How to Catch this STUPID damsel!!!

[CaitG]

Hey everybody.. still pretty new to the reef thing but absoultly LOVING it so far! The first fish we got was a stupid yellow/ black striped damsel and that little A hole is MEAN!!! He was our tester fish because he was hardy and cheap, but now I cant stand him! We have 3 clownfish, a coral beauty, Blenny, and 2 firefish gobys- (we added the gobies saturday- and still have not seen them due to mr mean damsel scaring them!) A few assorted corals- hammer, some mushrooms etc. I guess my real question is--- How in the heck do I catch him? Do I need to tear all my rock and everything out to get him? Does anyone experiened have any tips? Im about to lose it with this guy he has torn half of my Coral beauties tail off and I dont know what to do!
Anything would help!!
Thanks!!!
Caitlin

 

[shirley386]

Get the smallest fish hook you can find, a piece of sewing thread, and a small bit of chicken. You may catch some of the other fish before you catch the damsel. Just release them, they'll be fine. This is so simple most people won't even try it.

 

[Clay4AU]

youtube: DIY fishtrap

 

[EricSIny]

If he's a pig, the inverted bottle cap fish trap can work in minutes. It's been very successful for me in the past.

 

[Aslmx]

I tried all the tricks to catch a 6 line wrasse. finally I built a drop door trap from some cheap plexi glass from lowes. Put it in the tank and fed the fish in it without the door for a couple of days and then when I went to catch him,he swam right in ,i cut the line and got him. dumped him in the sump until i gave him away.

 

[mike r]

i had a domino damsel and it needed to go. i tried to catch it for hours, got ticked and went to bed. next morning i couldnt find em in the tank anywhere thats cuz it went carpet surfin! bitter sweet.

 

[CaitG]

Uuugh! I wish he would go tile surfing- Rather than our diamond (sand sifting) Goby we bought for 30 bucks! I think I may wait a day or two before I start trying to catch him again... I think all the other fish saw my mental breakdown and the net go flying across the room and they wont come out!! haha but another question really quick.... We bought two firefish goby's saturday from Aquarium Fantasies... acclimated them and we havent seen them since!! Is there anyway to get them to come out?

 

[ReeferBill]

I have used both fish traps and small hook with the barb cut off but the damsel might not be able to open its mouth wide enough to get the hook in. If that is the case then go the trap route. Use a gatorade bottle and remove the cap and sink a cube of frozen food inside with fish line tied around the neck and when the culprit swims in lift the bottle straight up and out of the water. I place the bottle upright so the victim has to swim down for the food at the bottom of the bottle so you can pull the line straight up and out....Happy Fishing!!!!

 

[asbauto]

my damsel killed my CBB in 4 days spent the next 2 chasing him,it took 3 nets 4 arms and I was soaked but the bottle trap didnt work and I couldnt find a hook small enough but both are good ways to catch him....worse case is my method

 

[NicoleC]

A fish trap works but you must be very patient -- damsels are definitely not stupid.

If the fish is too smart for the trap and all else fails, you might have to pull your rock out. A couple of rubbermaid tubs can hold the rock for a bit. Listen for flapping sounds when you pull the rock; sometimes fish get inside the rock and they'll need some water in the tub!

Early warning: clownfish and damsels are closely related and clownfish can sometimes get vicious. Unless you tank is very large, 3 clownfish in a tank usually means you end up with 2. Keep the fish trap handy -- if one clown is constantly getting picked on and chased by the other two, you'll need to remove the odd man out or he probably will go tile surfing. Clowns usually fall for the traps since they are always hungry.

 

[clintau]

The clowns probably will become dominant once he is gone from the tank. I have a super mean percula.

 

[CaitG]

BHAHAHAHA!!! I got him! He is sitting in a tub of water with an air rock in it, I keep changing the water and trying to take care of him! Hes mean and I dont like him but I dont want to kill him! Does anyone know of anyone wanting a mean little damsel haha. And Another thing, I had bought a tomato clown and a coral beauty from Eds Pet world. They both died... now I have ich and I have 2 clowns 2 gobies a yellow tang and a snowflake blenny... they are ALL itching... I got some stuff from my LPS (not eds pet world) that is suposed to help but I dont know if it is helping much.... Is there anything else exept for garlic I can do without taking them out of the tank for weeks?

 

[78mermaids]

My sister has a really mean damsel in her tank that is constantly tormenting her little maroon clown, and she has been trying to catch it forever !!! I'll have to tell her about the little trap door contraption.

 

[78mermaids]

:headwally:My sister has a really mean damsel in her tank that is constantly tormenting her little maroon clown, and she has been trying to catch it forever !!! I'll have to tell her about the little trap door contraption.

 

[NicoleC]

BHAHAHAHA!!! I got him! He is sitting in a tub of water with an air rock in it, I keep changing the water and trying to take care of him! Hes mean and I dont like him but I dont want to kill him! Does anyone know of anyone wanting a mean little damsel haha. And Another thing, I had bought a tomato clown and a coral beauty from Eds Pet world. They both died... now I have ich and I have 2 clowns 2 gobies a yellow tang and a snowflake blenny... they are ALL itching... I got some stuff from my LPS (not eds pet world) that is suposed to help but I dont know if it is helping much.... Is there anything else exept for garlic I can do without taking them out of the tank for weeks?

You might check to see if your LFS will take him back. Don't expect to get anything for him.

Regarding the ich -- the only way truly effective to eradicate it from your tank is to let it go fishless for about 6 weeks (rock, sand, etc.). Meanwhile, your fishies need to be treated with hyposalinity in a QT tank for 30 days.

All other "treatments" are either wishful thinking, provide temporary respite or nuke your tanks non-fish inhabitants.

Hypo is annoying and requires being meticulous but is not difficult or dangerous to the fish (with a few exceptions). Annoying enough, perhaps, to religiously QT new purchases once you have a nice clean display tank. There are much more deadly and difficult to kill things you can bring into your tank from the fish store.