How to catch fish? Need help!!!

P

Pico Keeper

Premium Member
I need help badly, as many of you know I have a Molly Miller Blenny in my tank that I've been looking to get a new home for. Today his lease ran up, I woke up and he was swallowing what was left of my favorite yuma colony. He must have eaten $150 in outrageously expensive and colorful YUMAs! He also munched down some of my favorite zoanthids.

I was hoping the zoanthid lunch would kill him. But apparantly he likes spicy food. I'm freaking out, if he starts eating my new micromussa's I might go nuts.

I need advice on how to get him out. Since I remember a few FMAS members had collected and kept Molly Millers just as I did, I wanted to know if anyone knows how to catch one. I tried a tiny baited hook but once he felt the sharp part he never went at it again. This fish is not shy at all, he sits by the front pane just starting, but he's smart as all hell..

Anyone got any advice. Anyone want him? I'm throwing him back in the ocean if I catch him and no one wants him.
 
Go buy the smallest hooks you can find and some 10# flourocarbon. Use a small piece of shrimp on the hook. It should work with a little patience. If all else fails you can take the tank apart (last resort). Good luck!
 
try an empty clear jar and put some food in it. You'll need to be patient and watch for him to go in it then once he is in and eating scoop in with a net, cover the jar and pull him out.
 
hes prob small enough that you could do the coke bottle trap, cut the top off and invert it into the remainin bottle, and put food inside.
 
Well I already tried the baited hook. I think he sees the flurocarbon and runs from it. I'm using 20# fluro, i dont know where to find 10# but i'll look for it when i get out of work. He won't fall for the baited box. Tried that, he almost went in, but the food wasn't enough reward to enter the box, when he can just turn around and eat my YUMAS....GRRRR..

I will use the coke bottle method today when I get home from work. I hope he doesn't eat everything while im gone today.
 
I did this to catch them nasty damsels. Take one of those bags that you get when you buy fishes, corals, erc from a LFS. Then take some needle and thread and sow up the top part of the bag in a circle, this acts like a rope or something that will be pulled to gether and tighten up the bag so the fish can not escape.

Just put some good food in it, tank water and slowly lower into the tank on to the sand bed. Since the bag is clear, it will pick at the bag untill it can figure a way into the bag ad get the food. Now all you have to do is wait and watch it come on in. Took me less then 30 mins to get rid of my two damsels which are sitting in my friend's tank... still alive even though he does not take care of them.

Give it a try before you tear the tank up.
 
I had the same problem with a damsel.......I tried the bottle trick, etc. But I did catch him with the hook filed down the barb
here is what I used......pick them up at bass pro
59590hooks.jpg
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8444248#post8444248 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Fish2reef
Nano fishing????
Click to expand...

Yupe next up and coming Olympic sporting event
 
I was using size 6 sabiki rig. I removed a hook and baited it. It already comes barbless so no filing was necessary. I'm going to try it again when i get home today. I'm also going to use the coke bottle trap. If none of that works, I will be turning on the halides at 3am to stun all the fish and I'm going to get him out of the tank the same way I got him out of government cut! With my hands.
 
Who wants to sell me some nice Yuma mushrooms, i feel terrible and they must be replaced! The two yuma's that he ate completely where some of my favorite corals. Forget the crazy acans and stonies.. I loved my yumas! :(
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8444393#post8444393 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Pico Keeper
I was using size 6 sabiki rig.
Click to expand...

I have used those hooks also, but it's really amazing how much better smaller hooks will work.
 
Ok, then I will probably be passing by the fly fishing shop today for those hooks. I'm an avid fisherman, this is going to be fun!
 
Just remember...the smaller the better. I bought some one time that were on a magnet so you wouldn't loose them...worked great!
 
His sort often sleep in the same spot every night...have you ever found where, and can you just net him in the dark?
 
I want to shoot myself!

I caught him this morning! Then I lost him. I dropped the net in the spot where I usually drop his food. Turned the pumps off like I usually do to feed and dropped some spectrum pellets b/w the net and the glass, when he scooted over to grab them off the sand bed I scooped him up and threw him in a critter keeper.

I left the critter keeper in the tank floating around. Bad Idea. My friend calls me from my house and tells me that he got out and is eating the leftover stump from my Yuma.

I was at work, at my desk with customers. I scared them half to death when I yelled out a horrible obsenity at max anger level! Thankfully, I had already told them about my victorious capture this morning so they laughed when I told them why I was yelling!

Hopefully I can catch him in the same manner tommorrow. Can I leave him floating around in a critter keeper indefinately??? Just throw some food in there from time to time. I need atleast a week to finish getting everything together for my new NC12 "work reef" which will be his new home!
 
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