Catching fish without removing Rocks

nagukush

nagukush

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Jan 1, 2008
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Hi Friends,

Just wanted to request you to kindly guide me on how to catch all the fish in my 212 Gallon tank that is setup like this - http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=207156

without removing the rocks or disturbing the layout.

Should I just empty the tank completely and then pick up the fish ? I'm asking this because the Rocks are very large ( and heavy ! ) and are properly seated directly on the bottom glass, so lifting them will make the sand particles go under them...

Also because there are a lot of hiding places, the fish just disappear when I put the net inside...

Kindly guide me Friends...
Thanks a lot !
Regards and Care
Kush
 
Hmm. The drain-all-the-water strategy seems to present a problem: if they hide in the rocks as it is, they will hide all the harder as the water level goes down. Then you have to remove rocks anyway to get at them, plus they are stressed from fear.

Googling for "aquarium fish traps" the choice seems to be between commercial products (costing $20-40 US) that appear to require you to stand by and push a door shut when the fish goes inside. I could be wrong on this but none of the descriptions I see show how the device operates. This could be time consuming, particularly as the last-caught (ie smartest) fish figure out Something Is Up and just flat refuse to enter.

Or else there are DIY types of traps involving plastic bottles with the tops cut off and inverted and pushed down inside; the fish swims in but is too dense to figure out that to escape he has to go back out that little hole. Plus those look like fairly large fish so you would have to find a bottle whose pouring hole is large enough the fish can enter undamaged.

If you have enough time you might try putting their daily food in the net and holding it in the water until they enter and grab it. Withholding food for a day or two before hand should help give them motivation. However it still may take a few days to catch the last of them.

The only other thing I can think to suggest would be to check your LFS and see who does the best--fastest and gentlest--captures when customers select fish to buy. Then explain your situation and ask what he/she would charge to come to your place and remove the fish from your tank.

(Set up a daytime appointment if possible and encourage them to bring a friend/parent/assistant if they seem hesitant about going to a private home of a stranger. WE know you are not the Fishy Serial Killer but they don't know this.) :)

Best of luck with your project, that is a gorgeous tank.
 
Sorry my friend but with Smaller Tangs and Mbuna you will more than likely have to remove the rock work even if you do use one of those fish traps will take you a month to catch what you have total in that tank..

Another possible scenario would be take out a few rocks and make sure the rocks you leave inside the tank are flat on the bottom where fish can not go under them.. But if all rocks are out of the tank you will catch the fish with quickness..

DO NOT DRAIN YOUR TANK...
 
Pittbull said:
Sorry my friend but with Smaller Tangs and Mbuna you will more than likely have to remove the rock work even if you do use one of those fish traps will take you a month to catch what you have total in that tank..

Another possible scenario would be take out a few rocks and make sure the rocks you leave inside the tank are flat on the bottom where fish can not go under them.. But if all rocks are out of the tank you will catch the fish with quickness..

DO NOT DRAIN YOUR TANK...
Click to expand...

I agree. Trying to catch most cichlids with traps is an exercise in futility. Mbuna will often go into traps but most Tangs are just too timid. What are you trying to catch? Some of the Labs may go into a trap but I couldn't see Fronts doing it.
 
I caught 6/7 OB zebras by netting them while they got their breakfast. I only got one shot and it took over a week to get them all. For the last one I had to remove most of a rock structure then use 2 nets. This still took a while but worked eventually.
 
I don't even try anymore i just go ahead and remove the rocks saves time and my temper from sky rocketing...

Nothing more that ticks me the frig right out is a fish i can not catch..
 
Drop the water levels right down to where it is below most of the rocks but the fish can still be upright in the water...catch fish...refill tank...do it with tank lights off and as little light as possible to avoid spooking them.

Also, use two nets - one to herd them, one to catch them. Using one net is terrible frustrating.

Also, try and bring the net up from under the fish as opposed to down on top of them.

And make sure the net is plenty big enough.

You can also leave the nets in the tank for a few hours so they get used to them - I have no doubt my rift lake guys see a net and know exactly what's coming unless I acclimatise a bit.

You can also put a bit of food in the net - sometimes they will swim right in,

I try the last few first, and then if I'm getting nowhere I drop the water level.
 
Thanks a lot for the kind replies Friends - also wanted to know if its safe to completely drain the tank ? I mean can it harm or break the braces or cause the tank to leak ?

Kindly guide me Friends...
 
looking at your tank I have to say 2 things

VERY NICE

and

have fun trying to catch them if you dont move the rocks
 
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