How To Catch a Tang

[wardworld]

Any ideas on the "best" way to catch one of these out of my 120??? I've got a sailfin and a yellow that I want to temporarily relocate to another tank

 

[Don Lino]

wardworld, the best time to try is in the middle of the night, catch him sleeping.

 

[jsl6v8]

I had to tear out half the rock and have the help of 2 people to get my red sea sailfin out of my 125... fish catcher things are suppose to work basically a big acrylic box with a flap you can close once they go in. Also you can try a big net and waiting for hours or when you are feeding him, I understand you might have better luck at night with a black instead of green net as they don't see as well in the dark, but then neither do I.

 

[wardworld]

Thanks for the advice...I was wondering how the "fish catchers" worked...

 

[flfirefighter13]

Ive heard good things about fish cathers but my trick has always been to hold the net out of the water, then hold the food in the water and wait for the fish to come to my hands then snag them with the net. I guess the hard variable is that all of my fish will eat out of my hand. Try skipping a meal and then just giving a hint of food in the usual spot and see if the fish will come close enough to get snagged. Good luck!

 

[paulhines]

Daryl,

When I changed to my big tank, I used a fish catcher to get them all. A friend at work has one. I could borrow it for you. Probably could get it tomorrow. They're kinda expensive.

Paul

 

[rdmpe]

You can get one of those acrylic fish traps at AquaticEco or maybe Marcye sells them? They work GREAT. I've caught many fish including a Kole tang, a Naso, a super fast wrasse, etc. all with ease. Just put it in there and then use a turkey baster to blow a little bit of food into it. Let the fish get used to it and you'll be able to catch fish in a couple of minutes with no stress.

 

[jsl6v8]

I tried to use a fish catcher for 2 days with no success, 8 fish in the tank and none of them wanted anything to do with the fish catcher food in there or no, not even the snails and crabs.

 

[paulhines]

Did you use bait? I couldn't keep the snails and crabs out. They were the first to go...

 

[waterfaller1]

Drain tank into buckets, remove fish, replace water.{good time to do water change}

 

[markandkristen]

yep thats a easy way waterfaller if you can borrow the brut cans. i think i tried that one time with success.

 

[wardworld]

hmmmm....didn't think of draining the entire tank, but despite the pain in the patooka, I bet that would work...I wouldn't mind the fish-catcher idea, I just don't want to spend 6 hours trying to catch the fish. Especially, when my motto is "you just have to be smarter than the fish."
Thanks all, some good ideas and I'm sure between them, I can get the fish out...

 

[waterfaller1]

I got 5 fish out in 20 minutes this way. I just take down the top rocks/hiding places into the bucket/s if needed. Then the fish have nowhere to go. Even if you have some corals that will not move due to attachment,etc. they can stand being exposed for the time it takes to do this. Sometimes sps will slime some after, but with a little turkey basting, turning lights down, and time, they recover just fine. I kind of get a kick out of hobbyists who say " I need this fish out, but I cannot catch him". Yes, you can....you may just not want to do what it takes to get that 3" fish out of that square glass box you put him in..LOL

 

[wardworld]

You're right, Carole...I do have some "softies," but no sps...I can move most of them down into the water. What about some of the "attached zoas" - will they be okay out of the water for say, 10-15 minutes or should I try and move them too????

 

[waterfaller1]

They will be fine, do not move them. Zoanthids are tough, we just had some come out of a treatment vat with FRESH water..after a week. They were placed in saltwater when discovered, and opened right up!

 

[onano]

I borrowed Marcye's trap. It worked great on my yellow tang. I put it in the tank with a seaweed clip full of nori. I left it alone for a few hours and once the tang was swimming in and out regularly I just closed the trap. Simple and no disturbing anything.

 

[rdmpe]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9783197#post9783197 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by onano
I borrowed Marcye's trap. It worked great on my yellow tang. I put it in the tank with a seaweed clip full of nori. I left it alone for a few hours and once the tang was swimming in and out regularly I just closed the trap. Simple and no disturbing anything.

My experience exactly.

 

[reefgrief]

I had a large 6-7" foxface to move, so the little $30 acrylic tubes didnt look big enough to effectively fool the fish into entering.

I hate to confess this, but since I am a DIY'er , I took the time to make a sliding trap door trap out of scrap fiberglass equipement parts.. It took several hours, over several evenings, and maybe 5 dollars in plastic screws, ( so it could be dismantled for cleaning) and a threading tap, for threaded bolt holes.


Finally got it constructed, put it in my 150, and waited, and waited .. after 3 days my fox face entered, but scuried out when i tried dropping the door. After another 2 days... I caught him in a net.. LOL

So.. I now have a large trap.. 15x18x4 waiting for some future attempt to entice in a large fish.