# Nuisance IN MY TANK.. HELP ME GET HIM OUT!!



## mrcorey20 (Dec 20, 2010)

Im have a nuisance in my tank that I originally didnt want in the tank but dropped him in with hopes of speeding up the cycling process. I have approx 350 lbs of aquascaping that I have finally found the perfect format for. Now I realized how bad i want this red top zebra out of my yellow lab and frontosa tank.. What should i do to rid myself of him with out rearring the entire tank.. any trap methids or suggestions??? PLEASE HELP


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## GTZ (Apr 21, 2010)

You could try the pop bottle trap.
Cut the top off a plastic soda/pop/water bottle, invert the top and insert into the bottom and secure.
Fish can swim in but it's more difficult for them to get out.
The obvious problem is that you might trap the wrong fish.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LuA97Uni ... ure=fvwrel


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## Lestango (Nov 11, 2010)

I am looking forward to hear opinions on trapping cichlids. AI tried to trap junvie J. transcriptus because I didn't want to disrupt the adults spawning site.:roll: I made a trap out of a clear small plastic water bottle by cutting it 1/3rd the way down and reversing the conical top into the bottom. I placed it near the colony of fry.opcorn: Over night I trapped one juvie. Then it took 3 nights to trap one more. Then in a week, none. :?

So I built a trap "disguise" around my trap by cementing small rocks together like a cave. The trap could be removed from inside the cave when I wanted to. The success mimiced my original. These little cichlids learn too fast. If you try trapping I wish you better success.

By the way, if you want to trap Platys and Swordtails the trap works like a charm. You almost can't keep them out. :lol:


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## Myrock (Mar 7, 2010)

I catch fish by putting food in a net and let it rest against the glass. When they get the nerve (the mbuna will want the food the more) slowly they will try to get it from the wrong side. Soon they will try inside the net. This works best when the light is on in the tank and the lights are off in the room. After a while you will feel like a crane....lol. Just leave the net. Feed them a few times like this and soon when the time is right pull the net out with the fish in it. Takes a lil time but you wont mess up your rocks.


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## RRasco (Aug 31, 2006)

Try using more than one net. If you can, corner the fish and use the second net to block his escape route. He should stay in the corner and it should help to catch him. I usually try this for a while, then when I get mad I tear the whole tank down and hold him over the toilet so he knows not to mess with me next time.  I'm just kidding, but I certainly feel like it at that point. I've had success with the trap, but only when I had one fish in the tank. It was a 30" tall tank so removing everything is easier said than done.


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## jandswyo (Feb 1, 2011)

The best way I have found, and I have tried every way possible, lol, Is to wait until the lights have been out for a few hours and the room is pitch black. I use a small low powered LED flashlight that is not very bright, to find the fish, and see. Very simple, effective, and pretty stress less to the other inhabitants.


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## typo (Feb 9, 2011)

is draining the tank a viable option?


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## noki (Jun 13, 2003)

First try surprising the fish at feeding time. You can get lucky sometimes and grab the fish easily. If the fish is wary, will not work. You only get one or two attempts before the cichlid is on to you... takes weeks before the cichlid forgets.

Second, try the middle of the night trick, find the fish with a flashlight. If the fish is not in too much rockwork, turn on the lights and you can grab before they wake up and get used to the light.

Third. traps are hit or miss, but you could always try. I've tried the food in the net trick in the past, but Mbuna are smart.

Fourth, take out some groups of rocks during water change and see if you can scare the fish into the open, using a net and your hand.

Fifth, take out all the rocks.


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## Guest (Feb 27, 2011)

what i find works best after a few times of trying to trap them against the glass with a net ill break out the eggcrate tank divider scare the fish to one side.. put the eggcrate up so its a small area they can run... then jus net the sucker... alot of it is jus blind luck... i cant ever tell which fish i want with the lights out and a flashlight.. and i frustrate easily i find sometimes its jus better to take stuff out than me want to smash things...i like that bottle trick.. but it wouldnt work with big cichlids since the opening isnt big enough... i even bought the "infrared" nets the red nets.. which dont seem to help any much more than green, blue or white nets... i pretty much have given up on trying to take fish out on days other than i do water changes and break the tank down other than in an emergency....


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## Lestango (Nov 11, 2010)

Use a clear plastic fruit juice bottle, like Apple Juice or Cranberry Juice comes in? I never tried baiting with food 'cause I would be paranoid about it spoiling. If you try it, drill small holes in the bottle that would be inside the trap but the farthest from the bottle bottom so it can be stood up when removing from the tank, hopefully with the targeted fish inside.Then wait opcorn: :zz: &  /


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## mrcorey20 (Dec 20, 2010)

Hadnt logged on in a while since posting, since my crazy iphone didnt let me know i had any responses but i appreciate all of your input.. im going to try EVERY single method until i get the little booger out of my tank... so I can drop my fronts in.. plus hes driving my electric yellow baby labs crazy. I did him a favor from being bullied/beat up and rescued him from a smaller tank and gave him a 180 gallon mansion all to him self and this is how he repays me !!! HMMPPPH ill show em whos the boss. THANKS SO MUCH!! "book em danno"


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## SandBagger (Nov 17, 2010)

Maybe he is actually paying you back for putting him in a tank that wasn't yet cycled. Looks like the shoe may be on the other foot.

Just a thought.....


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## RRasco (Aug 31, 2006)

Haha, I love how everyone gets peeved at their fish too. If I can't catch a fish it really ticks me off. I get all huffy puffy and tear the tank down. That little sucker is coming out of there one way or another.


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## bearwithfish (Dec 20, 2010)

i found a way that works well for my red tops.... when its not the normal feeding time put a net in the tank for a few minutes and let everyone get used to it being there (about 3-5 minutes is about what i do) then start to offer some food far away from the net then little by little (1 pellet at a time) bring the target fish over to the net and feed it over the open net when it goes for the food quickly swing net up and you have them.....

i have had to remove 4 fish due to behavior or injury over the last 3 weeks and this has worked like a charm every single time :fish:


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## Guest (Mar 4, 2011)

how do you get only the target fish to follow the food seems like all of them would go crazy and follow it


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## prov356 (Sep 20, 2006)

> i have had to remove 4 fish due to behavior or injury over the last 3 weeks and this has worked like a charm every single time


Great idea, but sounds like a rough tank you've got going there.  I've found it a bit helpful also to use the red nets. They do see them, but don't seem to see them as well, particularly when the net isn't moving, so may be a good choice for your method.


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## bearwithfish (Dec 20, 2010)

by dropping a lot for th eothers and kinda targeting that one with more of a one pellet at a time drop.. kinda hard to explain but it really does work...


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## Lestango (Nov 11, 2010)

This thread is about removing fish from an established tank, without specifying why really a fish is unwanted whether it be a nasty bugger or whatever.

I either lack the patience or durability to pursue the net-in, bait with food approach.  But I have found nothing better than stripping a tank. I now cement my rocks together in assemblies so I can remove my rock piles in only 3-5 such assemblies and voila, my target(s) has(have) no place to hide. Once caught, in the largest net I can use, my aquascape is easily restored. If I do this fast enough, my breeding pairs have not "divorced".

This has been my experience. I would appreciate hearing from others who have done this with different results, in the past or future. If it helps others I will consider my post a success. 

I have to be really frustrated to risk my breeders splitting up, but I have. Then again, I have limited tank-space and want to move on to experience new species spawnings.


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## Guest (Mar 4, 2011)

try the egg crate method.. if you shoo them to one side and put the eggcrate up it makes the area really small you have to catch them in


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## Lestango (Nov 11, 2010)

My transcriptus would swim right through it, but that does not mean the approach is bad. Good idea, :thumb: I just need to find a tighter partition than egg crate. Possibly the combination of easily moveable rockwork and a partition may be, as they say, the "cat's meow". (I have never understood that tern :wink: )

I do understand a channel cats meow however.


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## Myrock (Mar 7, 2010)

Thats why if I use a divider to trap them. I use a piece of plexyglass. Cat swim through it.


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## Guest (Mar 7, 2011)

orrrr i made a tank divider out of this plastic mesh stuff from the fabric store for my 10 gallon.. i think they use it to crochet on or something.. needlepoint something...you could glue or silicone the plastic mesh in pieces to eggcrate... i showed it to my friend and thats what he said he was gonna do.. seems like using a piece of plexi is cumbersome and heavy.. plus the eggcrate is a lil forgiving as mines a few mm too wide but it jus goes in on an angle and bends a lil.. plexi would have to be cut exact.. which is probly a pain allthough *** never tried it


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## insulman (Feb 12, 2011)

if you use the trap/bottle approach, try using a red laser pointer to corral the fish into the trap. point the laser in the trap and the fish will try to attack it


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## Guest (Mar 7, 2011)

doesnt that only work with small fish? how can you do that with even sub adults? even a 3 liter bottle the opening isnt really that big


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## insulman (Feb 12, 2011)

either, make a tank divider out of eggcrate, or, make a trap out of eggcrate, make a box, whatever size you need, wiretie the sides and bottom, (and top, if applicable), put it in the tank, point the laser light in the trap, watch the fish attack
good luck


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## Myrock (Mar 7, 2010)

Plexi is heavy? Its hard clear plastic. Take a small rock....put it in the front corner of your tank. Chase the fish under the rock....trap him in the corner with the plexi.....remove the rock....catch the fish. If you have a acrilic tank with smaller openings at the top....use a shorter piece of plexi..... and lower the water first....Then you'll have room to move your hand..................................................then take the rocks out and choke him..........lol


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## Sparrk (Oct 11, 2010)

wow thats all different methods that could be efficient, I alwaays end up making a water change and removing all rocks to catch my fish those little quick *** :roll: , but! I have find out with this method, that switching the rocks around help to cope with agressivity when adding new fishies or reintroducing fish to the tank...


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## STATMATT (Sep 12, 2008)

I just drain the water down to about an inch. you can store the water in rubbermaid trashcans, while you get him, but a combination of using the cross-stich mesh / low water and getting the fish to one side of the tank. a 180 is a lot of space but draining that water down changes the 3 dimentional maneuverability of the fish. If you need to flush him out of the rocks, I use a 450gph little giant pump with a hose and have it pump water from inside the tank.


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## Guest (Mar 15, 2011)

what color laser pointer should i get? red or green?


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