Help trying to catch a Damael

[rafatoy]

For the past couple days I have been trying to catch an aggressive damsel in my tank. He is so quick! I dont want to mess up my rockwork because I really like the way it is right now and how my corals are placed. Is there any homemade traps you guys reccomend? This fish is "speedy gonzales" Anyone ??

[acolotto]

I caught mine but took a couple days but every time I fed them I just put food in the net and finally he went in and I pulled the
Net up

[scottayy]

This is how I caught my coral beauty angelfish.

Take a two liter bottle, tear off the label, rinse it out well (water only). Cut the neck off of the bottle so you end up with a hole a little bigger than your fish. Then, cut a little lower.. right around where the top of the label used to be. Invert the piece you cut off to fit inside of the rest of the two liter bottle. Then place it in your tank.

It took my angel a few days to get used to it, and then I put food in it to entice him.

One day I was walking by and saw him in there and grabbed the bottle.

I guess they get confused or stunned by the clear plastic and small hole to get in and out of.

[Animal-Chin]

i ended up removing all rock and coral and used the biggest net i could find at the fish store. it was worth it though cause now i can add fish without the damsel killing them!!!

[AquaRick]

Grats! those buggers can be hard to remove.

[kjboer7]

Sorry my wife and I tried for a week and then had to literally remove everything from the tank all the rock and most of the water it sucked i made like 4 different fish traps none worked best of luck to ya

[rafatoy]

Thanks to all, I will give the net a try first than the bottle, before I result to the last desperate one! Will keep you posted this weekend!!!!!

[rafatoy]

So why do people say to put Damsels in first to cycle a tank??? just wrong cause they get very territorial!!!!

[circus clowns]

Get a small square plastic zip lock container , and lure him in there with a net, it might take a while but it worked for me..make sure to trap him with the net when he enters, took me a couple of try's .

[don_chuwish]

We got away with partially removing/rearranging rocks. Basically cleared a small area at one end of the tank. Then we made a tank partition that we could drop in place. After herding the little bugger into that area of the tank we trapped him there with the partition. Easy to net after that.
Damsels - never again.

- D

[EriksFish315]

I pulled all my rock out then used a big net and a piece of acrylic to trap him similar to what don chuwish did.

[Carpious]

I too have had to remove an aggressive damsel just this week. It meant removing all the rock to get it. It was ok. I was careful and took pictures before to get it right. Just have plenty of buckets and ensure all water is correct temp and params are same as tank. My corals didn't even notice as I did it after lights out and everything looked back to normal within an hour. Just dont stir up that sand bed! Gl.

[rafatoy]

Hello all, I have put the bait and we will see, little devil see me coming and wham under the rocks, can't let a little fish with little brain get the best of me....lol ..... Keep you posted tonight ....

[bwats]

I tried for TWO months to use every kind of trap you can imagine. Little guy was too smart though. I eventually had to do a 50% water change and take out most of my ledge rock and use egg crate to use as a divider in the middle of the tank. Once I got him in half the tank it was fairly easy to snag him with a big net. Wished I would have just done it this way SOONER!

[HN1]

Please review the community rules. They include ethical fishkeeping.

[rafatoy]

I don't intend to kill my neon damsel, or harm him in any way, i want to find him a home or I wish to keep him in a different tank. just need to get him out...he is being so aggressive....sorry if i personally offended anyone, and I cannot control what others are posting...

[Adam10045]

Believe it or not!!!!!!!!!!
We had a hawkfish in our reef that we tried for 8 months to get rid of. He was extreeeeeeeamly smart. Nets,trap, even a fishhook with his favorite food didn't do the trick. I got online and read about catching them in the dark when they are in a "sleep" state. ( turn off all the lights in the room including the tank so it's pitch black. Let it stand for a few hours to make sure everything is settled down and asleep. use a red flashlight to locate the fish. Reach in with a hand and net and basically push him into the net.) WORKED like a charm! 1st attempt. After about 8 months of trying, I was stunned as to how easy it was.

GOOD LUCK!!!!

[Starchar]

I think that HN1 meant that buying a damsel is unethical fishkeeping.

Actually I have a blue damsel in my 29 Gallon tank with a pair of clowns and all is well with them.

[rafatoy]

Hello all,
Sorry for the late update, been busy at work, so here it is. I tired the bottle in the tank, boy this little guy knows, I saw him hitting the bottle with his tail, so after the third day the bottle was a failure, than I went with the flashlight, made the room dark, ( all lights off no big deal) got my flashlight (LED) put my net in and bam!!! Light on and I blinded him and caught him!!!! Wow I was amazed how easy that was.. Funny thing though, I can't get rid of him, he is mine, I pick him, and gonna keep him, so all this was a educational experience. Btw I did upgrade to a 90 gallon and my Neon Damsel is now in a bigger space, I have not seen any territorial issues. Yet!
Again thanks you all for the inputs