UPDATE: MISSION SUCESSS
I just wanted to say thank you again to everyone for your time and assitance, literally would not have been able to do it without the help of the amazing R2R community.
I also wanted to share my method for caputre as it was quite quick and effective, and may come in handy for those with a similiar problem.
I got this idea thanks to a freshwater accident I had a few years back, where, while siphoning between plants, driftwood & rock, I accidentally siphoned a baby catfish perching on the lower back side of a rock.
How I Caught the Demonic Hawkfish:
Supplies needed:
• a 'power' siphon (one which is controlled by a hand pump) about 1/4"-1/2" larger in diameter than the fish you wish to capture with a screen before the drian hose - the hand pump part is important as you will need to start the siphon as quickly as possible, without changing its position in the tank.
•Filter floss, foam, something to act as cushioning
• a small fish net
• target fish's favorite food
• some garlic is super helpful too if you have it
Procedure:
0. Fill the empty dry siphon about 1/3 full of filter floss to act as padding (you will be siphonig the fish into the tube). Stick the siphon in your tank so the fish can get semi-used to it for 30 min or so prior to beginning.
1. Wait until your normal feeding timerange (between 9-11pm for me). If you feed twice daily skip your first feeding. You want this fish to be hungry. Fasting would be ideal but not applicable in many situations.
2. This will depend on your lighting setup. I personally have a main display light, and waterproof led's wrapping the inner inside rim of the tank for supplementals. My main light does not have a red mode, so I shut it off and changed the supplementals to red only. A fellow R2R user gave me this idea in a comment today, so this part I cannot claim as my own, but the goal here is to elimiate ALL light both in the tank AND in the room the tank is located in EXCEPT for RED LIGHT as fish have a hard time seeing in this light. Any very low light source would work though.
3. Cut the return flow.
4. With in tank powerheads running, add a drop of garlic and just a tiny bit of food (1/4 pipette or so). The purpose is to let the fish know that there is food, and to trigger a light feeding response.
5. Cut all intank flow as, if you have a lot of rock like me, you will want to coax the fish into a corner, open area, etc. Point is to avoid dispursing the remaing food you are about to add.
6. Add a drop or two of garlic and another 1/4 pipette or so of food to the target area and wait a minute or two for the fish to take notice.
7. At this point I add water to my siphon and start it (in the corner to avoid scaring fish), draining it back into the sump. Now stop the siphon but KEEP IT SUBMERGED. This step prevents air bubbles shooting out (and scaring your target fish) when you restart the siphon.
8. With the remaining food, create a trail from the fish's current position to the target area, concentrating the majority in the target area.
9. With one hand on the siphon pump and another on the stiff intake tube, sneak near the fish once it has began to eat in target area.
10. Start the siphon and the fish will get sucked into the tube. You do not want to hurt the fish so stop the siphon as soon as possible, using the fish net to cover the bottom of the intake tube to catch the fish when you stop the siphon.
11. Net out and your problem is solved
Hope this helps!!
