to catch a clown

[daisy]

So as several of you know, I have a maroon clown who needs a new home. He does a little too much aquascaping for my taste...

I've tried to net him.

Fuggedaboudit.

I went for about a week without feeding him in order to see if i could get him to enter a glass jar to get to the food, with the intention of grabbing the jar out of the water when he would go into it to get the yummy food inside....

I carefully chose a jar - with a neck the right size for him, but a little tight for my ONLY other fish in the tank (until I relocate the clown, I can't add any other fish)...

Well, of course, I put that jar in the water and the yellow tang circled and circled and circled it, and then went RIGHT in, ate as much food as she wanted, struggled a bit, but managed to get out.

Okay, I thought - no problem. I don't intend to starve her (and have been feeding her nori all along...).

EXCEPT that as she came out of the jar, she made such a swish that the thawed food followed her right out of the jar, and the clown came out and ate - and I couldn't net that fish ....AGAIN!!!!

ARGH.

Next try is a hook.

 

[House of Laughter]

stay away from the shotgun - that never ends properly!

Good luck catching that bugger.

House

 

[Pinkheine]

So sorry to hear of your fish catching troubles... I feel your pain...(someone who has sat for several hours days at a time with the end of the trap door on the fishtrap in hand)

Because he is so large is there anyway you can use a 1 (or 2)liter soda bottle and cut the top off (making the hole big enough for him to go in) reverse it/tape it on.. and hope for the best.

If you were closer I'd say you are more than welcome to borrow the fish trap we have... it has been a lifesaver of mine for many years.

Good luck. :bagfish:

 

[wallysworld]

Daisy,

Try getting a mirror and putting it up against the tank by the clown. There is only one thing more interesting to a clown than food and that is another clown. He will hopefully get so pissed he wont even notice the net coming up behind him.

If that doesn't work try netting at night, fish kinda sleep.

good luck,
Walter

 

[Marteen]

I've heard people have had good luck with one of those tiny hooks used for fly fishing. Just remove the barb or clamp it down and bait and go fishing. The hook should slide right out after you get him since it has no barb.

Also, have you tried take a clear mylar bag and placing it in the water and then chasing the clown into it using the net? I've heard people have had good success with this method since the fish can't see the bag until it's too late.

 

[Killerdrgn]

Wait why didn't you remove the tang into a temporary container at that point and then retry for the clown?

 

[daisy]

i didn't remove the tang at that point b/c i was not thinking that that might be a good idea...

since the shotgun thing won't work, then until i get a hook, i'll jar the tang next time and then try for the clown.

I think the hook might be the way i go, though.... never thought it would come to fishing in my TANK!

Oy.

 

[Killerdrgn]

be sure to remove the tang first in the fishing case you don't want to keep hooking a tang that doesn't learn.

 

[Arati]

the following stolen from RC, the thread is linked below

Clownfish sleep, attack at night!

If you are unlucky enough to not only have a runner, but one that is really good at it, you may have to resort to catching them at night when they are asleep. You can either go with the flash light and not light up the tank or you can flip on the tank lights. However if you flip on the lights, the fish are going to wake up, giving you much less time to get the job done than if you just use a flashlight.

Careful not to scare your fish to death with a night time attack! Some species of clownfish are very prone to night time scares and wild runs and jumps that could lead to their death.

Using evil nets!

I do not recommend using nets to catch clownfish. Clownfish are very visual fish with excellent eye sight. Having a large "thing" chasing them around a tank can cause a great deal of stress. I have even seen fish die shortly after netting them. I avoid them and the only ones I own are for straining brine shrimp.

NEVER EVER use a net on a maroon clownfish! Maroons have cheek spines that can easily be caught in the netting and result in very bad, even deadly damage to the fish.
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=372952

 

[Chongpark27]

I would recommend using this. http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_ViewItem~category~Ultralife_Fish_Trap___3_inch__x_9_inch_Saltwater_Aquarium_Supplies_Miscellaneous_Containers___Traps~vendor~Ultralife~SearchStr~the+trap~action~view~idProduct~UL1511~idCategory~FIMISC.html
I use it for my tank and it catches the fishes very easily. Best trap i have ever used.