How to kill a damsel

[Daniel.luu]

Hi,

I remember reading about how to remove the damsel that was getting aggressive with a spear. I remember someone had a similar problem and wanted to remove the damsel. He tried almost everything ideas you can think of and finally made spear out of the cloth hanger.

Does anyone remember the thread?


My black 2 white spots damsel is killing my $50 flame angel. He'd already bit off the half of the flame angel's tail.

 

[ezcompany]

well, its a little harsh killing the fish for how he was designed by nature. try a fish line with the smallest sized hook you can find to bring the damsel back to your lfs.

 

[Deftones2015]

You can either take out all of your live rock (which is what I did in my 29) Or I've heard of people starving the fish for a while and cutting a hole in the bottom of a 2 liter bottle and putting food in there. Make the hole big enough for him to get into but don't cut the bottom off because when he gets in the bottle you want to be able to pull him out of your tank.

 

[Zaita]

I agree killing the fish is definitely not the answer. You should really have more respect for the fish you keep.

Your tank is only 40g. Start pulling out the live rock until you get the one the fish is hiding in and put him in your sump until you can take him back to the LFS.

I had to remove EVERY piece of rock from my 125g (over 200lbs) to catch a 6" Lunare Wrasse that was terrorizing my wheeler shrimp goby. But I did it at 6am, and gave the fish to a friend who had a suitable tank (150g FOWLR) for it to live in. I, like you, should've researched a bit more before adding the new fish, but you should hardly kill it for your mistake.

Edit: Also had a 2-spot black damsel too in a 50g. Had to catch him and remove him for being a terror. Gave him to a LFS who had an aggressive tank for him.

 

[bucky145]

simple buy a huma huma trigger or two they will take care of him
nah use a fish trap and take him out .

 

[jubjub]

lol mantis or a lionfish would probably work to...) but killing it probably isnt the answer.get a fish trap

 

[finsurgeon]

Put food in a trap. I used to borrow one from my LFS, but maybe you don't have that luxury. I used it to get out my Dad's 7 year old Domino Damsel in a half hour after he complained about it for a year and tried everything else. The meanest and biggest bullies are also the most likely to go into the trap for the food first. It'll work. http://www.bizrate.com/fishsupplies/oid550891629__sort--7.html

 

[Daniel.luu]

I think I might need to take out all rocks to take him out. This will be a PITA. My flameangel might died before I find the time to clear out the rocks and corals.Sigh.

I don't want to starve my fish as I have 6 total.

Fin - half an hour? Wow, I don't think I can lure him into the trap.

I probably won't use a spear too brutal. :-(

 

[forddna]

Take a 2 liter soda bottle and cut the top off where the slope begins (follow the fullest width up the bottle and cut as soon as it starts to slope). Invert the top into the bottle. Put the Damsel's favorite food in there.

If he's larger than the opening, just cut it, but keep it as small as possible to keep him from figuring out how to escape.

 

[lawboy888]

the hook and line works?

 

[calvin415]

Yep, our local club has a running joke about getting fish out... We use a hook and line and call it our no patience fish trap.

 

[Chibils]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12768589#post12768589 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by lawboy888
the hook and line works?

It injures them, but heals quickly and is (hopefully) non-lethal.

 

[LisaD]

Can you take the flame angel out and put it in the sump to heal until you can get the damsel?

I know it's really frustrating to watch a fish that you can't catch beat up on a prize specimen.

Really, while it is a PITA, taking rock out of a 40 gallon tank isn't so bad. I once had to pull out almost every piece of several hundred pounds of live rock in a 120 until I could catch a sick fish that needed to be in a hospital tank for treatment.

 

[finsurgeon]

Of course you can lure him into the trap. It's the same thing the others are saying about the inverted neck bottle, but available commercially. You hold the door open from 10 feet away with clear fishing line (comes with the trap). The bottle or trap has a cube of mysis in it that smells great and slowly little pieces float out to attract him. If other fish go in, you remain patient, holding the door. If he goes in you shut it, no matter if you catch another fish or 2 at the same time. I've done it 7 times, caught my quarry every time. The half hour for the domino of my Dad's was after driving the 8 hours to his house, bringing my family for a visit and carrying the trap with me. He had tried the fishing trick. His evil damsel was almost too large to go into the trap, but eventually it was too tempting.

 

[finsurgeon]

The one flaw for the trap or bottle is that it won't catch a sick fish since there may be no desire to feed on the part of the fish. But the meaner and greedier the fish, the more suited to trapping.

 

[Timbor]

If you are going to use the hook and line, I would recommend using a barbless hook. It will be much easier to pull out. It's not so bad pulling a barbed hook out of a big fish like a largemouth bass, as there is lots of fish to hold on to, however, with a smaller fish like a damsel, the harder you have to work to take out that hook, the greater the risk of harming the fish in the process - ie squeezing the fish too hard, tearing too much flesh, etc.


Tim

 

[Flavum]

haha harsh

 

[sayn3ver]

i'd imagine a sabiki sized hook would work, just use pliers to flatten the barb. I even do this when sport fishing as it makes life much easier and really doesn't affect performance.

I'd imagine a shiny gold hook jigged may interest a damsel, or bait it with its favorite frozen food. I'd go for the lightest pound test you can find, probably 2lb mono.

You can't get em with a two net setup? I have no experience with damsels.

 

[k.tran]

go fishing in the tank? kill the damsels theres plenty of em out there

 

[forddna]

Forget all this. Get yourself a nice, big Carpet and don't feed it!