Damn Trigger Eating my Shrimp

[euphoria]

I was sitting on my fouton watching the tank yesterday when I notice there's something yellowish in the mouth of my niger trigger. I go close and see my cleaner shrimp, it's about 1.5 inches or so, in the mouth of the trigger. The tail of the shrimp was in the trigger's grasp and it was just holding the shrimp. It wasn't trying to eat it or anything.
For a sec I was hoping it would be dead skin from molting, but it wasn't. It was the actual shrimp.
Then the trigger let the shrimp go, but this was behind all the rocks, so I don't know what exactly has come of the shrimp, except that either it's recovering behind the rocks or is dead by now
Damn trigger. I've been trying to get it out of my tank for the past week, cuz it keeps biting the tail off of my other fish, but no luck.
You think some kind of a fishcatcher device from this site will work?

 

[ophiura]

Triggers are natural predators of shrimp. That is what they do, sorry to say...but it should not be unexpected.
You might have to catch the trigger on a very small hook, even with the barb filed off. But people may have other ideas first.

 

[sprang]

If you lived a little closer I could get him out! Ninga reflexes from playing ping-pong for 22 years. HAHA!

 

[euphoria]

Originally posted by sprang
If you lived a little closer I could get him out! Ninga reflexes from playing ping-pong for 22 years. HAHA!

hahahaah. I don't know man, w/ all the live rock and corals around, I'd fly you to my house if I knew you could catch that thing

 

[joker_ca]

ok here is how i used to catch fish in my tank, first get a clear plastic container like a critter cage with a lid on the top now bait the container in the water and lay a piece of LR in it when the trigger goes for the food close the lid, once they get scared they will swim to the piece of the LR and not towards your hand

 

[fishieness]

im worried to get cleaner shrimp because i have a valentini puffer and a snowflake eel in my tank right now. But im seeing how a crab will do. Im actualy not sure what type it is, but it is small and orange. hes hiding since i put him in today, but i want to see if he is able to survive before i get cleaner shirmp. Im also upgrading the eel and possibly the puffer soon, so i might jstu wait it out.

 

[sprang]

I'm sure you tried catching him at feeding time? You will have one shot because these buggers are quick and catch on to what your doing. If all else fails remove everything from a portion of one end on your tank into a bucket(with water). get a piece of cut plexiglass (or picture frame)ready, spook the fish to the open end and quickly bring the pexi down trapping the fish on the open side. Sounds ridiculous but it works, and saves pulling out everything

 

[rubberduck]

Originally posted by joker_ca
ok here is how i used to catch fish in my tank, first get a clear plastic container like a critter cage with a lid on the top now bait the container in the water and lay a piece of LR in it when the trigger goes for the food close the lid, once they get scared they will swim to the piece of the LR and not towards your hand

good idea :joy:

 

[fishieness]

oh, joker_ca, your method works pretty well. I have a pretty new valentini puffer who has a little spot on him of what i think might be the dreaded ick. I gave him a freshwater bath and i caught him that way. Its especualy good for the puffers since they never leave the water, and if they puff up when out of water, they will inhale air and die. But as far as the ick goes, im hopeing that will take care of it on him. He's still a rather new fish. I would use the copper-safe i have, but i jsut put in 2 mexican turbo snails today which would probably die from that.