How to catch a wrasse in an established tank?

ACBlinky · 06/10/2008, 10:25 PM

I could use a little advice here, I'm not sure what to do. I've got two wrasses, a Potter's and a Christmas (H. ornatissimus) wrasse, and they're not getting along. Specifically, the Christmas wrasse keeps the Potter's in hiding 99% of the time; I have to feed her before lights on as she wakes up (the Christmas wrasse seems to sleep longer) or she would waste away. She came out today looking horrid, and I decided there's no way this is going to end without me intervening.

Having made the decision to remove the Christmas wrasse, I'm now faced with a few issues.
1) I'm pregnant, and exhausted, and none too steady on my feet (dizzy most of the time). Major tank work standing on a ladder might not be wise, but my husband isn't involved in caring for the tank and wouldn't be able to do what's required (without us killing each other, anyway). Unfortunately I haven't got any local hobbyist friends in this city to call on, so whatever I do it's going to have to be on my own (with hubby's supervision).

2) The tank is very established, with coral growth cementing many of the rocks together. Big leathers, zoanthids, and mushrooms are covering most of the rock surface. I'm sure they'd be traumatized if I moved things, and it would be tough to get the rocks back in place without squishing something.

3) It's a 90g, so draining the tank isn't too feasible, and even if we could drain it there are places under/behind the rockwork where fish could easily escape into the sand

4) She's too clever for a trap. I've tried leaving the net in the water, baited with food, tried reversing the top of a water bottle and baiting the bottle (I catch crabs, no fish), and the second she sees a person in front of the glass she disappears into the rock.

Do I have a choice here? Seems to me that we're going to have to rip the tank apart one way or another, but if there's another way or an easy way, I'm all ears.

cowdawg · 06/11/2008, 12:32 AM

get a small trout fly, a nymph pattern in a size 20 or so, and tie it to some 2 or 4 lb fishing line. dangle that thing in the current in front of your fish and hork him out when he bites it.

oh and pich the barb down with some needlenose pliers first. your fish will be no worse for wear, and you wont have to destroy your tank to get him out!

qfrisco · 06/11/2008, 10:19 AM

I know you said you didn't have much success with the water bottle trick, but that's exactly how I caught my 6-line wrasse, and I got him within 5 minutes.

I tied a length of string to the bottle so that I could pull it out as soon as the wrasse got in. It worked like a charm. I did have to cut the opening of the bottle so it was bigger.

EllieSuz · 06/11/2008, 11:05 AM

Anthony Calfo described a method of draining the tank after creating a low indentation in the substrate. Fish have no alternative than to follow the receding water to the lowest spot in the tank. This needs to be done with a big pump and the water returned as quickly after catching the fish as possible. It sounds extreme, but Calfo says he's used it countless times. It does not disturb the corals. Clams and feather dusters need to be bagged so as not to be exposed to air. There was a link here on this method. You could also check WetWebMedia.com

edandujo · 06/11/2008, 03:58 PM

The bottle trick worked for me also, I caught a cleaner wrasse. Just got to be slow on the way up. Used shrimp to coax him in there.

Blazer88 · 06/11/2008, 05:33 PM

I also used the 2-liter bottle trick to catch my wrasse. It took a few days before he was willing to go into it but I got him. Patience is the key and just leave the bottle in there long enough for the fish to get used to it.

qfrisco · 06/11/2008, 05:47 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by qfrisco
I know you said you didn't have much success with the water bottle trick, but that's exactly how I caught my 6-line wrasse, and I got him within 5 minutes.

I tied a length of string to the bottle so that I could pull it out as soon as the wrasse got in. It worked like a charm. I did have to cut the opening of the bottle so it was bigger.

One thing I did and forgot to mention earlier was that I skipped the previous day's feeding, just to make the fish hungrier. I then put the trap in the following day, during normal feeding time.

ToxicPoison · 06/11/2008, 06:37 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by EllieSuz
Anthony Calfo described a method of draining the tank after creating a low indentation in the substrate. Fish have no alternative than to follow the receding water to the lowest spot in the tank. This needs to be done with a big pump and the water returned as quickly after catching the fish as possible. It sounds extreme, but Calfo says he's used it countless times. It does not disturb the corals. Clams and feather dusters need to be bagged so as not to be exposed to air. There was a link here on this method. You could also check WetWebMedia.com

Yes, this was an excellent post. You can find it here:

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh...hreadid=707656

Lots of great ideas on there and its several pages long so hopefully you'll find something in there that works for you..I've never had to do this so I have no personal advice.

Good luck!

ACBlinky · 06/11/2008, 07:19 PM

Thank you all so much for the replies. I think I'm going to have to try the bottle trick again, with a larger bottle (I was using a 600ml bottle). I'm coming down with a virus, and there's just no way I can dismantle the tank at this point.

Draining the tank does work brilliantly, I've used that method before, but the way the rockwork is set up there are areas at the back that she could easily escape into. Because of the pistol shrimp and my maroon pair's constant excavations, there's almost no sand at the back of the tank -- I would very likely end up removing at least half the rockwork even if I drained the entire tank.

Cross your fingers for me please, I'll see if I can catch her with a bottle tomorrow.

06/10/2008, 10:25 PM	#1
ACBlinky Premium Member Join Date: May 2005 Location: Peterborough, ON, Canada Posts: 4,954 Blog Entries: 20	How to catch a wrasse in an established tank? I could use a little advice here, I'm not sure what to do. I've got two wrasses, a Potter's and a Christmas (H. ornatissimus) wrasse, and they're not getting along. Specifically, the Christmas wrasse keeps the Potter's in hiding 99% of the time; I have to feed her before lights on as she wakes up (the Christmas wrasse seems to sleep longer) or she would waste away. She came out today looking horrid, and I decided there's no way this is going to end without me intervening. Having made the decision to remove the Christmas wrasse, I'm now faced with a few issues. 1) I'm pregnant, and exhausted, and none too steady on my feet (dizzy most of the time). Major tank work standing on a ladder might not be wise, but my husband isn't involved in caring for the tank and wouldn't be able to do what's required (without us killing each other, anyway). Unfortunately I haven't got any local hobbyist friends in this city to call on, so whatever I do it's going to have to be on my own (with hubby's supervision). 2) The tank is very established, with coral growth cementing many of the rocks together. Big leathers, zoanthids, and mushrooms are covering most of the rock surface. I'm sure they'd be traumatized if I moved things, and it would be tough to get the rocks back in place without squishing something. 3) It's a 90g, so draining the tank isn't too feasible, and even if we could drain it there are places under/behind the rockwork where fish could easily escape into the sand 4) She's too clever for a trap. I've tried leaving the net in the water, baited with food, tried reversing the top of a water bottle and baiting the bottle (I catch crabs, no fish), and the second she sees a person in front of the glass she disappears into the rock. Do I have a choice here? Seems to me that we're going to have to rip the tank apart one way or another, but if there's another way or an easy way, I'm all ears. __________________ "The cure for anything is salt water: sweat, tears, or the sea." - Isak Dinesen Current Tank Info: 150g mixed reef, 30g sump/refugium, LED lighting, 100lbs LR, coral beauty, flame angel, blue & yellow tangs, gobies, damsels, 6-line wrasse, lawnmower blenny, dottyback, clown pair, rabbitfish, shrimp, crabs, CUC.

06/11/2008, 12:32 AM	#2
cowdawg Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: humboldt co. CA Posts: 164	get a small trout fly, a nymph pattern in a size 20 or so, and tie it to some 2 or 4 lb fishing line. dangle that thing in the current in front of your fish and hork him out when he bites it. oh and pich the barb down with some needlenose pliers first. your fish will be no worse for wear, and you wont have to destroy your tank to get him out! __________________ 40 BR display, 40 BR sump, 2x 150 HQI + 2x 54 T5, recirc octo 150, 10 gal fuge, 45x turnover through display. still stocking, mainly SPS

06/11/2008, 11:05 AM	#4
EllieSuz Premium Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Rochester, NY Posts: 3,858	Anthony Calfo described a method of draining the tank after creating a low indentation in the substrate. Fish have no alternative than to follow the receding water to the lowest spot in the tank. This needs to be done with a big pump and the water returned as quickly after catching the fish as possible. It sounds extreme, but Calfo says he's used it countless times. It does not disturb the corals. Clams and feather dusters need to be bagged so as not to be exposed to air. There was a link here on this method. You could also check WetWebMedia.com __________________ "You can't learn this hobby one question at a time." (Mr. Tuskfish) Eileen Current Tank Info: I'm out of the hobby, but used to have a60 gal. reef, refugium in sump, Internal Mag 9 return, SC 302 skimmer, two Maxi-Jet 1200's modded, four bulb T5 Lighting, Reefkeeper Lite Controller with three PC4's, Little Fishes GFO reactor.

06/11/2008, 07:19 PM	#9
ACBlinky Premium Member Join Date: May 2005 Location: Peterborough, ON, Canada Posts: 4,954 Blog Entries: 20	Thank you all so much for the replies. I think I'm going to have to try the bottle trick again, with a larger bottle (I was using a 600ml bottle). I'm coming down with a virus, and there's just no way I can dismantle the tank at this point. Draining the tank does work brilliantly, I've used that method before, but the way the rockwork is set up there are areas at the back that she could easily escape into. Because of the pistol shrimp and my maroon pair's constant excavations, there's almost no sand at the back of the tank -- I would very likely end up removing at least half the rockwork even if I drained the entire tank. Cross your fingers for me please, I'll see if I can catch her with a bottle tomorrow. __________________ "The cure for anything is salt water: sweat, tears, or the sea." - Isak Dinesen Current Tank Info: 150g mixed reef, 30g sump/refugium, LED lighting, 100lbs LR, coral beauty, flame angel, blue & yellow tangs, gobies, damsels, 6-line wrasse, lawnmower blenny, dottyback, clown pair, rabbitfish, shrimp, crabs, CUC.

06/11/2008, 10:19 AM	#3
qfrisco Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Dallas, TX Area Posts: 1,389	I know you said you didn't have much success with the water bottle trick, but that's exactly how I caught my 6-line wrasse, and I got him within 5 minutes. I tied a length of string to the bottle so that I could pull it out as soon as the wrasse got in. It worked like a charm. I did have to cut the opening of the bottle so it was bigger.

06/11/2008, 03:58 PM	#5
edandujo Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Albuquerque, NM Posts: 70	The bottle trick worked for me also, I caught a cleaner wrasse. Just got to be slow on the way up. Used shrimp to coax him in there.

06/11/2008, 05:33 PM	#6
Blazer88 Premium Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Seattle, WA Posts: 2,415	I also used the 2-liter bottle trick to catch my wrasse. It took a few days before he was willing to go into it but I got him. Patience is the key and just leave the bottle in there long enough for the fish to get used to it.