Think this will work??

[DaveS]

So I got this fish and haven't figured out a decent way to catch him. The soda bottle trick usually works for me and every fish in the tank has gone in to it but not this guy. Either too smart to get the food in there or too dumb. Taking the rocks apart isn't a very good option and he sleeps in between them so surprising it in the middle of the night won't work. I want to avoid the hook and line approach if possible.

 

Here's my current idea.

 

Basically it's a square net/trap. The bottom edge is right up against the inside glass. The top is tilted back about 4-5" and there's a pipe connected to it (note T at 12:00). I'm thinking if I leave it in there long enough and squirt the food between the mesh and the glass, the fish will get used to it and readily swim between the mesh and the glass. When the fish I want does this, I'll just push the top edge against the glass. In theory the fish will be trapped within the square, between the mesh and glass.

 

How to get it out from there is the next problem to solve. I'm guessing when it's between the net and glass, I can slowly work my way to getting him into an edge/corner. From there I would have a regular net or container and get the guy into it. Obviously this part of my plan is less thought out...

 

What do you guys think??

[tightline]

what type of fish is it?and is there any way you could loosen the netting so it could get deeper into the netting?

Edited March 27, 2012 by tightline

[DaveS]

It's a powder blue tang so he's pretty fast. The netting is a bit loose. My guess is that, in the middle, it comes off the glass by 6" or so. I can't really make it come out a lot and make it a BIG net. I guess I could have but I didn't want to have it tangled up among the corals. And I was getting tired of the sewing...

[Der ABT]

use a piece of plastic from HD or if you have it laying around to seal the net....aka slide it along the glass.

 

good luck.....while i love rockwork it can be a pain in the butt.

[Coral Hind]

It should work. You might have to leave it in the tank a few days until it gets comfortable with it being there.

[DaveS]

use a piece of plastic from HD or if you have it laying around to seal the net....aka slide it along the glass.

 

This is a good idea! I can make the piece a bit smaller than the frame and have it "go inside" the frame/mesh once I trap the fish. Better idea than trying to get a net/container inside the net. Thanks for the tip.

 

LMK if anyone else has some thoughts.

[Coral Hind]

If you need something to devide the tank I have lots of plexi.