New reef keeper and need a little help

[Pistondog]

Hello Reef2Reef world. I have been a saltwater aquarium enthusiast for many years. Up until January of 2020 it was saltwater fish only. Also i haven't had an aquarium in my home for about 20 years. In December 2019 I setup a 130 gallon saltwater reef tank. It ran saltwater for a month before I put anything in it. In January it purchased 4 clownfish and one of my favorite fish an arc eye hawkfish. May of you will see my dilemma the mistake of introducing a hawkfish. At the time all I had know was saltwater fish only tanks. Now that I know inverts and hawkfish don't make great tank mates I need to relocate the hawkfish to a new home. As you know a hawkfish sits on rock and waits for something to swim by or close where he can swim out, grab it and swim back to his rock. I have purchased a large fish trap and have it hanging on my tank. My problem is how do I get the hawkfish to go and sit and survey the "world" from inside the box so I can close the trap and catch him.

Welcome RK,
Keep us posted on your progress.

 

[Shanel]

Welcome. Good luck catching your fish. I had a royal gamma that took me a week to catch when I was swapping tanks.

 

[JAC-]

Do not hang it but rather place the trsp on bottom near the area where it hangs out. Place brine shrimp in the trap and leave trap open. Let him go in there and eat. Next day have door open but only half way. Let him eat.
Next day hold string and place brine in there again but now wait for it to enter and let string go. You will have him !!

Seconded, may take a few more days but that's the way I'd go.

Welcome to the group.

 

[MERKEY]

Hello and welcome!

There is a funny meme of a guy holding a fishing pole to activate the fish trap as if he was going fishing.

But in all seriousness you may just have to sit next to the tank with a string until the time is just right.

The other thing to do is take out the rocks

 

[Sebastiancrab]

Welcome!

 

[G Santana]

Not all Hawks will, but some will lol
Welcome to R2R!!!

 

[BaysEndReef]

Welcome to R2R!!

I wish you the best of luck catching the hawkfish in the trap. I have never had luck using them. Most of the time, I use two nets and corral the fish in a corner of the tank or in the aquascape. A few times, I have taken most of the rocks out of the tank for a small nuisance fish I should not have introduced. We live and learn. That's what this hobby is all about.

Happy Reefing!!

 

[Funston07]

Welcome to R2R!!! Good luck on your task lol

 

[KWT]

Welcome to R2R, hope all goes as planned

 

[SPR1968]

Welcome to R2R!!!

 

[revhtree Verified Admin]

Welcome to your new home for saltwater reef aquarium resources and fun! Welcome to the family!

 

[Jimbhoy13]

Welcome to R2R. It can be so hard to catch some fish. I had to take all rocks out and lower the water level and still found it hard to catch a rogue yellow tail blue damsel. Lots of knowledgeable and helpful people here who will support and advise you when needed.

 

[ShepherdReefer]

Hello Reef2Reef world. I have been a saltwater aquarium enthusiast for many years. Up until January of 2020 it was saltwater fish only. Also i haven't had an aquarium in my home for about 20 years. In December 2019 I setup a 130 gallon saltwater reef tank. It ran saltwater for a month before I put anything in it. In January it purchased 4 clownfish and one of my favorite fish an arc eye hawkfish. May of you will see my dilemma the mistake of introducing a hawkfish. At the time all I had know was saltwater fish only tanks. Now that I know inverts and hawkfish don't make great tank mates I need to relocate the hawkfish to a new home. As you know a hawkfish sits on rock and waits for something to swim by or close where he can swim out, grab it and swim back to his rock. I have purchased a large fish trap and have it hanging on my tank. My problem is how do I get the hawkfish to go and sit and survey the "world" from inside the box so I can close the trap and catch him.

Welcome to the channel. I hope you can find the answer to the question.

 

[PTXReef]

I wanted a hawkfish too

Welcome to the R2R community and happy reefing!