[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

Re: Catching fish in a planted tank / fish trap

Hi Paul,

One last idea to think about while you're forced to wait. I have found with 
particularly difficult fish that they seem to know they are the ones being 
chased. These fish are really crafty at flattening their bodies against the 
gravel and other areas, making themselves virtually invisible and 
un-catchable. In one tank, my fish have gotten so used to a brine shrimp net 
bringing bloodworms and bs for breakfast, they swim directly into the net to 
grab a mouthful. I think that took a while, and watching others do it, before 
now all trust the net. I will find this handy when they need to be caught.

Another one of their tricks is to swim back and forth along the back wall 
from one side of the tank to the other to make your life difficult.  BUT, if 
you're forced to use the net, I found a tank divider virtually indispensible 
with those crafty and ill-behaved fish. They seem to know swimming from one 
side of the tank to the other makes it frustrating and impossible for you to 
go after them for hours on end. If you don't have a tank divider, anything 
that completely blocks their movement from the confined area will work. In my 
case, I have a tank divider, but found if I didn't fit it snugly between the 
walls, one difficult bugger managed to slip through the sides where there was 
the merest slit. Kind of like how a hamster can flatten out and fit under a 
door.

I found that after going after one of these nasty little fish for what seemed 
a really long time, my good intentions of adopting him out to a happy home, 
or putting in a separate tank here, was fast dissipating. After a good hour 
of tearing up plants and the tank apart, I start to envision dropping an 
electric device in the tank, and clearing up the problem very quickly. The 
tank divider helped immensely, and saved all their lives. ;-)

Just another thought.

Good luck,

Sylvia

> Thanks to all of you who posted your creative approaches for dethroning my
>  tank bully. I set about trying to catch him tonight fresh with new tools
>  only to realize that I needed to do it when I could then escort him to a
>  LFS since I do not have a suitable holding environment for the next few
>  days. I will just have to endure his nastiness a bit longer...
>