HELP goby stuck in AIO pump chamber!

dach · Nov 11, 2021

Hi, sorry for the title but my yasha goby is stuck in the back of my aio in the pump chamber. The construction of the aio is dumb in that it looks like this (attached). He is hiding underneath where the other chambers are. I have removed the pump and put my heater in the display with an airstone to keep oxygen flowing. Can anyone help suggest a way to catch this fish? I don’t want to put the pump back in until i catch him so he doesn’t get shredded

cboylan1606 · Nov 11, 2021

Looks like the nuvo back compartment

cboylan1606 · Nov 11, 2021

Best I can suggest is block off whichever side he’s not under then set a diy trap

Florida Sunshine · Nov 11, 2021

Can you drain water out of the back chamber? If there is enough room to get your hand back there I would probably drain out most of the water and then grab him.

dach · Nov 11, 2021

It is a Nuvo 20, right now i made a water bottle trap and put some food in it. I can’t fit my hand in underneath the chambers but i can fit it to pick up the trap. How long can i run an air stone and heater in display safely while i wait to try to catch the goby?

ying yang · Nov 11, 2021

If cant get out and last resorts could get some tubing that's big enough and start a siphon and try suck him up as be better if could have tank running so need get him out.
I'm not familiar with them tanks so unsure if can fit hand in and grab him

dach · Nov 11, 2021

Yeah that’s my concern. I just can’t get to him. Im trying to be patient to catch him but at some point i need to turn the pump back on

saltyhog · Nov 11, 2021

I had the same thing happen with a clown goby in my 25 Lagoon. Horrible design by IM in my opinion! The way I finally caught mine was to block off the side he's not in. I bought a small net and cut a piece of clear plastic the exact width of the chamber. Then I used a long zip tie as a tool to run him out from underneath the side chamber and immediately blocked the way back under the side chamber. Then netted him with the tiny net.

dach · Nov 11, 2021

I’ve got some airline tubing I’m trying to pull him out with. So annoyed with this design. This is one stubborn fish. I have a small net but he is afraid of it. This is worse than catching Kuhli loaches

saltyhog · Nov 11, 2021

If you can get him in the middle chamber with the two side chambers blocked, he can't escape and you can net him pretty easily.

dach · Nov 11, 2021

saltyhog said:
If you can get him in the middle chamber with the two side chambers blocked, he can't escape and you can net him pretty easily.

this is my latest strategy, i just need to somehow lure him into the middle. The airline obscures my vision so i don’t know when to lower my trap door lol

kittenbritches · Nov 11, 2021

saltyhog said:
I had the same thing happen with a clown goby in my 25 Lagoon. Horrible design by IM in my opinion! The way I finally caught mine was to block off the side he's not in. I bought a small net and cut a piece of clear plastic the exact width of the chamber. Then I used a long zip tie as a tool to run him out from underneath the side chamber and immediately blocked the way back under the side chamber. Then netted him with the tiny net.

saltyhog · Nov 11, 2021

You know what they say about necessity........

dach · Nov 12, 2021

I managed to catch him once by that method but i guess my cuts in my plastic weren’t perfect and he slipped right past back into the side when i put the net in:/

Tamberav · Nov 12, 2021

I has this happen.. cut acrylic and blocked off each end to catch the fish. He will go right back in there if you don't fix how he got back there.

I think they did this design so the pump doesn't run dry as quick? Still hate it though.

Karen00 · Nov 12, 2021

Have you contacted Innovative Marine? Maybe they have some ideas. Also, tell them they should think about changing their AIO design. I was going to suggest using a net as well if you're able to chase him into it.

dach · Nov 12, 2021

Thanks everyone for their help!! I was able to catch him! IM design is just bad for this reason. Other than this i have had no issues with this tank.

For anyone who runs into this in the future, I found the method that worked for me was to take a small net and bend it so that it would fit in that small compartment. I put a piece of acrylic I cut to cover the other side that the goby could hide in. I took a second piece of acrylic cut to the same size and placed it right above the section where the fish was hiding. I set my phone flash up on a tripod to have some light. When i was ready, i jammed the net into the section where the fish was and pressed it all the way into the back. I then pulled it out while touching the bottom of the chamber trying to push the goby out. Once i pulled my net back out, i dropped the other piece of acrylic down, trapping the goby in the middle. This next part is very important as these gobies are crazy jumpers. I slowly used my hand to trap the goby against the wall shared with the display, and pushed him over the wall. I found that if i didn’t do that, he may have jumped right out of the tank or into another chamber.

i hope this helps someone in the future. In the meantime as a thanks to all who have offered support, here are a few photos of my stupid goby who lived in one of my chambers for a month.