to catch a predator... well a damsel anyway

[autojunkie]

I have a 90 gallon with alot of LR and a few fish. However when I was away at school my mother had bought a damsel because someone told her it would eat bristle worms.. which it did. Although, it also proceeded to wreak much havoc on smaller fish, not to mention certain inverts. I cannot catch him to remove no matter how many times i try to lure him out with food and net him. Taking out LR is not an option, any good ideas? or successful captures?

 

[chrisnif]

Wkae up a few hours before your lights come on, the room lights will get him "up" but not "awake" You'll have some time to work on getting him. I also highly suggest getting a red net, they cant see it.

 

[btldreef]

You'd have better luck winning the lottery.
Sorry, you're going to have to move the LR. Talk to Meowzer about her battle to catch her evil damsels.

 

[noah's nemo]

Do a search on this forum for "the 2 liter bottle trick"

 

[noah's nemo]

Well i tried that,not much came up...Anyway get a 2 liter cut the top off(about 5 inches or so,not in half,you want the bottom bigger).Invert the top into the bottom, place food in the bottom.Fish swims in ,but can't get out.You will probably catch more than the damsel,and it may take a few tries

 

[veni vidi vici]

you can try a red light or maybe a spot light at night with a net.
But my experience was i had to remove every and i mean every rock out of my tank to remove my damsels.
Good Luck

 

[cranberry]

For an entire month I put my green net in the tank during feeding times. Not once did I make any attempt to catch him during this acclimation time. Net in. Feed tank. Net out. Repeat. Then after a month, I put the net in and I pulled him right out. I couldn't believe it. I then *thunked* him in the head and put him back in the tank for the belly of the fish he had eluded for the past 6 weeks!

 

[autojunkie]

wow the 2 litre bottle trick kind of seems ingenious.. ill def give it a try, probably with some miesis. Howevr, i guess if it doesnt work I might have to remove the LR (UUUGGHH!!) just because of all the stuf growing on it.... ill let u know how it goes!

 

[oldfishguy]

I have used the bottle trick to get a mean fish out of my 75 that has way too much coral to try and remove them and the rocks.I cut the top off one bottle right at the top where it straitens out then on another on i cut the verry top off just big enough for it to be able to swim into then I cut it at the mid section turning it so it was a funnel going into the first bottle dumped in some frozen shrimp and within 1 min he was in the trap of course I did not feed for about 2 days so he would be hungry. It might also be a good idea to do it on water change day so if you get fish that you want back into the tank you can put them all in the water you have taken out. Then you can take the bottle catch the ones you want back in tank and put them back in. I hat nets.