Please help!!

[Alex T.]

OK...this is my most embarrassing post. For over two years, a Seabae, Skunk and Maroon clownfish have lived in harmony in my 150 gallon reef ready tank. Three months ago, the Sebae disappeared. I thought I had checked everywhere and found today that he has been living in the black enclosure that runs the height of the tank for the overflow.

Because my tank is is my small home office there is only 8 inches or so on the side of the tank before you hit the wall. I cannot access the rear or side of the tank, and need some good advice as to how to get him out safely without stressing him further than he probably already is.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

 

[seapug]

if the nem is stuck to a flat smooth surface you can usually use a credit card to peel the foot off the surface, but you need to do it slowly and carefully to avoid injuring it.

 

[reefWW96]

im pretty sure he is talking about a fish, not anemone

 

[Alex T.]

This is a Sebae Clown....not Sebae Anemone.

 

[Fishfish0001]

That is one very luck fish

Wonder whats in the back of my tank, have had quite a few fish disappear

 

[Alex T.]

I can just barely see him swimming up and down from the side. My head won't fit between the wall and the tank, but from what I can see, he doesn't look thin at all. Who knows what's going on back there.

I was thinking about siphoning out the water from the overflow and then rigging a net on a wood dowel to pull him out from about 4 inches of water. I'm no engineer, so I don't know how the load can transfer pressure onto the overflow box once the water's gone and "de-pressurized".

Any thoughts?

 

[disc1]

I'm not sure about how much room you get on a reef ready between the top of the overflow and the top of the tank. But if there's a little room, you can block off the flow out of the overflow and put a powerhead with a piece of hose to flood the overflow and make it overflow back into the tank. I'm sure he layed down flat and shimmied over to get in there, I bet he'll do the same to get out once the flow is reversed.

 

[seapug]

This is a Sebae Clown....not Sebae Anemone.

right, my bad! sorry for the misunderstanding.

 

[Palting]

My purple firefish jumped into the overflow of my reef ready 150. With no room to manuever my nets, I turned the pump off, pulled up the drain pipe, and let the contents of the overflow box empty down to the sump. Looked into the sump, no firefish! Looked back into the box, and he had swam against the current until he was high and dry against a corner. Gently picked him up, and the sucker jumped at me and fell back into the main tank. Turned the pumps back on, and he has stayed by a rock in the center part of the tank since .

 

[Alex T.]

Palting, that would be great, but the only problem is that like an idiot....I glued it!!

 

[serpentman]

This is going to draw some criticism but if you absolutely 100% cannot get back there, you can consider fishing him out the old fashioned way....with a hook and bait. I've known a few individuals that have successfully caught a fish out of their reef in this manner. If you use a bait hook (they're tiny) and a small mysis shrimp, it would cause minimal damage which would heal.

 

[bhotep]

If you use a hook make sure you file down the barb so the hook will come out easily. I have used a small staple bent to the shape of a hook to catch a couple of nasty damsels. It worked with no harm to the fish.

 

[noahm]

If he is small enough, just flush him through, if not, try the above suggestions.

 

[Alex T.]

I don't consider catching him with a hook mean. I've done this before to remove a tuskfish that started taking a liking to $100 First Grade Crocea Clams.
What I like to do (FYI) is file down the end of a staple and make an eye for the string. That way, it's thinner than a hook and no chance of catching a barb. The tuskfish is still alive and well in a friend's fish only.

Thanks everybody. I may try to make some sort of net much like a crab net that spreads out when it hits the bottom glass. Then if I raise it slowly it might catch him on the up.

I'll keep everyone posted.

 

[Alex T.]

Well...my drama is over.

I siphoned the overflow to within 3 inches of water. Then I attached an old pair of nylon stockings to 2 long wood dowels. This allowed me to put the dowels together until I got down into the water where I could spread them like large chopsticks. I blindly whisked around and felt the Sebae Clown swim into the nylon where I closed them and raised them up over and into the tank.

It's always the little things that make us happy isn't it? Thanks again everybody. And to any newbies reading along...don't glue your durso standpipes to your bulkhead fittings!!