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Hello All,

I'm in the process of moving 8 Harlequins and 9 White Clounds from one tank to another. All was well when the schools were large. But, now there are only a few of each left in my larger tank and I having a tough time catching them. I'm begining to panic my Corrys and Ottos not to mention my targets. I'm trying small, medium and large nets.

Any advice on how to catch mast moving fish?

Thanks

Eric

useing two nets, in the beginning to get alot before they panic is a good idea, than using small nets to get singles. but try using a small one to actively chase the fish, and have the big one in the middle ready to catch the running fish into the net, ot

let them rest for a bit and let the tank calm down and than wait for the remaining to school, and try again.

It's not good to have to chase fish to the point where they have a panic attack, as BettaChris wisely mentioned.
Fast movements in the tank are not good, nor are extended hunts for a scared fish.

I most often use one large net and slowly herd the fish towards the front corner of the tank. The net makes a triangle with the tank corner and from there I just close the gap. Sometimes hand or a smaller net 2 will be used under net 1 just to reduce a possible escape route or to help coral the fish where I want them to go. Because I am calm during this procedure and no sudden movements the tank inhabitants are calm also for the most part.

I also sometimes use food to lure the fish toward the front of the tank, then slip the net in from the rear of the tank.

Leaving the net at least half in the tank, I then remove the fish from the net by hand (closed carefully), which is wet from tankwater. A net can damage the slime coat as well as catch scales.

For very easy to catch fish I will use a glass.

I hope my methods above will help when I have to catch my apisto, I somehow doubt it



Last edited by DaMossMan at 24-Jan-2006 20:23

The Amazon Nut...

If possible remove all non plant material DW, rocks, and any other areas where they can hide.

Removing some water also helps.

It took me three weeks to catch one Cherry Barb in my 10G Betta tank I used to leave a small net in the tank for hrs then every now and then I would try again.

Finally I caught it during feeding time.

You could try moving them with a small net towards the larger net.

Have a look in [link=My Profile]http://
www.fishprofiles.com/interactive/forums/profile.asp?userid=6741" style="COLOR: #00FF00[/link] for my tank info

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Keith

Near enough is not good enough, therefore good enough is not near enough, and only your best will do.
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I havent tried this, but i saw someone mention a similar technique in another thread. I think it would be relativly simple to create a trap. Mabey a 1 gal milk bottle would have a large enough opening, or a 2 liter would work on the minnows. Cut off the top and invert it so that getting into the tank is easier than getting out. If you put some live food that the fish could smell the would probably find thier way into the bottle quickly. This would probably be rather easy on the fish as they would get a snack and nobody needs to chase them as they would catch themselves.

I would also immagine that removing water and using dividers could help you get them into a smaller space.

chaos

__________________________________
- - - Humorous Bit of Wisdom - - -

I bag my hard to net fish. I got the idea from the Aqua-moss site for bagging hard to catch siamese algae eaters. They used a plastic critter home, I use a leftover lfs bag.
I put the fish bag in the tank and let water into it, then drop in a tasty treat like shrimp pellets, they sink to the bottom of the bag and the fish go in after it. If you don't feed the fish then try this when they are hungry it works even better. It is much easier on the fish and on the other residents in the tank. You can also take out any 'extra' fish easily using a net. Once the fish are in the bag remember to remove the food with a turkey baster or something so it doesn't foul the bags water. If they will be in the bag for a long time be sure to let out enough water to allow lots of air to be in the bag.
Hope that all made sense!

Last edited by luvmykrib at 24-Jan-2006 22:57

"If you're afraid you'll make a mistake, you won't make anything."
-Family Circus

I lure them to the surface with food and net the lot. Don't worry about catching the wrong fish, its far easier to sort them in a shallow bucket after you catch them than in the tank with all those hiding places.

For animals, the entire universe has been neatly divided into things to (a) mate with, (b) eat, (c) run away from, and (d) rocks. - Terry Pratchett

An option that I have used in the past, that has worked for me is to net the fish when they are sleeping/resting. If you can attempt to net them early in the morning prior to turning on any tank lights you can kind of catch them by surprise

The least amount of light from the room is best also

Jim

---

Water, taken in moderation, cannot hurt anybody. -- Mark Twain

I have had success tricking them with food or if it gets really hard, in the dark with a flash light


Joe


The difference between 'involvement' and 'commitment' is like an bacon and egg breakfast: the chicken was 'involved' - the pig was 'committed'."

i often use my hand, i place my hand on the glass, it kinda confuses them and they look at u funny for a few seconds, long enough for u to grab them.

stick the net in the tank for a half hour or so, so the fish feel comfortable with it in the water. then slowly round them up and net them.