Trapping Fish??

[salavelle]

I have a Six Line Wrasse I need to remove from my tank. I have seen a trap made from a soft drink bottle, by inverting the top part and baiting it. However, has anyone had much success trapping a fish in their tank by this method? I would appreciate any advice on this, as to what works best as bait, size and type of bottle, etc.

 

[aandfsoccr04]

I caught a damsel with a fish trap. I just left the trap in there for a few weeks and let them get used to it and then started feeding in it and once they get comfortable you just drop the trapped door.

 

[salavelle]

I was hoping to avoid spending $40+ for a commercial trap to rid the tank of a $10 pest.:hmm5:

 

[ezerasurfr]

You got a sixline wrasse for $10, where?

 

[salavelle]

OK, so it was $19.99 at Live Aquaria, but I wouldn't give a dollar for another one.

 

[disc1]

I spent a while trying to catch a dottyback with a soda bottle trap. I was about to give up when someone told me to put a hermit crab in with the bait. The little dottyback couldn't stand the thought of that hermit eating something he couldn't get to. It took 15 minutes after the hermit went in the trap.

 

[TheReeferer]

Why, what has it been doing?

For me, the personality of that fish outweighs any potential harm.

 

[bbdreaux]

i use a coke bottle with the top cut off and turned around. seem to work if the fish will go in

 

[jlylec]

caught 3 near impossible to catch fish with this:

like the guy above said...put it in there for a week or so and just leave it so they get used to it. stop feeding them on say monday, then on thursday just put food in the trap (hint: tie fishing line to the edge of the trap so it's easy to pull up) and lower it back in and walk away. I got all mine in a couple days using this method. you have to be patient!

 

[salavelle]

Thanks jlylec for the picture and encouragement. I will give this a try.

 

[DrSalty]

Just curious....what convinced you to get the 6 line out of tank?

 

[salavelle]

The six line was fine for about two years, with no problems except it was little aggressive to new fish, but as he doubled in size and matured, he has become a very aggressive and now I don't dare to introduce a new fish, as I found out the hard way, last week.

 

[salavelle]

I now have a 20 oz. Gatorade bottle, some monofiliment fish line, frozen Mysis shrimp for bait and a 36" dowel rod and I am going fish trapping for as long as it takes. Wish me luck.

 

[Meslo]

if its an aggressive fish a mirror works wonders in the trap. If it sees the other 6 line going for the food he will dive right in .

 

[redfishblewfish]

Here’s what I did to catch a neon velvet damsel in about 10-15 minutes. Put a hole in the side of the bottle. Using a turkey baster, squirted food into this hole. Leave the turkey baster in the hole and continue squeezing the bulb to create a snow-globe effect with the food in the bottle. The fish watched this show of snowing food for about ten minutes and then darted in to feed. I also had a net in the tank and placed that over the end once the fish darted in…just in case. But the trap held the fish. It runs up the sides, which are blocked with the inverted top of the bottle.