advice on catching fish

[andruboz]

i just set up a 29g to remove some of the riff raff from my 125g.
mainly a few small convicts, a small school of barbs and a nicaraguenses with a birth defect [about 2.5"].

i spent 15 minutes tonite with a large net 6x6 and a small net 3x3 and i didnt catch squat. without removing all ornaments and plants from the 125g, is there any trick to catching fish?

 

[kveeti]

A bigger net. I use a 10x7 inch for my 29 gallon! (something that almost goes across the width)

 

[pharoh08]

there are sevaral ways, but the simplest is doing it during feeding and just do one quick swipe

 

[fishfrenze]

Took me three days to catch all the small tetras, etc when I broke my 30 gallon down. The best thing I did was make a fish trap. I took a 16oz water bottle, cut the top off right where it "curved" and flipped the cut-off part upside down into the body of the bottle. The fish would swim in through the hole (where you would normally drink out of) and wouldn't be able to find their way out. Problem was...most of the fish were too chicken to go through the hole. They'd check it out, but when it started to funnel in, they would turn around and swim out. I ended up waiting around and when 2 or 3 of them were checking it out, I stuck the net in and forced them to go through the hole to escape the net. This way I could catch more than one at a time and it went pretty quickly once I figured it out. Of course, this only works for fish that will actually fit through the hole!!

HTH,
Melanie

 

[Dahlia]

I had to catch a bunch of convict juveniles recently so I could take them to the lfs (those things sure do breed...). I have a lot of caves in my tank and it took forever to catch them. Eventually I got smart and deliberately put one of the smaller flower pots I use as caves on its side next to the glass in a corner. I would then herd them towards the corner, and when they went to hide in the pot I'd put the net over the top of it and trap them. That method worked reasonably well and I didn't have to dismantle the whole tank.

 

[stik6shift98]

use 2 nets at the same time and lure them with one and catch then with the other

 

[OrionGirl]

I use a large glass jar and my hand. I herd the fish into an upper front corner with myhand, then bring the jar up and they usually swim directly into the jar. This way, the fish don't get tangled in nets, and are never removed from the water. Took me about 15 minutes to catch 3 UDC just last night. Since I work in my tank often, the fish are very used to my hands, and don't panic they way they do with a net.

 

[yashinfan]

Do it while the lights are off or right after the lights are turned on! They are semi-blind at that time, and are not really aware of what's going on.