Catching fish

[Undertaker]

I have a tang that I need to catch. Anyone have any tricks on how to catch this fish in a reef tank?

 

[Zack K]

What kind of tang

 

[skiergd011013]

Good luck!! Catching fish in a tank with rocks etc is a p.i.t.a. especially if you try to net them once, and miss. Theyll avoid you the rest of the day.

 

[Maddlesrain]

If the rocks are still in the tank, I try coaxing the fish out with food (especially in the upper front part of the water column) and then swoop in with the net (or whatever I’m using) and snag the fish. That only works with semi ‘tame’ fish though that are used to swimming up to your hands when food arrives.

I agree with skiergd, if you miss once, you are pretty out of luck. Fish aren’t dumb, they know what you’re doing! Haha

 

[Maritimer]

If you know where he sleeps at night, you may be able to confuse and capture him using a flashlight.

You can also try a fish trap (I've seen them made - and successfully used - out of eggcrate), which can be baited with food or "baited" with a mirror at the back. Some folks resort to a tiny (trout-fly-tying) fishhook with the barb filed down or flattened with a pair of pliers.

~Bruce

 

[skiergd011013]

If the rocks are still in the tank, I try coaxing the fish out with food (especially in the upper front part of the water column) and then swoop in with the net (or whatever I’m using) and snag the fish. That only works with semi ‘tame’ fish though that are used to swimming up to your hands when food arrives.

I agree with skiergd, if you miss once, you are pretty out of luck. Fish aren’t dumb, they know what you’re doing! Haha

i had to catch a problem blue damsel out of a 30 gallon reef once. Tried so hard for hours. Finally, i ended up bucketing all the rock. With an empty tank, it was STILL difficult to net him. I couldnt imagine a bigger tank, lol

 

[Undertaker]

What kind of tang

Two spotted bristletooth

 

[azreeftank]

Get yourself a Fish trap with a sliding door and you will thank yourself a million times after that. I have a 250 reef that is half circle so almost impossible to corner a Fish. I had a rouge Angel, chevron tang, and the biggest jerk a Maroon clown that would go hide as soon as a net touched the water. I tried all the tricks in the book and nothing worked. I went to my LFS and rented a trap for $40 and I’m keeping the trap! 15 minutes I had the angel and tang with some Nori inside the trap. Next day I put a small rock with an Anemone inside the trap and I had the once impossible clown to catch inside and the door closed in under 20 Min. No aggravation on my part. I was 1-2 days away from tearing my tank down to get the fish out and this trap was a life save.

 

[cracker]

I also have/had really good results with a trap.

 

[eatbreakfast]

Mirror in the front corner of the tank.

Depending on top of tank access and rockwork, a few sections of eggcrate can be used to block off areas of the tank, so you are catching from a smaller area.

 

[Waters]

As long as he doesn't sleep buried within the rock, just flip the tank lights on full blast after the tank has been in total darkness for a few hours. You will be able to reach in and grab him with your hand. I have also used traps which work, just take longer.

 

[jimbau]

Barbless hook and line. :)

 

[Bluecbs]

Flashlight at night works for me.... usually one hour after lights out

 

[Chin_FITC Verified Sponsor]

Chased my share of tangs with a net and a flashlight over the years — it works, but the fish get wise to it fast once they've been chased once, and every attempt after that gets harder.

Full disclosure — that's basically why I ended up building the AquaCove (founder of FITC Aquatics here). It's a cave-and-mirror device that leans on the fish's own shelter/territorial instinct instead of a chase, and it tends to work well on tangs for that exact reason. Worth a look if the DIY methods above stop working.

 

[DmitryB]

I've been trying to catch a small Coral Beauty in a 40 gallon. Nyos trap has been hanging in there for at least a week so everyone gets used to it. The trap is getting covered in algae at this point. EVERY other fish has gone inside the trap except the Angel.

 

[nautical_nathaniel]

I have the Nyos Floating fish trap, it worked on a yellowtail damsel but my Flame Angel wouldn't go in it

 

[Chin_FITC Verified Sponsor]

I've been trying to catch a small Coral Beauty in a 40 gallon. Nyos trap has been hanging in there for at least a week so everyone gets used to it. The trap is getting covered in algae at this point. EVERY other fish has gone inside the trap except the Angel.

do you have a lot of rockwork or complex sps in the tank? for a 40gallon tank, your best best would be to use partitions and nets during your next water change when the water levels are lower which cut off its escape routes. last resort would be to remove the rockwork if that’s possible for your setup

 

[DmitryB]

I've been trying to catch a small Coral Beauty in a 40 gallon. Nyos trap has been hanging in there for at least a week so everyone gets used to it. The trap is getting covered in algae at this point. EVERY other fish has gone inside the trap except the Angel.

do you have a lot of rockwork or complex sps in the tank? for a 40gallon tank, your best best would be to use partitions and nets during your next water change when the water levels are lower which cut off its escape routes. last resort would be to remove the rockwork if that’s possible for your setup

Yeah rocks which took ages to "get right." I want to move him into a 170 gallon, so trying to do him a solid and he's ungrateful!

Starry Blenny spent a whole night sleeping in the trap.

 

[Gundy]

My son bought this fish trap and caught the 2 fish he needed with no problem. Check out Tankmatez.com and watch the demonstration. It definitely works and it’s easy.

 

[DmitryB]

4 fish in the tank. 3 of them are in the Nyos trap right now. The one I need to catch is the other one.