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I have to ask, cause I have no clue. I have 4 chinesse algae eaters in my tank and I have no clue how to get them out. I have 5 khulis and 5 danios and about 20 plants. Any ideas,short of taking out the drift wood and rocks, would be greatly appreciated.

I have a plan, I have the wire, I think, to make a trap. A trap much like the minnow traps you use to catch minnows, but on a smaller scale. Is there anything that these things crave or love to eat?

That sounds like a plan, however i'd be very wary of catching other fish at the same time.

Are there any favourite hiding places these fish like to haunt?

I've had to catch mine on a couple of occasions. I have a half pot in my tank that he likes to go into, i've waited until he's inside it and then just quickly lifted it out.

Perhaps you could put something in your tank like that and give it a few days for them to become accustomed to it.

Good luck

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Those who say they cant, Never will !!!

they have their hiding spots, nothing easy to trap them in, most are under rocks and another is under some drift wood (I made a little cave). I am going to try the trap idea first. It's a life trap so if I catch a loach or danio I'll figure away to get it out. I don't know what to put in there to baitr them, I figured some kind of veggie. Plus the holes are large enough, I think, for either the loach or danio to swim out of.

Should I boil the trap proir to using it?

thanks all.

What metal is the trap made out of? Be very wary of putting any kind of copper based metal in there.

Try this gizmo...

Alternatively, you could fashion one of your own from some plastic lemonade bottles.

The trick with this gizmo apparently is that you create a conical entrance that narrows as the fish goes further in ... then once the fish has entered, it can't escape. So, if you can find some plastic lemonade bottles that have conical necks, you could cut them up and build a trap of the above design yourself for what, about $1 for the lemonade and 30 minutes' time spent cutting and gluing bits together.

To make it more appealing to fishes that like caves, you could darken the interior using an aquarium safe non-toxic paint or wrapping some opaque dark plastic sheeting around it.

[Edited because the link isn't working properly ... copy and paste this link:

http://cgi.ebay.com/XL-FISH-TRAP-Live-Coral-Reef-SW-FW-Aquariums_W0QQitemZ110029228111QQihZ001QQcategoryZ46308QQcmdZViewItem

then view the trap on the EBay page.]

EDIT: Tried and failed to fix the link. I suspect the glossary terms might be screwing it up. -sirbooks

Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

I like the ideas, thanks!

What can I use to lure them in there? like a bait?

Well, in the case of the dreaed Chinese Algae Eater, chances are it's not so much bait that will entice them (though you could try a freeze dried tubifex cube weighted down with a lead weight) but the fact that your trap will look like a cave if you darken it. The problem with these fishes is that they are just SO badly named outside of the UK (here we call them Sucking Loaches, which is a FAR better common name for them) and once they start piling on body mass, algae is the LAST thing on their minds when it comes to dinner time. I won't touch them not only because they're next to useless at eating algae (even juveniles quickly tire of the stuff when they find it isn't seasoned with lots of small invertebrates to munch on) but because they grow to be a ridiculous size for most normal home aquaria, and are pig ugly to boot. The wake up call I got was during a visit to Chester Zoo as a teenager, when I saw a specimem there that was eleven inches long. At that size, it's a candidate for a 125 gallon minimum alongside big, tough bruisers that can look after themselves like Oscars. The fact that this whopper at the zoo was, at that time, sharing its tank with some other meaty fishes also made me sit up and think ...

If you can find some thin, flexible black opaque plastic sheeting, and darken your trap, that would probably be the way to go. I don't know if bin liners are aquarium safe, but if the plastic in black bin liners IS aquarium safe (someone her care to help on this?) then you could use that. I can't see any reason why bin liner plastic shouldn't be at the moment, unless it's been sprayed with various chemicals to keep the bin fresh, but bog standard bin liner plastic is superbly flexible, you can cut it to size at will, and fix it in place with a couple of dabs of silicone adhesive. Before rushing out and doing this, though, MAKE SURE the plastic IS aquarium safe!

If you can find food bags that are black or otherwise dark coloured, then that WILL be aquarium safe - anything that's passed as safe for use in human food handling (certainly here in the UK, where the regulations are incredibly strict now) is by default safe for use in an aquarium.


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

For a lure I would try a piece of zucchini, mine will graze on it for quite a while. Just give it a quick zap in the microwave to soften it a little and attach it to a small rock or pebble with an elastic band so that it sinks.

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Those who say they cant, Never will !!!

just keep it simple;
put in a piece of PVC pipe, the diameter just enough for the fish to fit in.
It'll kreep in at night and in the morning, you just lift it out, holding your fingers on both ends.

Of course, don't look if it's in there first, or it'll be gone before you can lift out the pipe.

WOW, what a pain. I caught 2, now have 2 to go. My current idea has been to put a coffee mug in upsidedown with an algae wafer underneath. I caught one really quick and managed to miss 2 other times. These suckers are fast.

I have 2 more to catch, one should be alot easier than the other. The one is larger than the other and smarter. He owns the "cave" I built with driftwood. I am going to have to block the cave so he hides somewhere else. I think thats the guy that is responsible for 2 of my khulis deaths.

I like the pvc idea, but I think what I'm going to do is go tot he market and look for a drink with a dark plastic container and drill small holes in it the be able to see movement inside. Then place it in there with 1-2 algae wafers and hope for the best.

I am not 100% sure whether I'm going to get 6 ottos or 1 bristlenose catfish.

thanks again!!

Once you've evicted the Sucking Loaches, I'd run with Otocinclus. WONDERFUL algae eaters. And, they stay small too.

If your budget will run to it, you could try and obtain those lovely Zebra Otocinclus (Otocinclus cocama), but chances are you'll pay a LOT to obtain those ... I'm STILL looking at something like £15 per fish as a MINIMUM price for those here in the UK, but they are SO worth it if you can get them!


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

When catching hard to catch fish,
I often use 2 nets.
One positioned someone conspicious,
and another with which to herd the fish.
Fish are curious too....place a shrimp pellet in a net and wait. The CAE will come.


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