out,finally she went in!!

then he came out,lol

after about 10 mins of them going in and out the both finally settled in to the nem and about 2 mins later i slowly covered the opening with a net and lifted the jug upright and out of the tank....they traveled like that(in a bucket of tank water)til i poured them into the new tank...

 

[125mph]

Caught my two clarkii's last week.. one I used an acrylic trap that has a string attached to the gate... that worked for the female and got her in 2 minutes using bait.

The male I had to net at night when he was sleeping in the nem LOL... took about 15 tries that night though.

 

[Da Saltwater DJ]

Maybe im just lucky , but i put a clear plastic cup in the water with mantis shrimp cube and the clown come right in the cup after about 10 seconds , it works ALLLLLLL the time . Maybe im just lucky ....

 

[kruserm]

I moved a tank with a clown in it and I used a clear container and herded the clown into the container...worked sweet with very little stress on the fish. In fact I used this method for about all the fish. I did the same thing from the stock tank after I got the dispaly tank setup.

 

[Tmoriarty]

I just recently got a pair of true percs. While they refuse to host anything but the picture on the wall (have to eventually remove the background i guess lol) they are more then willing to swim up to my hand and even sample my fingers. I would use the container technique but in all likely hood my clowns will just go out of the tank in my hand, they oddly try to lay in my hand its kinda funny to watch.

 

[ScottCRRT]

The old mysis in a net trick worked for me. lol

 

[Dragon moray ki]

Same here exept I used brine

 

[Sherrf1]

Unfortunately, I have to remove my clownfish from the tank every time I do a good cleaning. This is for her own sake. More than once I have had her jump out of the tank while trying to bite my hand, even if it is not even in the water, just hovering above it. Luckily she is easy to catch by putting a clear container under my hand, she swims in and I take it out and cover it until I'm done cleaning.

 

[darkwaterdevil]

my black and white clowns will swim right into my hands

 

[tankmates]

I tried bottle trick, container trick, everything for extended periods to catch my clarkiis , nothing worked, then I saw they are too aggressive and always want to bite my hand, otherwise they will not eat from container etc....so i put my hand in, let them bite it, they moved to top and then i caught them in container ...LOL....it was simple 5 minute job , though I was left with severely bitten hand

 

[BlackLagoon]

I tried to catch a pair of Gold Stripe Maroon Clowns in a 180 full of rock. Tried the net, homemade trap, and luring them with food. I caught the much larger female, but could never catch the male. The male became more skittish once the female was gone. I kept the female in my refugium for a couple of weeks while I was trying to get the male and I eventually felt bad for her so I released her back into my display. I'd like a pair of True Percs but it looks like my Maroon Clowns aren't willing to vacate. Tearing apart the tank is not an option. Oh well.

 

[Miss Nano]

Lol, my clowns are ridiculously easy to catch. All I have to do if put a fish specimen container in the water and they will swim right in it....repeatedly... Clowns are awesome like that.

 

[mischa91]

Luckily i have 1 very easy to catch picasso. Unluckily i have 1 occy who is a runner and a jumper and is just ridiculously hard to catch. I had to dismantle the tank yesterday due to a leak so was able to catch her after all the rock was taken out... even then she proved difficult. I used a clear plastic measuring cup and herded her into it, she was not a happy fish. She's fine now but we'll have to go through all that again once i get the tank leak fixed.