Wrasse in overflow....again

MarkD40

MarkD40

New member
I have a Fairy Wrasse that seems to prefer my overflow to the display tank. I have MH's suspended over the tank and so I do not want a full hood. I don't like eggcrate over the top, and feel the same about glass. My tank backs into a corner making it really hard to get into the overflow, making fish removal a time consuming challenge. I thought about framing the overflow with egg crate at the top but this is unsightly. Anyone out there with a solution that works for them? Thanks!
 
Tie a Tiny wieght to the fish. that will keep im from jumping over.

seriously though I have seen people use plastic chicken wire type product from homedepot. I think its for gardening, and is much less visable.
 
Why not build a cover for the overflow box?

My niger trigger liked to do the same. I had to drain the box and pick him up out of there.

trigger2.jpg
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11946864#post11946864 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Arati
Tie a Tiny wieght to the fish. that will keep im from jumping over.

seriously though I have seen people use plastic chicken wire type product from homedepot. I think its for gardening, and is much less visable.
Click to expand...

I think it is gutter guard.
 
Re: Wrasse in overflow....again

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11946810#post11946810 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by MarkD40
I have a Fairy Wrasse that seems to prefer my overflow to the display tank. I have MH's suspended over the tank and so I do not want a full hood. I don't like eggcrate over the top, and feel the same about glass.
Click to expand...

One of these times that fairy wrasse isn't going to make it into the overflow. It is going to make it to the carpet. If one has fairy wrasses they should cover the tank in some form or fashion.
 
That gutter guard mesh someone else mentioned is a good idea. You can make a thin frame out of plastic or something to glue the gutter guard to. That will keep it stretched tight over the tank, and make removing it to work easy.

I think it's like 0.25" x 0.25" squares in the mesh.
 
I am not sure the mesh would handle the heat from the MH's. Covering just the overflow would keep him out but then he would just lay on top of the mesh and die. For some reason he has never left the tank and only jumps into the overflow. Every time he goes missing the first thing I do is check the floor. I guess I will try making a fence out of plexiglass to fit around the top of the overflow. Ahh the things we do for our little friends!
 
I have seen on other threads that people make a frame and use wedding tool (sp) with success. I have a Mystery Wrasse and currently use plexi w/holes drilled for gas exchange, but I'm sure I'm cutting some light. I plan on doing the tool idea soon.
 
Well, problem solved. The wrasse jumped into the overflow again and decided to explore my durso tube and took a ride from the first floor to the sump in my basement. He did not survive the trip.

Guess I need to make some modifications before introducing another wrasse. Thanks for the replies.
 
If you even leave one inch open, your wrasse will somehow jump right through it like some trained circus pet.

Been there, done that. EVERYTHING muct be sealed for their protection.
 
Mark, I have 2 wrasses in my tank, and what I did was take eggcrate and trim it to the shape of my overflow. (AGA 's standard internal overflow) this way it fits down into the overflow, and isn't immediately noticeable. The eggcrate was a little brittle, so it took two attempts before i got a safety cover that wasn't broken in one part and covered the entire overflow, but you can do it.

I did however have a firefish make it through this overflow safety net and surf my plumbing down to my sump, so nothing is perfect. But to your worry about the fish just cooking on top of the cover under your lights, I'd think the fish would just flop around until it splashed back into your display tank, not just lay on the safety cover. My McCosker's and newly-added Ruby-headed fairy wrasse haven't baked themselves yet! ;)
 
Go to Wal-mart and in the arts and crafts section there is a piece of plastic that ppl use to sew on and make designs with. I cant for the life of me remeber the name of it. You can trim it down to the exact size of your over flow .
 
Thanks cpl and techreef. I will give those suggestions a try. That Fairy Wrasse was a beautiful creature and I feel terrible that he died under my care. I will modify my overflow so that does not happen again.
 
Hey, I want to clarify my previous post. It was kind of a bad pun, and probably not great timing.

Sorry for your loss and I really wish you the best of luck in the future.
 
I had the same problem with my clownfish. He kept disappear into my overflow box. I ended up put plastic nets around the overflow. So far, no issues.

--Bucky
 
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