Catching a Damsel!!

[GRaff71884]

Here is my problem. I have in my tank now a Percula Clown, Dwarf Coral Beauty Angel, 20 dwarf hermits, 20 snails, 2 emeral crabs, and 3 pepermint shrimp. What I need to do is remove the Blue Damsel. I want to get him out because he harasses my clown constantly, and he was just a test fish to start anyway. I was wondering if anyone has any suggestion on how to catch him. My tank is full of live rock, as you can see in the pic, and I don't wanna have to move or take anything out. And since he isn't gonna just swim in the net, I was wondering if someone had a good way to catch him. Thanks!!

 

[GRaff71884]

A few more pics

Here is the first pic of my Percula, you can barely see him in the upper left hand corner. He is hard to shoot, he is constantly moving!

Here is a pic of my Coral Beauty and the damn damsel!

And here is the last pic of the whole tank, you can see all the crabs and the snails.

 

[wayne at home]

Uhh, tricky. I'm pretty good at catching fish, but that would be difficult, especially if he's spooked.
1. Drain water, move stuff. You don't want to do this, but if you're quick it's ok. Watch out if you have any sponges.
2. Make a trap, or buy one.
3. Make a semi trap, like a flower pot, when he's spooked and swims in, net the all of it

Good luck!

 

[1979camaro]

darn nice setup, let me add...plans for coral/inverts?

 

[Lotus]

A couple of strategies I have heard for catching fish. First one is to have two nets. Put one behind a hole/bridge (I see you have a few), then chase it in with the other net, so it goes into one net or the other. Second one is to put some of its favorite food in a net, and wait for it to go in for the food.

 

[GRaff71884]

I will try that. As of today, still not successful in catching him. No corals for me, fish only. I like watching the fish, corals to me are boring. I may try an anemone for my clown sometime in the future, but thats a maybe. I just want to get the damsel out and put a cardinal or 2 in there and maybe one other small fish with bright colors in there and that's it. Any suggestions for the last small colorful fish? I was thinkin a Royal Gramma. I want something that is peaceful, so let me know what everyone thinks! Thanks

 

[1979camaro]

grammas or basslets, there are many options for both....small and colorful, and good in a community...ive always loved bangaii cardinals but they arent colorful

 

[allthingsanimal]

Go with the bangaii's. They are interesting and they will breed in captivity that is if you have a pair. I had a pair breed on me about a year ago. They are very interesting fish.

 

[KimandRob]

dude , just catch him at feeding time. That's when they'll stay in the open for a while

 

[GRaff71884]

Ya, I am workin' on catchin him at feeding time. This fish is incredibly fast though. So far, I can't catch him. I about to put on my speedo's and jump in there and strangle him!

 

[KimandRob]

haha, sound's like fun

 

[Absolut]

Catch it with a hook and bait.

 

[GRaff71884]

I finally got him after 4 days. My step-dad goes in my room for the first time, takes the net and pulls the damn thing right out! Well, either way I got him, so it's time to get a different fish!

 

[KimandRob]

Hey Graff71884, Is that a CF light you have there? How many watts? And what size tank is that if you don't mind me asking?

 

[GRaff71884]

Yes, it is a Corallife 130w fluorescent compact light. It has 2 65w bulbs with a reflector and built in cooling fans. It is on my 29g. They sell it all over the place, but I got mine from a ebay store. I will find the name of the person I got it from if you are interested in one. It is awesome!

 

[KimandRob]

That's the one I want. I also have a 29 gallon, that's been running 4 weeks now. How much did you pay?

 

[beaver8888]

wayne's got a good idea ive had the same problem with my 8 inch oscar lil thing took me over 2 hours to catch but i got him lol

 

[GRaff71884]

I paid like $110 for it. I got it from an ebay store. Here is a link for one that is being sold now. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2363741828&category=3212
I recommend the legs that are made for this light because it will not go across the entire tank. For some reason, coralife made the light 28" instead of 30" which it should be. Here is a link for the legs from the same seller.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2356496173&category=3212

 

[KimandRob]

Thanks , I'll have to check it out.