How to catch Damsels??

[bonita69]

here I made this for you. I used zip ties to hold the top together, you will have to cut them each time to empy caught fish, then re-zip tie , do NOT FEED YOUR TANK FOR 3-4 days you want them good and hungery, the will go right in!!

 

[yannifish]

Ok, you know how everybody has problems catching damsels? How do the lfs people do it?

 

[spiderwoman]

They have tiny tanks and they remove all the LR and other objects from there. Then they chase them with little plastic containers.

 

[bonesnapper]

I used the bottle trap and it worked.

 

[stimpy4242]

I have used two methods that have always worked to catch any fish! Guaranteed.
First:
Remove everything from the tank. This does a few things, once you comitt to it it only takes about 4 hours to do everything you need to do, probably less. Second, it forces you to redo your aquascaping, which can be good. Finally it gives you a chance to feel like you really accomplished something at the end.
Second:
Put a shop vac hose in and let it sit there all night then feed the fish the next day and when the fish you want swim even near to it, TURN IT ON! SUCCKKKKKK there it goes...and if something else to, just fish it out of the container and drop it back it...don't worry they will all survive. Then do what you want with the caught fish.
I am sure the bottle trap works for people, I don't doubt it, but I have never had success. The other thing is the time it takes to capture something that way, you might as well just take everything out.

 

[coral keeper]

Get a 50 caliber and shoot the little basterd!!

 

[cbjt3905]

I brought a Scarlet Hawkfish home yesterday and my possessed Damsel monster fish started picking on him. This did not sit well at all, so I caught the little bully pronto.
I cut a hole in the bottom of a 16 oz plastic drinking bottle big enough to slide the tubing from my homemade target feeder into and fed it up through the mouth of the bottle (after loading it with tasty brine shrimp). Tied a bit of nylon thread around the neck of the bottle to tip it up quickly when he swam inside. I submerged this whole thing about 2" below the water surface, with the bottle remaining horizontal. He was easy to lure into the bottle with little squirts of food, as I slowly pulled the tip of the feeder tube back into the bottle. Probably just blind luck, but it worked.

 

[ledzep fan]

Wow, I totally forgot about this thread...well, I was able to catch one of them with the fishing hook trick, but the other one is in there still. He will not even nibble at the hook anymore. I tried to catch him yesterday, but he did not come out at all. I think I will need to try a trap. Thanks everyone.

 

[bioneck47]

get a lion fish, they work great!

 

[srfisher17]

Originally Posted by LedZep fan
http:///forum/post/2629303
Wow, I totally forgot about this thread...well, I was able to catch one of them with the fishing hook trick, but the other one is in there still. He will not even nibble at the hook anymore. I tried to catch him yesterday, but he did not come out at all. I think I will need to try a trap. Thanks everyone.
Glad you got one at least; most folks just don't believe this works. If you try feeding the same stuff you bait the hook with (squid, shrimp, etc) for a few days, then bait the hook, I'll bet you get him. You can also put the bare hook & line in with the food, they get used to it.The tiniest hooks and line work best; I've used a hair hook, used by fishermen to catch bait. The whole idea of trying to out-wit a damsel makes me feel like an idiot. Sort of like the years I spent trying to prove I was smarter than squirrels trying to keep them out of my bird feeders. I did a couple great ways to do that too, finally!

 

[7duster3]

Lol this thread is funny. I guess i am one of the lucky ones. Out of the 4 that i had, my bamboo shark ate 3, and the last one to live i found in my sump almost dead, i had taken the guard off of the top of the sump pipe and forgot to put it back on. He got sucked in my sump and was in between bio balls and the drain. A simple flush and no more Damsels

 

[ledzep fan]

Originally Posted by 7duster3
http:///forum/post/2631458
A simple flush and no more Damsels

Well, this is something I do not think is fair for the damsel. Yea, he took over the tank yada yada and you would like to kill him yada yada, but just to flush him because he made a home in your aquarium and you didn't like the way he was acting is no excuse to just flush him. Thats why when I caught the first damsel, he went to the lfs, and so will this guy when I finally catch him.

 

[7duster3]

Originally Posted by LedZep fan
http:///forum/post/2631700
Well, this is something I do not think is fair for the damsel. Yea, he took over the tank yada yada and you would like to kill him yada yada, but just to flush him because he made a home in your aquarium and you didn't like the way he was acting is no excuse to just flush him. Thats why when I caught the first damsel, he went to the lfs, and so will this guy when I finally catch him.
I know it seems crazy, and as much as i love flushing $$$ down the drain, the damsel was nearly dead. If it was in better condition i would have taken him back no problems. I could have dropped him back in to the DT for shark food...

 

[ledzep fan]

Originally Posted by 7duster3
http:///forum/post/2631753
I know it seems crazy, and as much as i love flushing $$$ down the drain, the damsel was nearly dead. If it was in better condition i would have taken him back no problems. I could have dropped him back in to the DT for shark food...

In your case, you had a better reason for flushing the damsel. My argument is towards people who flush a perfectly healthy damsel down the toilet. In your case, I would have just fed it to the shark for a quicker death, but thats just me

 

[srfisher17]

Originally Posted by LedZep fan
http:///forum/post/2631759
In your case, you had a better reason for flushing the damsel. My argument is towards people who flush a perfectly healthy damsel down the toilet. In your case, I would have just fed it to the shark for a quicker death, but thats just me

If LFS would just stop telling people to cycle with damsels, this whole problem would be reduced by at least 50%. If folks would research this "cute" little fish (they are pretty & active), another 40% would stop. The remaining 10% of damsel owners love them. Removing damsels has been the one of the most common problems on this forum since I became active. PS. If they are really healthy, they'll swim upstream when you flush them...and you're still stuck. There are ways to humanely kill a dying fish.

 

[kjr_trig]

When I moved to Zona from S. Carolina, I gave my 5 fish to a friend that had cycled his tank with damsals, frankly removing them was quite easy.....Here is how we did it....It only takes 3 steps!!!
1. Properly acllimate one 7 inch Porcupine Pufferfish (larger would work I suspect)
2. Release the 7 inch Pufferfish from step one into damsal infested tank.
3. Grab your favorite beverage and or snack and watch the festivities
Results may vary...It took this particular Puffer about 2 mins for the first 4, then 3 or 4 hours later he finished the remaining damsal off.

 

[srfisher17]

Originally Posted by kjr_trig
http:///forum/post/2631988
When I moved to Zona from S. Carolina, I gave my 5 fish to a friend that had cycled his tank with damsals, frankly removing them was quite easy.....Here is how we did it....It only takes 3 steps!!!
1. Properly acllimate one 7 inch Porcupine Pufferfish (larger would work I suspect)
2. Release the 7 inch Pufferfish from step one into damsal infested tank.
3. Grab your favorite beverage and or snack and watch the festivities
Results may vary...It took this particular Puffer about 2 mins for the first 4, then 3 or 4 hours later he finished the remaining damsal off.

.....observing nature at work, priceless! A grown panther grouper would work well too; but the action would be faster. Its too bad panthers can't stay small, the little ones are really neat fish. But; IMO, sure get ugly with age (like me and most of my friends. Another plus: after they eat the damsels the grouper can be filleted and put under the broiler. They're considered one of the best eating reef fish round. and puffers become Fugu when prepared properly; deadly if they aren't.

 

[95harley]

Caught a large Blue Fiji Damsel the old fashioned way tonight...FIRST TRY!
I opened the top sprinkled flakes and waited till he turned his back and started chasing flakes and I single scope netted him first shot off the top of the water.
I was thrilled!

 

[srfisher17]

Originally Posted by 95Harley
http:///forum/post/2632414
Caught a large Blue Fiji Damsel the old fashioned way tonight...FIRST TRY!
I opened the top sprinkled flakes and waited till he turned his back and started chasing flakes and I single scope netted him first shot off the top of the water.
I was thrilled!

Congratulations! That's a real trophy. I hope you're going to take him to the taxidermist and hang him above the mantle!

 

[agent707]

Throw one of these in there... That outta do it.