How do you catch your fish?

[paronaram]

Happy 2012 to ALL ECC!!!

My 2012 started good, almost all Yellow lab females are holding! :runnningaround:
One of them is more then 3 weeks, I can see the fry is about to jump out, but she is not letting them out, it's not "safe" around my display 95G.:croc:

I tried to catch fish before by lowering water by 2/3, removing almost all rocks and when I get lucky, fish that I am looking for will hide in the Cichlid Stone and I will trap it that way.

It took me very long time to do this, and I stress hell out of my tank.

Do you know any other ways to catch holding fish?

Thanks,
Aram.

[Buckcich]

Not really in a large landscaped tank.
You might try to cut a piece of eggcrate as wide as your tank and try to "herd" the fish you are trying to capture into one end of the tank and then net it out. But you still need to remove all the landscape materials out.

[nyc2tanks]

One method I have tried that sometimes works is to turn off all the lights in the room and wait 2 hours until all the fish are asleep and then catch them using a flashlight to find them. This works best if you find them when they are still somewhat sleepy.

Good luck.

[paronaram]

Thanks!

I like the flashlight idea :)
I will try it, but I think it's going to be a mess ...

What about that reverse cut soda bottle?
They cut 4-5" from the top, the reverse it in, and it makes a fish trap.

[Buckcich]

Do you know any other ways to catch holding fish?

Thanks,
Aram.

Holding fish don't eat. Fish traps will work for non-holding fish, but you may repeatedly catch the same fish , not necessarily the fish you want to catch.

[al7601]

Soda bottle won't work because the bait is food which doesn't interest a holding female. Tank dividers and lowering the water has always worked best for any one holding.


Thanks!

I like the flashlight idea :)
I will try it, but I think it's going to be a mess ...

What about that reverse cut soda bottle?
They cut 4-5" from the top, the reverse it in, and it makes a fish trap.

[Afreakin]

+1 for turning out the lights and turn them on after a few hours of complete darkness. Fish are dazed but you have to move quickly. Best way to do it IMO.

[Buckcich]

Mbuna females that are holding tend to hide in rocks/caves/corners.
IMO the flash light trick won't work because you won't be able to get to them to net them out.

[emartin]

+1 for turning out the lights and turn them on after a few hours of complete darkness. Fish are dazed but you have to move quickly. Best way to do it IMO.

+1 Works every time.

[QuarterMiler]

I tried the lights out idea, and the fish are very calm. The problem I had with that, was that it was more difficult for me to see the fish in the tank.

What I do is get the holding female to retreat to one or two certain piles of rock. Sometimes I can coax her a bit if she's in the area. I then slide in a DIY separator and remove the rock. Net her out, strip, right back in, and rocks back in.

Here are two pics of the separator. It's 4 pieces of needle point mesh tied together with fishing line. Then some 3/4 plastic tubing attatched to the edges with 1/4 SS tubing inside that to bury the edges into the sand.

2773

2774

[Snitchols]

I've lowered the water, taken out the decorations (rocks) and either netted them at night or somehow got lucky enough with the use of two nets. I've also netted fish during feeding time. I usually have the net in the water before I feed that way they get somewhat use to it. I then will feed a flake food. All the fish come out including the holding females so they can pretend to feed. Then gently try to net her.

I used the feeding method yesterday to net a holding female. Worked pretty well and then I stripped her and put her right back. All in all I got lucky and was done in less than 5 mins.

[paronaram]

Thank you!!!

Will be shopping this evening for needle point mesh!
And I will try feeding trick, see if it works.

I got new RED 8" nets, hopefully my fish will ignore them :whistle: