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Re: Catching Fish in a Planted Tank

John T. Fitch rote about trpping fish
 
 
> Then the other day the solution came to me.  We have what I think is
> meant
> to be a brooder cage, a box made of plastic struts and netting that
> hangs on
> the inside of the tank.  It's about 5" X 6" in cross section and
> about 5"
> deep. We bought it to isolate damaged fish that were being picked on
> by
> other fish, without having a separate hospital tank.  (It was so
> poorly
> made, incidentally, that the struts kept coming apart, and the
> netting kept
> slipping off. Trying to keep it assembled, we must have looked like
> two-thirds of the Three Stooges putting up a tent.  I finally glued
> the
> plastic pieces together and my wife sewed the netting in place, so at
> least
> we can use it without the whole thing collapsing.)
> 
> Anyway, I tied a long loop of string to two diagonally opposite
> corners, so
> that I could lower the cage into the only clearing in the tank,
> without the
> fish seeing my hands coming toward them.  Because it tended to float,
> I also
> added a couple of plant weights.  And, finally, I put in a couple of
> sinking
> wafers, one algae, one regular food, and lowered away.  Well, it took
> a few
> minutes for the wafers to begin to disintegrate, sending their
> attractive
> smells out into the tank.  But, within ten minutes, the more curious
> fish
> began to enter the cage to partake of the bonus meal.  As soon as one
> or two
> were inside, I just hoisted the cage out of the tank and dumped them
> in a
> bucket of water.  Then back in the tank went the cage for another
> catch.
> Before too long, we had caught fifteen fish of various sizes, not
> counting
> the two or three we didn't mean to catch and returned to the tank. 
> And all
> this without touching the plants!  Then it was off to the LFS with
> our day's
> catch.  They'll sell the bigger fish and give away the smaller ones
> to a
> youth group.  We'll wait a few days and do it again, because we still
> have
> too many fish!

Good Idea.  Also note that if you glue together a few sticks to make an
inverted funnel or "cone" shape at the entrance, you have
"Lobster-trap" type device that works without being watched -- a
variation on the plastic bottle with its spout inverted.  

Fish will swimm in through the wide end of a funnel shape but won't
enter the funnel shape through the narrow end -- I think it's because
they don't like backing up and can't turn in narrow spaces.  After
driving today, I think I know how they feel. :-)


Scott H.

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