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Help me catch my clowns! (1 Viewer)

Z

Zibba

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I've been trying to catch my clowns the last few days with no luck. Tried carefully netting them out but even when they are "asleep" at night, they are too difficult to get to with the net that I have. I also tried cutting off the top of a soda bottle - reversing it and trying to use it as a DIY fish trap with some food in it. That only caught me a bunch of snails.

Can someone give me some ideas to try before I go crazy trying to get them out?
 
for ours we used two nets, one to herd one to catch. can still be a bit of a challenge.
 
Put a little tiny car in there and bait it with a bottle of seltzer water?
 
I have a fish trap that works every time. You're welcome to borrow it or you can make one, you just need one of those small critter transporters from petco. Its about 8x5 or so.
 
Lol You can have me come over and get it for you I have a knack for catching fish hmmm maybe its cause I do It all day long at work and home..feel free to pm me im only down the street from you.(burnsville)
 
hypertech said:
Put a little tiny car in there and bait it with a bottle of seltzer water?
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?

spsick said:
I have a fish trap that works every time. You're welcome to borrow it or you can make one, you just need one of those small critter transporters from petco. Its about 8x5 or so.
Click to expand...

They don't venture too far from their anemones, do you think it would still work?

pspfishlady said:
Lol You can have me come over and get it for you I have a knack for catching fish hmmm maybe its cause I do It all day long at work and home..feel free to pm me im only down the street from you.(burnsville)
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pm sent! :)
 
My clown is easy to catch. All I have to do is put my hand near the RBTA and Big Mama attaches herself to it. Ouch!
 
wes said:
with two nets you can catch almost any clown. give it a shot.
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I'll need to go buy a second net if I can't figure something else out. Only thing I've used nets for before was rinsing frozen food.

mrbill said:
My clown is easy to catch. All I have to do is put my hand near the RBTA and Big Mama attaches herself to it. Ouch!
Click to expand...

Mine are the opposite, they just cuddle in as close to the rbta and if I get close the move over to the gbta right that is next to it. Conveniently for them, the gbta is behind the rock and nearly impossible to get to. :doh:
 
Here's how I caught a difficult yellow damsel:

get a large clear plastic bag like you'd get at an lfs. Put a whole bunch of food (brine shrimp, rod's food etc) in a small little baggie with the top tied off. Make sure this bag is good and clear. Then, submerge the large bag in your tank, putting the little bag in the back (bag should be horizontal with the opening facing the fish to catch). Using a turkey baster or equivelant, squirt a little (very little) food near the fish so they know it's time to eat. Then squirt another very small bit near the opening of the large bag, and a little deep in the bag. Hopefully, you'll get the clown's attention, get it interested in food, and it will make a bee-line towards the mother-load in the baggie in the back of the bag.

I caught my damsel fish in less than 5 minutes from assembling the gear needed-and we know how nasty some damsels can be to catch! Good luck!
 
hmmm...I guess using the Mr. Miyagi method with chopstix catching flies don't work well...;)

Glad to see a few options on "how to catch a fish"
 
Wow the baggie trick may be the way to go when I have to get a three line out of my tank.
 
Thanks for all the ideas everyone. Keep them coming if you have them. I'll keep trying using the methods mentioned.
 
doesn't the bag close up? I guess you can fold it, but won't the fish be fast enough to get out of it before you grab to close it?
 
I forgot to mention turn off all pumps while doing the bag process. Keep your hand just above the water, and hopefully the bag doesn't fall all the way to the bottom. Then when the fish swims down into the bag after the mother-load of food, you quick grab the top of the bag and lift it up.
 
You could probably tie some fishing line around the bag and give it a tug. This may make it tougher for them to go in also....

I might have to try this, I have a damsel that needs to be caught as well.
 
What has always worked for me is the soft drink bottle. Get a two litre soft drink bottle and cut the top off (about three inches down). Then, take the cut off top and stick it inside the big part of the bottle. Neck facing in the bottle. Put a little food in the bottle and your fish will swim in. They will have no problem swimming in the big hole, they just can't figured out how to get back out the small hole. It's easy to make, cheap, and it works like a charm. Sometimes takes a day or two for the fish to get used to the bottle but it's never failed me. And, you don't have to sit and wait for the fish to swim in. Once they're in, they're not coming back out.
 
I went over and got the clowns out for him.(should have had smaller nets lol)
I see where he was coming from on being a pain in the fin.
 
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