i have seen a lot of info on a handful of diy traps to high-end traps but i also read from time to time about someone using a red light and just net the fish out it this an urban legend how does the red light prevent the fish from seeing or scenting the net?
trapping fish red lights vs a trap.
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Ishai Thatcher
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Fish mostly can’t see in the red spectrum at all, they don’t have night vision so if you turn on only red light and turn everything else off they can’t see. You still have to be quick with the net and get them on your first try cause they will learn quick and you might not get another chance that way.
Waters
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An easier way than both is to wait until the lights have been off in the aquarium for a few hours and turn everything on. The fish are stunned for 30 seconds or so to the point where you can reach in and grab them with your hands. Only works if you know where the fish sleeps at night. If they bury themselves in the sand or rock then it won't work obviously. I would probably try anything less stressful to the whole tank first but this method has never failed me.
revenant
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Interesting .. and hello necro!
I think I am going to try this. I have a sailfin who's a freakish jerk now... it hides a lot though.. I am DREADING taking the rocks out if it comes to that.. I also have a tiny barbless hook and one other member here said he's hooked many fish and it works for him every time.. the sailfin freaks out any time I put anything in the tank but when I clean it the tank with just my hands mostly it's less freaked.. pulling all the rock work is a non-option unless every thing else fails... my next scape will NOT have a back area where they can all hide my goodness.. anyways.. Thanks for the tip!
Porpoise Hork
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I have a huge net that I use to catch my tangs with along with the handle to my glass scraper. I use the scraper to herd them around the rockwork and right into the net. For others I have one of those floating bubble traps that sticks to the glass via magnet. It it has a small feed tube attached so when the desired fish swims in to get a snack you pluck the magnet off and it flips up and rises instantly to the surface before said fish can react trapping them. I can catch just about every fish in my tank in a matter of minutes with it.
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Red lights basically blind the fish. As said above, most of the commonly kept reef fish can’t see in red light due to not having “Night vision”. Red lights only work for a short amount of time as the fish soon learn what you’re doing.
As said above, the other option is stunning the fish which gives you a VERY short window to catch the fish. If the window closes then your chances are back to what they used to be with lights on. They also most likely won’t be stunned if you do it again that same night, you really have to be quick and know the fish’s next move.
What you’ll find is fish become VERY predictable over time. Learn their behaviour, learn what they do and you will eventually be able to predict their next move. The instant you know that fishes behaviour, the instant you can be the stronger of them. Yes there are times it fails and may escape you however you just keep trying with as little stress as possible.
The trap idea, if this tang is 5-6 inch I don’t think you will manage to find a trap big enough for a fish that size. I’d scrap that idea completely unless you know where to get a trap for a tall and long fish. Something like a trap for small/medium monos, and other similarly tall but elongated fish.
I hope this helps you! Figure out a plan before you go in for the catch. From what I’ve seen in tangs, the hardest genus to predict is Ctenochaetus. The rest are easier to predict than you’d think due to what type of a swimmer they are. Most tangs are pelagic swimmers, the exceptions being Ctenochaetus and some smaller zebrasomas. Desjardini, Veliferum, Rostratum, Gemmatum all seem to be pelagic swimmers to my understanding, this makes it easier to understand and learn their behaviours. They’ll try swimming mainly in the open but dive into the rocks when they know you’re after them. Leave it a few minutes and they’ll be back out and swimming, that’s when they’re less likely to see you coming.
Ctenochaetus are much harder as their swimming pattern is much different to the average Desjardini, Veliferum, Leucosternon, Achilles, Nigricans, Olivasceus, Rostratum ect. Ctenochaetus are more of a patchy swimmer in which they can be much less predictable since they change their swimming track every lap, yes I see some sequences in them but it’s very hard to see when they come into play. I have found Ctenochaetus to swim along the side of the tank every 2-3 swims between rock and algae eating. Sailfin I have seen to be much more of the constant swimmers and preferring to be out and going for the “drive by” patch of algae.
