Need to get fish out

[Cymonous]

I have a Clarkii clown that has too aggressive and mainly at my fox face. I have tried setting out traps with a bottle, net, and breeder net with no luck. I really don't want to take out the rock. I was thinking of draining it to about an inch or two. I have corals and an anenome though. Would the coral and anenome be OK for a couple minutes without water?

 

[RayL]

Clowns are the easiest fish to catch, they barely swim and attack people. Have you tried putting your hand in the tank, waiting for it to attack you and then catching it.

Yes corals are okay with out water for a few minutes

 

[Cymonous]

Funny enough, he has not gone for my hand or fingers this whole time I have had him.

 

[MondoBongo]

have you tried using a really small car with other clowns in it? that usually gets them.

your corals and nem should be just fine for a little bit without water. obviously the shorter the time, the better, but many of these organisms experience tides in their natural habitat and have at least some ability to cope with being high and dry for short periods of time.

turn off your main tank lights when you drain the water, just to help minimize the stress a little bit.

i've had good success using this fish trap:

http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/index.php/aqua-medic-fish-trap.html

problem with the clowns being they tend not to roam as much. even with my sixline wrasse i caught in it, it took days to convince him to venture in there for food, and only after i didn't feed the tank for 2.5 days.

i think Ray has some great advice there too. i don't know what your rock work looks like, but would it also be possible to use some egg crate or other material to divide the tank off and minimize the area that he's able to swim around? possibly make it easier to net him?

i've also heard of people using mirrors taped to the side of the tank to get their attention and focus their aggression. then when they're going after their reflection, you net them from behind.

good luck!

 

[Cu455]

Try at night when he is sleeping.

 

[Rollins4Miles]

I just went through this catching a 3in clown tang. I thought I'd never catch him, but I did what I always do and it worked really well. I just wait until all the lights are out and use a light to blind or distract the fish. Then just scoop them out with a net. Clowns should be really easy as I've never experienced one that slept in the rock. They're always out at night doing their wiggle sleep maneuvers.

Best of luck! Be patient!!!

 

[Cymonous]

I have a mirror attached to the side of the tank now. He has looked at the mirror for a bit from a distance, but no aggression and did not seem distracted enough yet.

This clown hangs in my anenome at night. I have tried netting him in the early morning. He just finds ways through the anenome around my net and into the rocks.

 

[ska d]

If you have something to divide the tank with that works good to. I use a piece of white acrylic that is about 1'x2' and use it to. Trap the fish in one corner and then use the divider and net to get the fish.

 

[cloak]

The High & Dry method outlined in this link has always served me well.

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-06/sp/index.php

HTH.

 

[Cymonous]

I am not sure if the mirror actually helped or not, but I put a bigger one up against my tank in front of the anenome. My blues were still on only. He did try to swim slowly into the glass thinking there was more swim room and then he went back into the anenome. I grabbed my net and covered the whole anenome. It took a few seconds, but he eventually swam into the net and out he came!

 

[BrianB421]

I am not sure if the mirror actually helped or not, but I put a bigger one up against my tank in front of the anenome. My blues were still on only. He did try to swim slowly into the glass thinking there was more swim room and then he went back into the anenome. I grabbed my net and covered the whole anenome. It took a few seconds, but he eventually swam into the net and out he came!

Victory!