Catching fish

[jratuszn]

How does everyone remove a fish from their tank for quarantine/treatment? I have alot of rocks over the sides and back of my tank, and I have a hell of a time catching sick fish. It took me hours to get out the three danios I used for cycling, and I have been so far completely unable to net a peacock that has a suspicious light patch on it's side. Any ideas? (All of my fish are under 3-4")

Thanks!

-J

 

[Allivymar]

Bwaahahahaha I hear ya jratuszn. I went thru something similar trying to catch a sick neon in my really well planted tank. Everytime I got close, I'd lose him in the undergrowth. Took me 5 days to grab him, and by that time it really was too late; he didn't survive QT and meds.

I went n bought the smallest net I could find (finally), Used the larger net to "herd" him, and grabbed him with the little one. That may work for you. The other thing someone suggested, but didn't work for me (my guy wasn't eating) was to put the food IN the net, and grab the fish when it goes in to investigate.

 

[jhd]

I catch them at night with a small flashlight narrow beam in my teeth, believe it or not. They do not see green net when it is dark.

 

[SoCal]

you could build a 2 liter bottle trap. You may need to modify the trap or use a larger container depending on the size of the fish.

http://www.floridadriftwood.com/fish_trap.htm

I usually leave a large size net in the tank for a day or more so the fish get use to it and then put some food in it.

 

[PlatyLady]

I use a combo of a net and my old betta hex (it's a tiny little thing).

I try to catch the fish with the net, and I have the hex in the tank. My fish are pretty predictable and hang out in the plants when I'm trying to catch them. I simply place the hex on the opposite side of the plant that the net is, and voila - they swim right into the hex!

Works like a charm!