it's a bit cruel in my opinion but i was having problem trying to rid my tank of a yellow tail damsel, i found the method that works best for me...would be to turn the lights on early morning preferably before the sun is up or whenever you feel that the fish in question is already sleeping...and scoop him up with a cup. i'm not sure about other fishes, but the damsel seems to wander out "blindly" when the lights are turned on in the morning.
How to Catch Fish and Critters in Displays
- Thread starter Anthony Calfo
- Start date
WishIWereAFish
New member
Thank you for this great post. I looked it over and decided "hey I'll bet I can build a trap like that" Bought some plexi-galss from ace ($10. and a small can of pvc glue $3.29) The first night I put it in the tank the Dominoe was so curious and hungry he swam right in. Unfortunatly my fishing line holding the door got snagged and I was unable to trap him. But it's very promising and I think it will work once I get him back in there. Thanks again for your info
One of the things I do for all my fish is to train them to feed out of a plastic specimen container. All I do is defrost their food in tank water in the box and then submerge it into the tank. It usually takes a week or so before a new fish will swim right in but after that, I can grab any fish I want right out of the reef with this method. Once they are 'trained', all I have to do is put the cup in once a week or so to keep them going in it. They will usually go into the cup empty once I have been doing it for a while. Probably the lowest stress way to catch up your fishes IMO.
markrovner
Premium Member
That's kind of brilliant...
WishIWereAFish
New member
Dominoe Damsel problem solved. I put my newly made trap box in the tank last night and caught the little bugger this afternoon.
Low stress and kind of fun...Great idea!
Low stress and kind of fun...Great idea!
DanConnor
Active member
Here's one more technique, not exactly like any I've seen posted yet. I haven't tried it myself, but Joe Yaullio (sp?) at Atlantis Aquarium uses it to remove fish from his giant tank and swears it really works.
In the middle of the darkest night when all the fishies are sound asleep, turn all the halides on full blast. After a few minutes all the fish will come out of the rocks, but will be blinded or at least unresponsive to visual stimuli for about 5 minutes, and can be easily netted out.
In the middle of the darkest night when all the fishies are sound asleep, turn all the halides on full blast. After a few minutes all the fish will come out of the rocks, but will be blinded or at least unresponsive to visual stimuli for about 5 minutes, and can be easily netted out.
marrowmuse
New member
This is sort of an odd one that might not be useful to many people but I thought I'd mention it to keep people thinking. It' all about outsmarting your quarry!
For an aggressive, territorial fish, an alternative bait to use in a trap is a small mirror. I just happened to have a 1" diameter mirror laying around one day when I was trying to catch some damsels. I held the mirror up to the tank to see if it had any affect on the fish, and there was an immediate aggressive reaction from the dominant damsel. I propped the mirror up in the back of a mason jar laying on it's side and was able to catch him with just my hand as the trap door. The mirror didn't work quite as well for the rest of the damsels but it did work. A really aggressive fish can't keep it's fight-or-flight priorities straight when it's staring down an identical fish that's matching him, move for move!
For an aggressive, territorial fish, an alternative bait to use in a trap is a small mirror. I just happened to have a 1" diameter mirror laying around one day when I was trying to catch some damsels. I held the mirror up to the tank to see if it had any affect on the fish, and there was an immediate aggressive reaction from the dominant damsel. I propped the mirror up in the back of a mason jar laying on it's side and was able to catch him with just my hand as the trap door. The mirror didn't work quite as well for the rest of the damsels but it did work. A really aggressive fish can't keep it's fight-or-flight priorities straight when it's staring down an identical fish that's matching him, move for move!
Anthony Calfo
New member
wow... very novel idea/lure, Ved!
Thanks for sharing this mirror trick. Quite savvy.
Anth-
Thanks for sharing this mirror trick. Quite savvy.
Anth-
terryhendrixson
New member
Ill have to try these i have a zoo eating blue hippo tang.
OK fellow reefers, listen up, I need help.
The good news: I have 6 fish that I need to quarantine because they are showing signs of disease. I plan to medicate them in QT over 4-8 weeks.
The bad news: they are all in my display tank.
The subjects:
six line wrasse
sailfin tang
pajama cardinal
pajama cardinal
male reslpendent anthias
female resplendent anthias
I have purchased the fish corral from drsfosterandsmith. I like the design.
How do I get bait to stay in it? What bait do I use? I tried mysis, but it all floated out. I tried mysis in a bag, but then the fish were freaked out by the bag.
I have now spent over 8 hours of various tactics, net or trap.
Please help.
The tang, wrasse, cardinals, and anthia all hide in the rocks. Additionally, my thrashing around in the tank tonight has stressed them all out incredibly.
Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks
Josh
The good news: I have 6 fish that I need to quarantine because they are showing signs of disease. I plan to medicate them in QT over 4-8 weeks.
The bad news: they are all in my display tank.
The subjects:
six line wrasse
sailfin tang
pajama cardinal
pajama cardinal
male reslpendent anthias
female resplendent anthias
I have purchased the fish corral from drsfosterandsmith. I like the design.
How do I get bait to stay in it? What bait do I use? I tried mysis, but it all floated out. I tried mysis in a bag, but then the fish were freaked out by the bag.
I have now spent over 8 hours of various tactics, net or trap.
Please help.
The tang, wrasse, cardinals, and anthia all hide in the rocks. Additionally, my thrashing around in the tank tonight has stressed them all out incredibly.
Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks
Josh
Last edited:
True Percula
New member
How can i catch all the bristle worms in my 29gal?
Here's a method that worked for me for my six line wrasse who sleeps in a rock.
For a fish that sleeps in a rock, just take the rock out. Do it in the middle of the night so he can be well asleep. And don't turn any lights on. Put the rock in a bucket of water that matches your chemistry and wait for him to swim out and then return the rock to your dispay.
In my case I was walking the 30 pound rock over to my mixing vat when the sucker woke up and jumped out onto my kitchen floor. I recovered him quickly and all is well now.
I just did this last night. i was so happy. I don't know why I didn't think of it sooner. My wife had the idea.
Josh
For a fish that sleeps in a rock, just take the rock out. Do it in the middle of the night so he can be well asleep. And don't turn any lights on. Put the rock in a bucket of water that matches your chemistry and wait for him to swim out and then return the rock to your dispay.
In my case I was walking the 30 pound rock over to my mixing vat when the sucker woke up and jumped out onto my kitchen floor. I recovered him quickly and all is well now.
I just did this last night. i was so happy. I don't know why I didn't think of it sooner. My wife had the idea.
Josh
ScottyDon't
New member
What about using clove oil to anesthetize. Anyone know about this method?
rdmpe
New member
I've done that before but I wouldn't even think about putting it in my main tank!
I had a figure 8 puffer and I used that in a bowl of water to knock the fish out. Then I trimmed it's teeth with some finger nail cutters! Worked like a charm and fish did great after that! Stressed me out though!
I had a figure 8 puffer and I used that in a bowl of water to knock the fish out. Then I trimmed it's teeth with some finger nail cutters! Worked like a charm and fish did great after that! Stressed me out though!
