How to Catch Fish and Critters in Displays

[Aquarist007]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11721907#post11721907 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by coffeenut
im trying to catch a black damsel in a 300 gal sps tank.. he wont go in the fish trap, only sit out side it, and catch the particles of food.. he is so smart, and mean.. any thoughts? I have a fish trap.. i have sat for hours, waiting, but never will he go in..

I still contemplating on using it--but somewhere I read on here of using a small shop vac to catch a damsel

 

[Mac Inger]

 

[b_vanfossen]

great thread...

anyone have a good suggestion on how to catch shy camel shrimp?

I have tried netting, and the horizontal glass jar/plastic bottle with no luck...

thanks

 

[gasman059]

And for those impossible critters to get out there's always the mini version of a hawaiian sling. Cruel but functional.

 

[spawn1]

so how do u get anomemes off of rocks safely?

 

[mr&mrsfish]

The "drain the tank" method just worked for catching my elusive six-line wrasse. It took about 1 hour to complete the entire process.

I had been struggling to catch the wrasse for over three months. I was resigned to the fact a complete live rock tear down was in order. Thanks to this thread, my six-line is now going through hyposalinity. My tank should finally be ich free in another six weeks. Thanks Anthony!

 

[Aquarist007]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12488455#post12488455 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by gasman059
And for those impossible critters to get out there's always the mini version of a hawaiian sling. Cruel but functional.

what's the hawaiian sling

 

[joesynodontis]

great ideas, I like the trap with the feeding tube. if that is not pattented it would be a good candidate for manufacturing. this is the best thread for capture traps

 

[Æonic]

Divide and Conquer

I've used this a couple times. Obviously it's situational. Apologies if already mentioned.

Get a piece of acrylic large enough to span the tank in its smallest dimension.

Chase the target to one side of the tank or the other, and seal off the escape route to the other side of the tank with the acrylic. The larger space you can eliminate, the better this will work.

Once placed, depending on your rockwork, you can transfer rocks, etc out and over the edge of the acrylic to the other side, and move the acrylic toward the edge until your target is helpless and exposed.

Obviously with larger tanks and rocks not designed to be moved, this method can be tricky, but you can often isolate a corner and make the job a lot easier.

I think what helps is the fish appear unable to see the acrylic in the water, so they can't avoid it.

 

[icy1155]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12527315#post12527315 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by spawn1
so how do u get anomemes off of rocks safely?

Ive found that rubbing an ice cube on their foot slowly and gently pushing on the edge of the foot with the ice cube works well. I have removed 4 bubble tip anemones from my tank this way and not one has died.

 

[coralnut99]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12677372#post12677372 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Ã" onic
Divide and Conquer

I've used this a couple times. Obviously it's situational. Apologies if already mentioned.

Get a piece of acrylic large enough to span the tank in its smallest dimension.

Chase the target to one side of the tank or the other, and seal off the escape route to the other side of the tank with the acrylic. The larger space you can eliminate, the better this will work.

Once placed, depending on your rockwork, you can transfer rocks, etc out and over the edge of the acrylic to the other side, and move the acrylic toward the edge until your target is helpless and exposed.

Obviously with larger tanks and rocks not designed to be moved, this method can be tricky, but you can often isolate a corner and make the job a lot easier.

I think what helps is the fish appear unable to see the acrylic in the water, so they can't avoid it.

The key I think is how tight the rock work is. A variation on this idea might be to just set a good size acrylic sheet near a corner, and just try to corral the fish in a front corner where there's usually fewer obstcales, etc. But I've seen some tanks with rocks within inches of the front glass in the corners, which would still require moving some rocks.

 

[hobobob]

test post

 

[CHIEF GR]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6106467#post6106467 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Anthony Calfo
CATCHING SPIKY/PRICKLY CRITTERS

Prodded by Jeff's inquiry above... I add this entry for spiney creatures like bristle/fireworms and some shrimp & stomatopods (mantis).

For these various opportunistic omnivores with spiney aspects to their bodies, we can use it to our advantage to snare them.

With or without the various traps you will hear about in this thread and beyond, you can often snag one of these creatures by using a bit of (boiled to sterilize) ladies nylon stocking or the like.

Tie a small satchel of fragrant food like shrimp in the baggie of nylon (coin sized portion at most). Then tie a bit of string to the bag leading out of the aquarium (the string... not the bag of food - that stays in the aquarium ). Remember to clean oil off of fishing string if used (fishing line may be lubricated for reels in advance)

With this nylon satchel of stinky food inside a trap or not, the omnivorous scavengers are attracted to it overnight and often get snared in the nylon with their spiney aspects.

For the shrimp that will drag or pull the bait into a cave or crevice by daylight... you have the string to lead you there/where.

I am trying to catch a large crab in my aquarium which i suspect is the reason why my gobby dissapeared. The above method seems reasonable but i am not sure i understood how it works. Is the objective to get the crab in the nylon stocking or will they get stuck on the outside trying to eat the food just as easily?

Thanks, great thread!

 

[rps042657]

Last night I caught one Damsel, one Blue Tang and one yellow Tang at the same time in less than one minute.
Well, the one minute took 4 days.
One day to build the acrylic trap and 3 days just letting it hang in the tank.
I built it with a solid feeding tube attached to the top rear of the box. For three days I would feed the tank thru the tube. On the fourth day I dropped in a spoonful of brine shrimp and the three fish were the first ones in eating. Just dropped the door closed. Worked great.

 

[Jadran]

cool, Im glad it worked for you too. I got many pms over the last 3 years about it. Since I have this trap catching display fishes instead of frustration became fun to us.. Feeding tube is just so helpful, IME traps without it wont work nearly that good.

 

[rps042657]

A trap with a feeding tube is the only way to go. Never have to spook the fish. Even made a feeding stick to put Nori in the trap.
Thanks again.

 

[defib]

The trap with the feeding tube is slick... I've used a specimen container that I have dropped in the tank and then chased the fish into but that sounds so much easier. Thanks for the great pics.

 

[Xler8n]

Just used the Blind 'N' Snatch method (thats what im calling it) on my 4inch Hippo Tang. It worked like a charm. I missed the first time with the net but she was still disoriented so i scopped her the second time only toppling my moti capricornis. It broke off the rock, gonna need some super glue. But I CAUGHT HER!!! Im going to have to invest in one of those fish traps or make one but if you dont have one this method works like a charm.. Thanks Anthony

 

[NoProbelm]

One n Done!

One n Done!

All the previous methods are a waste of TIME! Sure if you have all day, every day, waiting and waiting the previous methods will work; but who has the TIME?

Simple Solution: Clean a Wet/Dry ShopVac, and place the business end in your tank, wait for the target species to swim past"¦ all the while having a family member/friend on standby ready to flip the switch when you scream NOW!

Wham-Bam Thankyou-Ma'am!

 

[Wingman6]

One thing that has worked quite well goes along the lines of night time. I have adjustable LEDs so this is easy, but i would guess you could buy some red LEDs and use them as a flashlight.

If you kill all the lights in the room so it is pitch black, the fish will go to their spots and all the inverts will start to come out. Throw on the red LEDs and you can see great but fish can't see red (or so i think). Now it is just a matter of getting the net near your fish or helping them with something to push them toward a container.

When doing this, i have seen fish bump into rocks, the glass, and allow me to get right next to them and not know it. Also a decent way of pulling out inverts as they come out all over the rocks.

Just figured i'd throw this out there.