When Fish Traps Don't Work

[InsaneClownFish]

Well I've been slowly removing damsels from my 8 foot reef. I've caught 4 using homemade water bottle fish traps. Unfortunately, I have 3 more to go. Most notably, my nasty, mean, and seemingly quite intelligent Behn's damsel is not buying it.

So when the fish traps fail, and breaking down the reef is not an option, what's my third alternative?

Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

[MazdaSPD3]

Have you tried starving them and then using the trap, and I mean really starving them (3-4 days?)

[blackthunda77]

depending on the size of the tank, you can drain the water to the last 3-4 inches and isolate it that way. most corals can survive out of the water for a brief period of time.

[shroutk3]

you can also use a tiny barbless fishhook, like one used for trout fishing. bait it, drop it in, and yank him out

[Western_reefer]

If you don't have any other fish, and no corals, drain the water ALL the way and leave it without water for like an hour, so if they are in the rocks they will die because there is no water. I know it sounds cruel... lol

[MazdaSPD3]

lol, how cruel, you can drain and just pick it up and then refill the tank.

[Recty]

I bought a small fly fishing hook, bent the barbed part into the main hook so it didnt make the fish get stuck on it, and caught my chromis and three damsels out with that. It takes a little time, but it's kind of fun actually :)

[Wolverine]

I'd go with Recty's approach.

With an 8' tank, you don't want to have to drain that.

The "starving" idea is unlikely to work in a healthy reef, because they'll have no problem finding other food.

Depending on how quickly you need them out, you can also do the trick of feeding the tank in a net or a specimen container. Eventually the fish get comfortable enough with it that they'll swim right up into it at feeding time.

[tony varrell]

Agreed the draining method does not work with larger tanks unless you want to tear down your tank. I tried it and the fish simply go deep into the rocks.

[Outerbank]

I have a fishtrap that has a trap door. It is a cylinder, closed at one end and with a trap door at the other. YOu place it in the tank for several days so the fish get used to the trap and swim in and out. Keep the lid open. Then, put some food in the trap and when he goes in, let the trap door down. I think you can buy them online.

[ddboy]

try leaving the nights off at light for at least 1-2 hours, then turn them on and the fish won't be able to swim around and it is easy to catch them with a net. I found it the best way for me. It works everytime.

[e55MD]

I have a chromis I want out of my 400 gallon DT. He is a terror. I would like to try a fish hook but odds are I will end up catching one of my prized angels instead. I tried to stun him by shining a laser pointer in his eyes. That did not work.

[Recty]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15722409#post15722409 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by e55MD
I have a chromis I want out of my 400 gallon DT. He is a terror. I would like to try a fish hook but odds are I will end up catching one of my prized angels instead. I tried to stun him by shining a laser pointer in his eyes. That did not work. That actually made me laugh :) High tech warfare.

I've used a fish hook to catch out my chromis and damsels when I had other prized fish I really didnt want to catch.

I put in some big pieces of food that kept the bigger fish busy, then I put very tiny bits of food on the fish hook that interested the smaller fish.

You just have to be patient and KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE HOOK so you can yank it out of the water when a fish you dont want to catch comes up to it. Dont feed so much little food that you cant tell where your hook is, in other words just have the only piece of little food be on your hook so you can tell when you need to pull the hook out of the water.

Like I say, it's kind of fun :)

[Blinding Reef]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15722394#post15722394 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ddboy
try leaving the nights off at light for at least 1-2 hours, then turn them on and the fish won't be able to swim around and it is easy to catch them with a net. I found it the best way for me. It works everytime.

I completely agree with this. I have tried everything and I mean EVERYTHING when it comes to getting fish out and when I learned of this method, it worked flawlessly every single time. Night fishing is the easiest because you catch them on the first try every time.

[Recty]

I tried night fishing but didnt have much success. My fish all hide down in the rocks so they arent netable.

[dflad]

Night fishing is awesome, I caught a pair of destructive clowns from my tank that way. If you know where the fish hide this is a great method.

[Blinding Reef]

Yeah, one thing you have to do with night fishing is observe where that particular fish sleeps. Then you hit the lights and with a stick, gently nudge them out of their sleeping spots. They are in a trance/dazed so you can get them out easily.

[InsaneClownFish]

Thanks for all the input folks. Unfortunately, the drain technique won't work because the Behn's has dug out sand from underneath a massive piece of live rock. I'd have to drain the tank to probably 1 cm to get him out that way. :p

I took a peak at fish hooks in Walmart, and the kids' fishing rods, but all the hooks were too big- the smallest was a 12. I'll see if I can find a local sporting goods place that might carry smaller ones.

I'm staring at the tank right now...just waiting for the LEDs to shut off to try some night fishing!. :D

Satan

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p155/insaneclownfish/DSC01204.jpg

[Recty]

I bought my small hook at a Sport's Authority in their fishing section. It's a pretty big chain store, I bet you guys have one within a day's driving distance ;)

[PGUY1]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15723578#post15723578 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Blinding Reef
Yeah, one thing you have to do with night fishing is observe where that particular fish sleeps. Then you hit the lights and with a stick, gently nudge them out of their sleeping spots. They are in a trance/dazed so you can get them out easily. This is magic! After reading this thread and another one on here I was able to get out a demonic blenny that has been pounding on my SPS for a month. I had tried everything including harpooning. I netted the blenny and three chromis in a matter of a couple of minutes. They are in the quarantine tank now. Thanks.

[Outerbank]

You can try bending a needle/pin into a small hook.

Also, if you live by the ocean, you can maybe buy a Sabiki bait rig with which saltwater fishermen use to catch bait. The Sabiki rig has very small jigs that contain barbless hooks. Cut away all the hair and just use the rig for its hooks. Bait the hook with the damsels favorite food. The sabikis come in several sizs. Buy the smallest size.

<a href="http://s388.photobucket.com/albums/oo323/outerbank/?action=view&current=hayabusa-sabiki-mix-flash-s506e.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i388.photobucket.com/albums/oo323/outerbank/hayabusa-sabiki-mix-flash-s506e.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

[Blinding Reef]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15727007#post15727007 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by PGUY1
This is magic! After reading this thread and another one on here I was able to get out a demonic blenny that has been pounding on my SPS for a month. I had tried everything including harpooning. I netted the blenny and three chromis in a matter of a couple of minutes. They are in the quarantine tank now. Thanks.

I'm glad you tried it Pguy1. This method has NEVER failed for me so I'm glad it worked for you as well.

[HndMafia]

First time night fishing tonight--final score: Me 1 (caught one evil damsel immediately) Second evil damsel 1(he evaded me) Green Chromis 1 (he woke up while I played with the 2 devil fish)

I'll try again in a couple of days. Thanks for the idea!

[Western_reefer]

I finally caught my Engineer Goby out of my 28 gallon nano cube using a fishing line and a hook! I got him when he was 2 inches or so and now hes a good 5.7 inches.
http://i34.*******.com/2a949aw.jpg

[InsaneClownFish]

Success! Mock me no more! The manager/owner of Greenwich Aquaria had a couple of size 22 hooks for me, and he also was nice enough to cut me some line.

While I was acclimating I tied up the hook, thawed some food, and found a tiny piece of clam for the hook. I hadn't fed the tank in two days in anticipation of the event.

My wife comes downstairs to remind me of our dinner reservations, and I'm thinking to myself, uggh what have I started! I still need to get acclimating livestock in the tank and this is going to take forever.

2 minutes 30 seconds flat and both damsels were out.

Dropped the line in- Bam! Domino damsel yanked out and flys from the tank onto the carpet. My wife is applauding- half shocked half in awe...Wow.

There was a scary moment where my Magnificent Foxface swallowed the hook whole and started choking. Per the advice of Greenwich Aquaria I relaxed...didn't tug, and I let him "cough" it out. My wife was mortified for a few second because she and I both love the Foxface. I swear he's just like my Chocolate Lab and would hop on my lap and let me scratch him behind the gills if he could.

Get away clowns! The hardest part was getting the other fish to stay away. I grabbed my handy dandy turkey baster and had to give them the business end of it.

Isolated the Behn's Damsel and bam- yanked and flying out through the air onto the floor! Behn's damsel falls smack on the carpet! Ok, ok for a minute I did my whole ya boy, that's what I'm talking about, whooo hoo, in your face dance as I stared down at this fish. I even said that's right you're staying there while I put this hook away! Childish yes I know. :p

So both Damsels are now residents of my sump. My SaddleBack Clown is also hanging out in there because I moved him from my show fuge in anticipation of having to put the cardinals in the fuge for the time being.

Sufficed to say, I had the most relaxing dinner with my wife after that. :D

Thanks again for all the great suggestions- especially all the amusing ones!
I now have a school of 8 blue eyed cardinals in place of the damsels.

*Disclaimer- No fish were actually harmed during this nonsense. :p

Total Count-
Homemade Water Bottle Fish Traps- 4 Damsels
Night Fishing- 1 Damsel
Baited Hook and Line- 2 Damsels

[Wolverine]

Nice work.

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15733260#post15733260 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by InsaneClownFish
Success! Mock me no more! [/B]

Shoot. Now we have to find someone else to mock. :D

[IwannaClarion]

I caught a damsel out of a 7' tank at night. I saw where he hid and used a net. Worked well for me.

[anbosu]

Nice work. The only fish I have ever had to remove from my tank is a naso tang I was keeping for a friend until he got back from out of town. I had to break down my whole reef to get it out!!!

[InsaneClownFish]

Thanks again for all the advice. The school of 8 Longspine Cardinals, the replacement for all the damsels, is fantastic to watch.

[vegaskid11]

Damsels really are devils. I had one that I tried everything on to get out. I made a trap and every single fish I have went in the da mn thing but this little puke. This damsel was 5" of terror. He took chunks out of my arm when I worked in the tank and would even try and attack people through the glass like a cichlid.
I sware, I declared an all out war on this waste of scales. I tried the tiny hook thing and he would just never hit it. Its like this guy knew what I was doing. I tried night netting and that just allowed me to break half my corals.

I finally just lost it one day and went to the swapmeet and brought back an 18" blow dart gun.

I fed the tank with flake and let it stay on the surface and as soon as that evil worthless fish went up to grab a nibble......

He was much easier to net with a 4" dart stuck in him.

For all the peta freaks im just joking.....or am I