Going fishing! How to catch fish in my tank?

[Erok7620]

So I have some ich, I suspect. Like a typical newbee I placed a fish in my display without QTing.gangsta:ME) I'll never do that again. Not all my fish are showing signs but they are all going into QT. So I've set up a QT and ready to start hypo but i can catch all of my fish. My tank is 90g with 110lbs of rock or so... lots of hiding places! I've tried leaving the net in there for two days(the fish are super scared of it), placing food in the net, tried at feeding time. I just cant get them. Anyone have any suggestions on catching them without removing all of my rock. I'll do it, im just dreading it.

 

[tamra&steven]

ive had to catch a few fish from my reef tank before, because they were not getting along with the other. they way i have done it was either when i was feeding them just be real smooth and get'em. or i would put food in the net, but youve already tried both so that wont work. i have had to take my rock out before just when my tank was first started i hated it but i couldnt find another way. i know they sell a fish trap, but i do not know if it work at all. i would like to see what other people suggest to do this. it is the worst part i think. sorry not to be any help.

 

[roka64]

You can try catching them after lights out. Find where they sleep and grab them then. You can also try the plastic 2 liter with food in it trick. To do this, you cut the "dome" part off the bottle, cut the lid big enough for the fish to get through, turn the "dome" around and insert it into the bottle and attach it there, so it looks like this:
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......(
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Kinda crude but hopefully you get what I am saying. Add food in there, they can swim in and get trapped and not swim out.
Disregard the ....'s I had to put them in there otherwise it looks like this

-----
(
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[pitt420dude]

Ugh, Erok, what a pain. This can be extremely frustrating. I really don't have any tips except to be patient. An hour of waiting and trying to get the fish sure beats 5 hours of rescaping. I have seen fish traps and heard they work well.

 

[pat8you]

I've used the fish traps. They worked well for me. You still have to be quite patient because it takes a while for the fish to get used to it. I was trying to catch a blue tang that was sick with it. I baited the trap and the problem was that i had a copperband who practically made a cozy home out of the trap. he would go in there and eat all the food and then leave. The blue tang wouldn't go in there while the bigger fish was eating i don't think. I baited the trap several times thinking the copperband would get full but i learned that day that he would probably keep eating till he exploded. anyway... after that little rant the point is they work well but i would probably try roka64's method first just because its cheaper. use the trap as a last resort i guess.

 

[melosu58]

When I get home I`ll send you a good link.

 

[pat8you]

haha melosu58 the master of good links. Your computer must just be a library of useful fish info

 

[melosu58]

I think sometimes that people would like to see some evidence. I have lots of experience but sometimes the printed page helps people understand also. This guy is also a member here. Read this

Get Out of My Tank! Fish Removal Tips & Tricks by Steven Pro - Reefkeeping.com

 

[pat8you]

i'm not knocking you or anything. I love all the links you put up. I read a good portion of them even when its not my post.

edit: if fact as soon as i posted this i clicked the link and i've already read this one. lol

 

[melosu58]

I know you are not. Thanks for compliment

 

[cmor1701d]

I have used the fish coral succesfully, but when I had an Ich outbreak I had to remove the rock to get all of fish out in a reasonable time.

Good luck!

 

[Erok7620]

thanks for all the advise everyone. I got so frustated chasing them around I pulled about 80% of the rock out and got them. It was a pain but it gave me a good opportunity to add some sand and re-scape which i've been wanting to do for some time. Only took me a few hours. I think it looks much better now. i killed one of my emeralds in the process but I think that was the only fatality. The fish are now in QT and they seem to be doing well.
Thanks again!