PDA

View Full Version : Doggone it! Please help me rescue a fish.


ostrow
08/15/2008, 12:05 AM
Man, oh man. So a year ago I got 2 of Rod's Onyx clowns. Nice baby pair. They now have all their bars, and coloring beautifully.

So, I go out while the rest of the family is away and make a trade to get my son an Aquapod for a little nano reef for his room. Into that goes my 4" percula.

Into my display (Oceanic, 5' long with dual overflows) go the little onyx pair.

Prior to this, to protect against disaster to my wrasses and my jawfish, I cut some scrap acrylic pieces to cover my overflow boxes, in addition to covering the top and back of the tank done previously. All set.

Dr. Good Luck Himself strikes again!

Today I can't find one of the little onyx. I shine the flashlight against the back and sure enough it found its way into the overflow box. How? I can't begin to fathom.

I tried for 2hrs and could not lure it out. Not alot of room to play with of course. I tried removing the drain hoping the fish would get sucked down to my sump (15' below in the basement). Somehow, it managed to stay in the overflow.

Does anyone have any idea how to lure the thing out of that overflow box?

Man, oh man.

boxfishpooalot
08/15/2008, 03:13 AM
I heard a small fishing hook would work... But thats too risky.

My best guess would be a really long small fish net. Buy one with the wire and unwind it so its longer.

crvz
08/15/2008, 07:34 AM
I've used smaller fish nets before... I keep a number of different sizes, but most of them are just to get fish out of the overflow. It happens often enough. I pull the stand pipes, and if they don't make it into the sump then they'll get snagged in the net. Just remember to stick the return pipe back in place before turning the pump back on... that I've forgotten too many times!

ostrow
08/15/2008, 08:00 AM
crvz: I actually tried removing the standpipe with the pump ON and the fish still didn't go down. I'm not sure what you are saying about the net though. How do you position the net when you pull the return pipe out? I can't see how I'd get a net in there at all with the pipe in anyway, but just curious.

Plus, I'm doing this blind ... can't see but a couple of inches down into the overflow. Anyway, curious about this method so if you can detail a bit more how you do it that'd be cool.

First time this has happened to me. I think the only opening the fish could have found is the tiny space underneath the locline on the output side.

YE||0W TA|\|G
08/15/2008, 08:38 AM
possibly try to siphon him out with a piece of hosing as if you were doing a water change.. just be sure to check that the hose is larger then the fish so he doesn't get stuck.. just an idea

starmanres
08/15/2008, 08:50 AM
I had the exact same thing happen but I ended up having to turn off the tank and then disconnect all my overflow hoses and unscrew my pipes to let all of the water drain into a bucket. The clown was flushed down the pipe holes with the water.

It is a major pain that I wouldn't do for just any fish but for the money you have invested in that one, you might consider it.

You'd be amazed at all the junk in the bottom of your overflow that gets cleaned out in the process as well!

A last resort thing if the nets don't work.

There is plenty of stuff in there for him/her to eat so don't be concerned about starvation.

Robert

ostrow
08/15/2008, 09:10 AM
Dr. Good Luck doesn't want to disconnect the pipes or remove bulkheads underneath, for reasons related to his name! but that's a last resort I guess.

jpa0741
08/15/2008, 09:38 AM
When you remove your stand pipe try taking a bucket and fill with water from the tank and pouring quickly into the overflow (flushing him out). It make take a few tries, but has worked for me in the past. Good luck.

ostrow
08/15/2008, 09:43 AM
What do you think of a filter sock at the end of my drain lines to catch him? It's a good 15' run. I don't want him to end up in my stock tank sump, where there are rock walls, skimmer, etc down the line.

mcoomer
08/15/2008, 11:44 AM
Drain sock sounds like a winner. I had a fish in my overflow once and just pulled the drain pipe and shut off the pump. Overflow drained and fish ended up in the drip tray in the sump. Nice and neat.

ostrow
08/15/2008, 11:47 AM
Or maybe a large net. The filter sock seems like it could be harsh on the scales.

ostrow
08/15/2008, 05:45 PM
Well I got him. Here's how:

1. Turned off pump.
2. Removed drain lines (as I wasn't sure which was from which overflow) and suspended them above a filter sock, inside of which I positioned a large net.
3. Removed the durso standpipe and poured a couple of pitchers of tank water into the box. I did the latter because when I removed the pipe last night, the fish didn't go down. Must have rested on teh bottom of the empty box. So the pitchers provided additional flushing. I have no idea if I needed to do that as I could not see into the box all the way.
4. Went to the basement, and there was the fish in the net!

He's fine. When I put him back in the tank, I located the female, and transferred him right next to her. He hasn't left her side since.

I crammed a bit of enkamat underneath the locline, where there was a tiny space. I also crammed some into two overflow teeth that were wider than the others from when I had to modify them for my wavebox. Just in case. We'll see.

Thanks all!