Need ideas for catching two fish

[hotelbravo]

So im looking to trade in two of my fish that ive had for a while. One is a yellow tang and the other is a marine betta. Ive got my tank exactly the way I want it and I know if I tear it down to get them out I won't recreate what ive made and I will hate myself. I know catching the tang will be easier than the marine betta because I can maybe build a trap and bait it with seaweed. But im not sure how to catch the marine betta.

Any ideas or maybe fish trap designs would be awesome.

 

[K916]

two nets worked wonders when I needed to catch my Purple tang and banish him to the sump

 

[Taahirs]

A little basket worked in a 400g SPS tank when I caught my purple tang. Strangely enough it's because the yellow tang was hammering him and I needed to move him to the other tank.
Took a day or two of patience though

Just leave the basket floating at the top for a day. The Fish will get used to it. Turn the basket sideways and put float some nori next to it. When it comes up to eat flip the basket

 

[btb72]

Coke bottle top half cut off and flipped upside down with mysis in the bottom.

 

[Greaser84]

Coke bottle top half cut off and flipped upside down with mysis in the bottom.

I've done this several times, works like a charm for hard to catch fish.

 

[hotelbravo]

A little basket worked in a 400g SPS tank when I caught my purple tang. Strangely enough it's because the yellow tang was hammering him and I needed to move him to the other tank.
Took a day or two of patience though

Just leave the basket floating at the top for a day. The Fish will get used to it. Turn the basket sideways and put float some nori next to it. When it comes up to eat flip the basket

this sounds like a good idea for my tang.

Coke bottle top half cut off and flipped upside down with mysis in the bottom.

and this sounds like a good idea for my marine betta.. i feel like i will catch more than just him though lol.

 

[sethd12]

I've used a flower vase (tall) feeding pellets and cover once they deep inside. Seems to work within 30 minutes usually for me over the years.

 

[Harry_Y]

Fish Trap

I recently got one and put it in the tank and fed them in it (to get them unafraid of it)

Nearly all of them got brave and went into the trap.

The ones who did not go in were a pair of yellow head sleeper gobies
(the ones I'd actually like to catch)

 

[Giovanni]

Fish Trap

I recently got one and put it in the tank and fed them in it (to get them unafraid of it)

Nearly all of them got brave and went into the trap.

The ones who did not go in were a pair of yellow head sleeper gobies
(the ones I'd actually like to catch)

I had trouble catching one of these also. Need up catching him in a water bottle placed over his hole.

 

[ginpang]

Clear glass jar and net for the smarter fishies!

 

[Giovanni]

I have had several commercial made traps. The doors on most did not work well. I have this one and it works great. Note the guid rails above the door. They are sold here. Drill a hole in the back at the top just smaller than some airline tubing. Insert some tubing and use a syringe to squirt in some brine shrimp a little at a time. This way they will pick at the tubing and even shy fish will go in. If not the more aggressive fish steal the bait and the shy fish will never go in.

 

[Mikenroe]

I say you get one of those fish traps that are clear and that you can put food in behind a trapped door with holes in it. It will take a little bit for your fish to trust it but eventually the desire for food will over take and they will go in. I caught a yellow tang and several other fish with these. I love it for this reason. Sometimes fish just don't work out.

 

[ThRoewer]

What worked best for me was a mirror at the end of the trap. The fish see their mirror image and want to kick that feisty intruder out. And in the process they usually forget all caution.

 

[brett559]

Fish trap all the way. Your local club or LFS probably has one. Be prepared to have every fish you want to KEEP in the tank go in the trap first. But eventually the fish you want will go inside.

 

[McPuff]

My best method has been the tiny fish hook (pinch the barb) and 2# line... bait with mysis or small piece of raw shrimp/krill. Go fishing. You may catch other fish but it's generally a fast way to catch most fish. I've never had a fish respond poorly to this method of capture, even the ones that get caught accidentally. Some of them even go right back for the bait. :crazy1: This method is actually kind of fun. I've caught damsels, tangs, angels, hawkfish, gobies... the darn tomato clown just wouldn't take the hook though! Argh! Anyway, this is my suggestion for the fastest, most selective means of capturing.

Second best method is the fish trap. Be patient though as there are certainly times where the door won't drop on time and the fish gets out. And you need enough open space to put the darn things as they aren't usually very small. Just be prepared to bait it several times as your "desired" fish may not be the first or second to enter the trap.

 

[SoloChromis]

All you need is a $5 plastic fish bowl. Submerge it in the tank, place a piece of rock in the bowl to keep it from tumbling away with the current and inject food into the bowl during each and every feeding. IME eventually every fish, even the most skittish, will learn to trust the bowl and venture it to grab a bite. At this point you just wait for the tang and betta to swim in and you can either slap the net over the opening or yank the bowl to the water's surface. This is how I've always removed fish, including a Hoeven's wrasse that was possessed by the devil himself. Don't invest in any of the expensive, gimmicky traps out there, they're not worth the money IME. Good luck :beer:

 

[slief]

What worked best for me was a mirror at the end of the trap. The fish see their mirror image and want to kick that feisty intruder out. And in the process they usually forget all caution.

Yep.. That is the key to getting many fish into a trap in a hurry and is my go to method.

 

[hotelbravo]

i got ahold of one of these traps and have had it in the tank for 5 days now. the marine betta hangs out under it, beside it, above it, and infront of it but will not go inside to retrieve the mysis shrimp i leave inside it.
the yellow tang has moved to the opposite side of the tank and will not come out more than a few inches since adding the trap i cannot even entice him with a sheet of nori located near the trap.
i am leaving town for a week have little hope for catching them using this method im debating actually tearing down everything and catching them with a net

 

[Duke4life]

Have you tried at night or before the lights come on?

 

[hotelbravo]

Have you tried at night or before the lights come on?

yes when trying for the marine betta i only try at night he is very active then. the tang however not so much