To catch a firefish

[dragon99]

So I need to get my firefish out of the DT. Problem is that he's not very food motivated. He's perfectly happy to eat pods all day.

My fish trap has been in the tank for 2 days with LRS reef frenzy and the firefish hasn't given it a second glance. I'll try mysis tomorrow. Any other suggestions on what to bait it with?

 

[saltyhog]

Good luck. I'm moving in two weeks and have given up on catching my firefish till I break down the tank!

 

[eatbreakfast]

Put a net in the tank and slowly move it to block the firefish's way back to it's preferred bolt hole.

Also, scooping from below slows them down.

 

[dragon99]

Thanks, I'll try that. I did give the net a try at first and even got it within a couple inches of the firefish without spooking him, but he moves like lightening. I didn't get between him and his hole though.

 

[Rjramos]

Here is a trap I made out of a small pet and have been using for years! The door is kept down and has a fishing string attached to it to shut the door once fish is inside. It works great, but it ain't gonna happen in 2 days with something new in the tank for most fish! More like a week for success. 1st thing, every one gets fed via the baited trap. Do not feed fish any other food by any other means.What I do is, I fill the a little container that has small holes on the side with live brine shrimp. I place it inside the trap and it slowly starts releasing the live brine into the trap. Good luck!

 

[Lovetoclown]

I just caught mine last night. All the lights out and using a flashlight and a net. Normally they hide fast as hell. But super easy. And put a little food in the tank to get them out.

 

[DeniseAndy]

I still have one damsel I cannot get out. He outsmarts me every time. Good luck. I hate trying to get fish out. I have successfully done it with traps and favorite food, but this damsel is too smart. Sorry, no suggestions, but sympathy here for you.

 

[azbigjohn]

With my firefish when I was moving tanks, I ended up picking up the rock his bolt-hole was in and putting it in a 5-gallon bucket. It eventually came out, and I pulled the rock out. Catching him in the 5 gallon bucket was hard enough. It was like watching the worlds fastest Indy 500 watching that fish circle the circumference of the bucket....

 

[dragon99]

Thanks! So I see some night fishing and different trap in my future.

I thought about pulling him out inside the rock, but
a) it's a base rock
b) my BTA is attached to the same rock and I'd hate to make him move. He's in a great spot now.

 

[Sir Chris]

If u hand feed u should b able 2 catch him with hand. I do with all mine. There used 2 nets and such as a exporter of there home so the hand is a feeder so there more likely with a hand catch.

 

[ReeferReefer]

I literally gave up. Was going to pull out all my fish for ich treatment but couldn't get the dang firefish. Now I just settled with ich management

 

[dragon99]

I literally gave up. Was going to pull out all my fish for ich treatment but couldn't get the **** firefish. Now I just settled with ich management

Sounds about right....

He's shown no interest in any food in the bottle trap. Going to hit Petco this weekend and try the box trap from above. So far when the lights are out he's in his hole, so spotlighting hasn't paid off.

 

[Rjramos]

Sounds about right....

He's shown no interest in any food in the bottle trap. Going to hit Petco this weekend and try the box trap from above. So far when the lights are out he's in his hole, so spotlighting hasn't paid off.

The pet container trap will work and it's cheap, trust me![emoji4] Just gotta be patient, might take several days, but it will work! The trapped damsel in the pic is proof! Don't tear up your tank, use some live brine for bait!

 

[Empress]

How deep is your tank? What I did to catch chromises is I put a 24" sheet of plastic as close as I could to their sleeping quarters when they were in bed (I had to move some rocks out of the way). Then in the morning I took the rocks they were sleeping out. Then they had no place to go because the sheet of plastic become a barrier or wall to the rest of the tank.

So basically what I did was made the tank much smaller by inserting a tall piece of plastic. Made it a lot easier to catch. I caught 5 chromises in under 15 minutes in a 240 gallon.

 

[DeniseAndy]

This guy is actually about 4-5". It is a blackmouth chromis. It hides under rock and behind. I have so much in there that I so not want to move or cannot. This tank has been fully mature for over 5 years. So, I will try that trap idea with the live food and such. In the meantime, he is safe. Without the others, he has not caused too much trouble.

 

[Rjramos]

This guy is actually about 4-5". It is a blackmouth chromis. It hides under rock and behind. I have so much in there that I so not want to move or cannot. This tank has been fully mature for over 5 years. So, I will try that trap idea with the live food and such. In the meantime, he is safe. Without the others, he has not caused too much trouble.

I've caught large wrasse with it too! Just drill 2-3 small holes in the live brine holder, I made more and they were coming out too fast so I covered some with a piece of tape. Also make sure you don't have a water stream directed into the container, the live brine will come out too fast. Your fishes will start to camp out around the opening and even peck at the glass trying to get to the live brine in the box. Sometimes the wrong fish will get in there first and have a feast, but nothing happening will give the smart one more confidence to go inside. Do not remove the box from the tank just the bait container when you need more bait. I make 1 attempt per day, sometimes I walk away after I set it and I come back an hour later to find my subject inside the box. Pull the string and done! He goes crazy!!!![emoji106] and you smile and send a pic on this post to show everyone[emoji1]. Yes, I'm that confident of my idea! Also, place a small rock on the door to keep it from moving up and down (you could see this in the 1st pic).

 

[Empress]

Did you catch him yet?

 

[dragon99]

Not yet, I gave him a few days to enjoy the tank to himself. He seems enjoy having the run of the tank without the clowns.

Bought the box trap tonight and put it in the tank. I've got some brine eggs that should be here later this week so he's got a day or two to get used to it.

 

[Rjramos]

Not yet, I gave him a few days to enjoy the tank to himself. He seems enjoy having the run of the tank without the clowns.

Bought the box trap tonight and put it in the tank. I've got some brine eggs that should be here later this week so he's got a day or two to get used to it.

That's tiny bait! No LFS with live brine?

 

[dragon99]

No LFS, I'll have to hatch my own.