Best way to remove fish from tank?

[bagpiper jim]

I have decided to move the damsels I have in my 90 gallon tank to smaller one but is there any way to catch them without having to remove a bunch of the rock? These little guys are really fast and they hide like crazy. Please let me know of any tricks that you might know of.

Thanks, Jim

[tipmoff]

I have 4 that I have had for 8 months. They have learned that when my hand comes in that it means food. I have made them unafraid of the net by placing it in the tank for a couple of days and put the food near the net. The net is hung across the top of the glass and dangles on the top of the water just below the surface. I have practiced this routine a couple of times bc I will be doing the same as you in a couple of months unless I get a bigger tank. It may take a week or so to get them used to the net so be patient. If you don;t have that much time then you'll probably not be too successful without doing what you don't want to do.
Good luck!

[sedor]

Its really really hard to get fish out of a tank full of LR. Best bet is to get a fish trap (you can buy them or read about making your own) and then just see what you catch, if its something you don't want to remove just put it back in the tank and try again.

[Aquarist007]

when it comes to damsels one of the more successful ways is to drain the tank down using plastic garbage pails, nabbing the damsel(s) and quickly filling the tank back up.

[bagpiper jim]

I took care of the problem. I had to remove some of the rock to nab the little devils but I got them out. They were really nailing my new Yellow Clown Goby and I had no choice but to remove them. They are now living in my 10 gal quarantine tank. The guy at the LFS said he would buy them from me for 1/3 of the sale price. I will take them down and get a $3.00 credit towards a new fish. I want to be sure they are safe and can find a good home.

Jim