Impossible to Catch Fish

[havoc_one]

We have been trying to catch 1 Zebra Dart Fish for the last 2 months. I feel like we have tried everything - TankMatez, Bait and Net, Bait and Hook - Nothing works. It is so incredibly skiddish and afraid of everything that nothing seems to be effective. He wont go anywhere near the orifice of the TankMatez despite being in the tank for weeks and trying every day, OR waiting 2-3 days until its hungry. Hooks don't come small enough to fit in its mouth and it just takes the food off the hook. it sees the net and just hides until it goes away or avoids it completely.

It's the only fish in the tank, aside from corals and CUC, everything else we could capture or remove.

It's fast, and defaults to hiding in the sand/rocks whenever scared. That's also where it sleeps, down in the rocks so we can't stun and remove at night. we've even tried burying it in its sleeping spot to no avail.

I am literally willing to try anything to get this mother trucker out of this tank.

 

[davidcalgary29]

Try a transparent ziploc bag (large). I find that my fish are less likely to bolt if they feel that they can escape backwards.

 

[JumboShrimp]

Low-tide method. Drain all the water into buckets until at about 2” of water left, he has nowhere to go. In fact, at about 6” you can start using things like pieces of egg crate, acrylic, glass tank lids, to section off parts of the tank and cut off his options that way. Then refill the tank ( obviously).

 

[havoc_one]

Try a transparent ziploc bag (large). I find that my fish are less likely to bolt if they feel that they can escape backwards.

Talk to me about this. Just use it like a net?

 

[havoc_one]

Try a transparent ziploc bag (large). I find that my fish are less likely to bolt if they feel that they can escape backwards.

Talk to me about this. Just use it like a net?

Low-tide method. Drain all the water into buckets until at about 2” of water left, he has nowhere to go. In fact, at about 6” you can start using things like pieces of egg crate, acrylic, glass tank lids, to section off parts of the tank and cut off his options that way. Then refill the tank ( obviously).

would I need to worry about my corals tho? Mixed reef?

 

[davidcalgary29]

Talk to me about this. Just use it like a net?

Yes -- herd it with a net, and hold (or have someone hold) the open ziploc bag behind it. Let it billow out and open fully behind the fish, and then let it back into the bag when it's trapped.

This is obviously a much more difficult task with aquascaping.

 

[JumboShrimp]

What size tank and what size syphon hose do you have? (Even better if you have a submersible pump— some are amazingly fast.) But generally speaking, your corals should be good for a 1/2 hour, no problem (except for oddball things like sponges, which need to stay submerged.) Also as you are draining the tank, any coral you are especially worried about, just keep pouring glasses of water over them to extend the time even further. And to speed things up, run multiple syphons if you have them, or as one syphon is filling a bucket you can get a plastic pail and manually bail water out into other buckets.

 

[havoc_one]

What size tank and what size syphon hose do you have? (Even better if you have a submersible pump— some are amazingly fast.) But generally speaking, your corals should be good for a 1/2 hour, no problem (except for oddball things like sponges, which need to stay submerged.) Also as you are draining the tank, any coral you are especially worried about, just keep pouring glasses of water over them to extend the time even further. And to speed things up, run multiple syphons if you have them, or as one syphon is filling a bucket you can get a plastic pail and manually bail water out into other buckets.

Good plan here - I’ll give this a shot. Thanks.