"Fish hard and catch in a heavy planted tank?"

[PeterGwee]

Any guys here have experience trying to catch fishes out of a heavily planted tank other than uprooting all the plants (too drastic!). If any please provide me some tips cause i am trying to remove one of my blue ram from the tank as his fins were found to be slightly torn (probably attack by the other frisky one) and signs of white spot on one of the fin...[] ..or should i dose the whole tank with interpet anti-white spot..[]

[spilopterus]

Hunt at night, is sometimes helps when you go at night when the fishes are all asleep. This means going like an hour after the lights are off and its dark.

Or else, set trap lor.

[stormhawk]

set a fish trap with a mineral water bottle, baited with some food.

[PeterGwee]

Thanks for the tip...but guess he is too alert as the moment i dip my net slowly into the tank..he went into hiding...[]

[PeterGwee]

stormhawk..thanks for the tip..maybe that will work. Will try it tomorrow after work. []

[vinz]

Don't use meds for white spot. As a rule, try to avoid using meds/chemicals in a planted tank, if possible.

Use aquarium salt to treat white spot, and you should leave the ram in there and treat the whole tank as its already in the water. Read this thread for details on salt treatment. Aquarium salt you can get from most LFS. Just tell them you need it to treat whitespot.

[vinz]

heres' a method that has worked for me frequently. Even managed to net SAEs with this.

You'll need 2 nets. Leave one net diagonally against a wall, one side touching the wall and the other open a little, preferably hidden behind some plants. Use the other net to herd (not chase) the fish towards the other net. Its good to make him follow the tank walls. When he swims into the other net, flatten it against the tank wall and ta-da... you have him. I use a larger net for 'trap' and a smaller one as the herder.

Another option is just to use 2 nets and slowly herd him into a corner.

[AirStern]

interesting concept, i have been long wanting to catch my overgorwn SAEs out of my tank, becoming more of a pest and not eating algae ..

care to share more abt this tip? as in make it of a one way entrance kinda thing ... ideas anyone?

[PeterGwee]

Well, seems a bit too late liao...I add some medication to the tank already...how? Should i do water changes to remove as much of the medication as possible?[]

[David Loh]

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On 8/26/2002 11:17:17 PM

Don't use meds for white spot. As a rule, try to avoid using meds/chemicals in a planted tank, if possible.

Use aquarium salt to treat white spot, and you should leave the ram in there and treat the whole tank as its already in the water. Read this thread for details on salt treatment. Aquarium salt you can get from most LFS. Just tell them you need it to treat whitespot.
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Raise the temp by 1-2 degrees to treat white spot as well.

[vinz]

Since you've added the med, here are your options:

- let it do its job and continue the treatment. i think ich meds are not very harmful to planted tanks. read the label, they'll usually tell you if its not good for plants. we planted tank 'purists' [] just prefer to avoid using meds where possible, as meds tend to mess with tank chemistry.
- don't re-dose med and try salt.

[Simon]

off the light for 30mins.. pinpoint the fish, switch the light on and surprise him

[vinz]

Yep, its sort of a one entrance thingy. Fish when chased but nets tend to follow the sides, stay low and swim behind plants. You have to be fast with the trap net.

A forumer mentioned devising a simple trap made from bottle and bait before, but I can't find the post.

Something off the top of my head... get a 1.25/1.5 litre soft drink bottle. Cut the top off, invert it and reattached. I.e. the top becomes a funnel. Throw in some pebbles/gravel to weigh it down, throw in some fishfood and leave it at the bottom of the tank. Fishes will swim in and most will find it hard to find the exit. When the target goes in, lift out the bottle, remove the target and put back the rest of the fishes. I don't see how this will be mroe stressful to the bystanders then having a net in the tank.

[vinz]

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On 8/26/2002 11:52:24 PM

off the light for 30mins.. pinpoint the fish, switch the light on and surprise him
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Wah lau... sounds like an Special Ops Shock Extraction Mission. [] []

[juggler]

How about catching the fish using the above methods during your water change? Less water could be helpful?

[Jason.cho]

Have try this, it works. Do not feed them for a day. Put some worms in the net, they will sure swim in.

[Vican]

I used a wire mesh to cordon off an area, then throw food inside. When they're in, close the mesh. With a smaller area, it was easier to catch the fake SAE. BTW, fake SAEs are MUCH harder to catch than your real SAE

[stormhawk]

some marine tank enthusiasts should know what a fish trap is cos sometimes they get mantis shrimps and some bristleworms in with their live rock. these are pests and usually it's hard to remove them from a reef tank without breaking up the reef structure the aquarist has painstakingly set up. they have a commercially made trap for such animals though. but using a bottle works cos it's transparent and the fish doesn't know it's there cos it's stationary. just as long as its baited, it'll attract almost any other fish in the tank.