How to Catch Fish and Critters in Displays

[swamp63]

Thanks for the advice i'll give them a try

[redcoat94]

Mr. Calfo,

I have a question about the drain method. I have tried this once before, not to catch a fish, but to move a tank. Everything worked well up until the time I tried to refill the tank. I pumped the water back in and caused a sand storm. The next day I found my regal tang, volitan lion, and picasso trigger all dead. I tested the water and the ammonia was sky high (had registered 0 in all previous tests). I trust the owner of the LFS I go to so I asked him if he had any ideas on what might have happened. he suggested that the when I moved the sand all over the tank I released all of the nasties in my sandbed (1 1/2 inches deep), caused the ammonia spike and killed the fish. If that is an accurate statement, how do I pump the water back into my tank without killing everyone? Thanks

Philip G

[NicoleC]

I'm not sure I agree with that conclusion, but I wasn't there. However, if you direct the water flow over some rocks instead of onto the sand bed, it will limit the sand storm.

[Anthony Calfo]

agreed... the sandstorm was completely and easily avoided. Sad to see folks with new tanks just the same have milky aquaria for weeks just for not getting the right advice.

The returned water simply needed to be diffused. A $3 plastic clamp from Home Depot insures that the return line keeps the hose in place to direct over some rocks as Nicole has sensibly suggested.

I also like to use a small bucket or like container and clamp the hose inside. The water fills and then overflows... except instead of blasting X hundreds of gallons ou tof the 1" tube... the same X hundreds of gallons of water diffuse slowly over the 20-30+ linear inches of the bucket rim. Other aquarists will lay a dinner plate down on the sand and clamp the hose to blast atthe center so that the many inches of the plate's surface diffuse the same.

Sorry it went badly for you my friend.

Another big mistake you made (and lucked out on) was moving the tank with sand and/or water in it. Yikes! Thats a very good way to torque a seam and give yourself a leaking tank

With water and sand weighting around 10lbs per gallon or (much) more... that's a lot of shear force as the tank is carried, driven around, etc. Only and always move tanks completely empty.

I would have taken the sand out in layers... rinsed them with aged aquarium water... and returned them in the same layered order to the new tank FWIW

[NicoleC]

Originally posted by Anthony Calfo
Another big mistake you made (and lucked out on) was moving the tank with sand and/or water in it. Yikes! Thats a very good way to torque a seam and give yourself a leaking tank

With water and sand weighting around 10lbs per gallon or (much) more... that's a lot of shear force as the tank is carried, driven around, etc. Only and always move tanks completely empty.

Or, leave the tank on the stand and move tank and stand together.

[Anthony Calfo]

the problem with that is the sloshing if there is any water at all in it. Again... with water in the 10lbs per gallon range... a single gallon of water in a 30, 50 or bigger tank does not look like much. But it is still 10lbs of force plus (kinetics) sloshing or even slamming against the panes of the aquarium with start-stops in driving traffic... clumsy walking, etc.

I was warned against doing this myself for many years... and moved a bunch of tanks before finally bursting a seam (the tank, not me). I had maybe 3 gallons of water in a 30 gallon tank. iI only had to walk it forty feet. We still twisted or torqued it... the water was sloshing pretty good with me and a much shorter friend carrying the tank together.

[redcoat94]

Thanks for the reply. Fortunately the move was only a few inches and I had all of the rocks and 75% of the water out when we moved it (and we moved the whole stand) so I did not bust a seam. If I have to empty water again to remove a fish, at least I will have a better idea of what I am doing.

[johnstires]

I was just tuned into this thread. Anyone know which method would work best for Damsels? I have a full grown Damsel (About the size of a small fist) in a 1000G reef tank. He was there from the previous occupants. Once I put soft corals in, he went to town and devoured them. So I have great bait, but don't know what trap to use. They are very smart and very cautious, yet very curious, especially when something invades thier territory. I've tried the bait and hook, but there are some expensive fish in the tank and I don't want to hook them, so I gave up, too stressful.

I'm thinking a large version of the invereted top bottle method.

[NicoleC]

A local made a long, rectangular trap out of clear acrylic with eggcrate "doors" that flip up when you pull on long fishline cords. It worked extremely well for the more aggressive fish who are first to investigate anything. Just sit on the sofa with a fine brew in one hand and the trap lines near to the other hand.

[Anthony Calfo]

teamwork

[Anthony Calfo]

That tang BTW is over 12"/30cm (inside Knop's 1500 gall reef... thank goodness )

[kevin2000]

Interesting thread ...

I have found that those large barnacle clusters can come in handy when trying to capture damsels, lawnmowers, and the like. These fish tend to use the Barnacle as a home base .. sleeping in them at night and retreating in them when disturbed.

The damsel etc will retreat into the barnicle and you can simply place the net over the barnicle .. and remove the barnicle/fish ... painless method to catch certain fish which otherwise can be a PIA to capture.

[Anthony Calfo]

ah, nice tip Kev. Gracias! It has now been dubbed the "BARNACLE BOOBY TRAP (please excuse the post edit )

[Randall_James]

Originally posted by Anthony Calfo
teamwork

Ok so he swims in and gets snagged on a suction cup right? So how do you break the vacuum to get him off ? hehehehe

You know if you move that suction cup forward, you could then close the door behind him

[samsfishnchips]

try a few way to get the fish out, but decide to do the drain method good technique for smaller tanks

can't see draining a 1500g

only thing I would add is have a turkey blaster and remove the slime from the corals and keep them nice and clean

thx Anthony Calfo

sam

[Jadran]

if I may add that "teamwork" trap works like charm and not only for fishes





it might be really helpful if you trying to catch shy fishes that run for cover as soon as you approach the tank.. In pipe you can throw frozen cube which is going to melt slowly and start to fall down to trap as it melts.. Its attractive to fish and they'll come to investigate.. Nice trick is to place the trap into the tank for day or two for fishes to get use to it and than start fishing.. Ive been able to catch all kinda fishes with this tool...











simple to make and highly effective

happy fishing

[baobao]

How do you make this? Is there a good one commercially available? Thx.

[Jadran]

I never saw these in shops.. This one is DIY made my local fellow
reefer. Maybe I didn't look hard enough, dunno, but most of the
traps I saw dont have that feeding pipe.. Feeding pipe is cool
trick cause it allows you to move away from the tank and you don't have to take it out every time when you putting bate inside, which makes it more efficient with clever fishes such as pigmy angels, dottybacks, hawks etc. Maybe you can buy pipeless one and drill hole yourself, put bulkhead on it and connect it with pvc pipe..

Otherwise if you're just bit handy with glass, acryl or plexy you
can easily make one yourself. Its nothing but transparent box.



When you planing your design make sure that upper side of the box is let's say one inch smaller than sides and bottom, so you can work with doors,..



on the each side glue with silicone two rails which are going to make trap door mechanism work..



TIP: dependable how thick your material is do not crate rails to tight to each other so doors can fall down easisly..Top side should sit on the sides and inner rails..



Drill top, place bulkhead on it and connect it with pvc pipe.. Pipe shall be higher than water level in you tank to prevent happy free escape artists to sneak trough it.. That way you can use the trap as container for fish till you dump it to fellow aquarist



Naturally doors will have to have drilled tiny hole on upper part
to attach rope.


hmmm... to many images..ill split it

[Jadran]

And thats it... more or less..
It works great for small tanks (100-200 gal.) As I mentioned in my
120g. I was able to catch all kinda fishes with it, used on
bottom.. But if you run deep or huge tank you can use trick like
one on Anthonys pic to attach it to glass Or to make something
like this to screw it on the side..



hmm.. I'm not really happy with way I explained that, my English prohibits me to do it better and more detailed, trap is really simple so I hope that together with pics that would do.. But if I left anything unclear feel free to ask about it..

[mhe]

OK, so I caught the fish I wanted to get out (a clear specimen container with some algae clipped to the bottom for bait and a spare piece of clear acrylic to slap over the opening made for my "fish trap"), but of course now they guy I was going to get the fish to doesn't answer the phone (it is late on a Sunday night, so I can't be too upset that he's not available).

My question: I have the fish in a 1 gallon ziploc, floating in my sump. How long can a fish stay healthy in a bag floating in my sump? Is there a pattern of water changes I should start with?

If it's going to be "too long" I can release the fish (a Rabbitfish) into the sump, it'll be a lot easier to catch him again in there then it was in the display, but I'd prefer to keep him bagged - I just don't know for sure what the right things are to do, and how long's too long to keep a caught fish bagged up.

Please help!

Thanks,

- Michael

[NicoleC]

Don't leave him bagged up for long. He could poison himself, especially since he's been eating. A few hours will be fine, especially if you freshen the water every now and then. Or, drill holes in the specimen container and hang that in the sump where the water can flow through.

Fish are shipped in tiny amounts of water and are in there a long time, but it's very stressful for them. And shippers usually don't feed the fish a day or two before shipping, so they won't poop in the water and give themselves ammonia poisoning.

[mhe]

Originally posted by NicoleC
Don't leave him bagged up for long. He could poison himself, especially since he's been eating. A few hours will be fine, especially if you freshen the water every now and then.

Yeah, my concern is that it's going to be at least all night, and maybe a day or two. Perhaps I should just release him into my sump?

Catching him again will be stressful, but perhaps not as bad as leaving him in the bag?

Would it be safe to leave him in the bag for 12 hours until I can see if I can get him to the new owner? If it's going to be longer I can release him into the sump, and if I can get him moved in the morning it'll be less stressful?

Again, appreciate any thoughts/advice...

Thanks,


- Michael

[NicoleC]

Yes, I would release him in the sump, provided there are no unprotected pump intakes he could get sucked into and injured.

12 hours... I wouldn't.

[cityofangels]

Thanks Jadran for the illustrative pics!

[locito277]

Mr Calfo Ive read your coral propogation book and learned a great deal from your writings... I have 4 Lg Damsels I need to get rid of. Problem is I cant empty out my 240 Gallon tank and I have corals Growing on my liverock. How can I get them out because they wont go near a trap. Since Wilma came through Miami and my big boys passed the damsels have become even more aggresive.... Help Please.. Ps Cant wait to the next book