Catching For Winter

[NDEWEY4@MSN.COM]

How Can I Catch My Plecostomus To Move It Indoors For Winter??
I Have Gone Out To My Pond At Night With A Flashlight, But I Can't Find Him. Any Suggestions????

 

[DeRo316]

Where do you live and how deep is the pond. Granted I live in FL but I donated my pleco to my boss' pond and it stays year-round. Its maybe 2 feet deep and around 40 sq ft.

 

[Angel Freak]

All I can say is have fun Plecos are fast little buggers LOL. Maybe you could try luring him in with some food. I'd probably just lower the water level till you can catch him if the pond is small enough that is what I do. I Keep common plecos in my pond here in Canada and it freezes through so I drain it and when I drain it I catch him.

 

[Ghost_knife]

How big is said pleco. I have many ways if you absolutely need to take them out...

 

[bettagurl]

i think the best way would be lowering the water then put him in a bucket of the pond water and aclimate him to your tank.what size tank are you putting him in for the winter?i have a baby pleco in my five gallon,i know he will need about 120 gal when hes bigger,i would move him to my 30 gal but my female bettas may eat him,he is so tiny.heres a pic,he is almost an inch long.:

 

[Ghostshrimp55]

Try a fish trap with some bait. You can buy one or make one. How big a trap you need depends on the size of the pleco.

Basically, you need to make a tube and cap off each end with a cone-shaped funnel (the narrow part of the funnel should be inside the tube). Each funnel should have an opening just large enough to let the fish in. Once it's in, the pleco will have a heck of a hard time getting out. Whatever you make the trap out of be sure you drill lots of .25-.5 inch holes in it. This will allow for good water exchange and will allow the scent of the bait to permeate into the water.

For bait, just use a bunch of algae wafers.

For materials, you may want to consider chicken wire for the "tube" and maybe the top half of two large, cone-shaped plastic jugs for the cones? I'm sure you can find lots of products that come in those types of bottles at any store. Just make sure you clean them well.

Or, if you're careful in the way you cut the wire and can grind down any sharp edges, you could make the two cones out of chicken wire as well.

 

[fballguy]

You could get out a fishing pole and tie an algae wafer to a hook and fish for him. lol, kidding don't do that. It would be horrible if he swallowed the hook.

 

[Ghost_knife]

go in there grab said fish put in transit container and move to temp tank