Lake Malawi Species • How are you catching your fish?

[Stumpjumper]

We have a fish that requires a tank full of rocks for them to hide in. I know you guys don't remove all your rocks just to catch and remove a fish or to vent them..

What's the best method to catch these guys? I'm guessing it's not a net?

[mokujin22]

An eggcrate divider goes a long way towards corralling fish to the easiest side of the tank to catch them. Over-sized nets. Night ambushes are another good method.

[xxbenjamminxx]

Unfortunately most of the time for me it is to bust out the rubbermaid totes and start removing rocks. I have around 200 lbs of them in my tank. Trust me most of the time it is easier to remove a majority of them and then divide the tank with fish on open side to catch him or you can be standing there for hours with a net in hand.

Guess it really depends on patience, if you got em then clear your schedule and go for it. Another option would be to build a fish trap and hope the one you need will swim in it for you.

[des]

Some food should get them out of hiding, just have the net ready in the water to catch.

[Stumpjumper]

Ohh boy lol...

I wonder if one of those clear plastic fish catchers are better than a net?

[Nina_b]

Step 1: Take out all (well, most of) your rocks
Step 2: Take two nets and proceed to get very, very wet.
Step 3: Relish in your victory for a moment (or catch your breath, call it what you will)
Step 4: Dry the living room carpet

A clear plastic bag makes it easier, but not for catching a fish for venting.
People say catch them at night, but I've found that I need room lights on for me to get them, and within moments they're awake enough (or the one I want sleeps in a cave) to completely eliminate the bonus.
Catching while feeding doesn't help me much either, they just get skittish and suspicious of food for a day or so.

...and I have a 'little' 55
Luckily I've only had to do this twice in three months. Once to take back the petshop advice auratus, and once to help a poor female lab.

[Stumpjumper]

Step 1: Take out all (well, most of) your rocks
Step 2: Take two nets and proceed to get very, very wet.
Step 3: Relish in your victory for a moment (or catch your breath, call it what you will)
Step 4: Dry the living room carpet

A clear plastic bag makes it easier, but not for catching a fish for venting.
People say catch them at night, but I've found that I need room lights on for me to get them, and within moments they're awake enough (or the one I want sleeps in a cave) to completely eliminate the bonus.
Catching while feeding doesn't help me much either, they just get skittish and suspicious of food for a day or so.

...and I have a 'little' 55
Luckily I've only had to do this twice in three months. Once to take back the petshop advice auratus, and once to help a poor female lab.

I dont about night time for me either, I looked at my tank in the dark last night and there wasn't one fish out. They were all in the rocks.

[dielikemoviestars]

Actually, most of us DO take out all of the rocks.

Do it when you do a water change. Take out all the rocks, take out water (make it a major WC so you've got maybe 1/3 full tank with all the rocks removed) and it should be easy. Then restructure your rockscape when you fill it back up.

[ws812]

I once used a 2 liter pop bottle like a minnow trap. I just cut it in half and put some sinking pellets inside. Basically the fish can swim in but not out. It just became a waiting game. It was just more or less to see if it would work though. It did but if it's a specific fish you're trying to catch you'd be better off taking out the rocks. Besides you might find a better way to set them up. I have lace rock in our tank and like to get a different look every once in a while.

[RRasco]

Normally I end up taking out most of my rocks. Sometimes I get lucky when I feed or a fish is hanging out up top. You really only get one shot at surprising them, then they are onto you. I try a few times before removing the rocks with two nets, then they usually just tick me off and I get angry and start unloading rocks. It's like a challenge and I'm always going to win. Fish trap worked once for me, but there was only one fish in there at the time making my chances of getting the right fish pretty high.

I was unable to remove a holding lab recently so I had to let her spit in the tank cuz I didn't want to remove all the rocks. They were hybrids I was going to cull anyways so no biggie. She would hang out at the top and when I opened the canopy she went diving in between the rocks. Little turd.

[DJRansome]

I know you guys don't remove all your rocks just to catch and remove a fish or to vent them..

Yes we do.

[dotbomb]

I know you guys don't remove all your rocks just to catch and remove a fish or to vent them..

Yes we do.

It only takes so many hours of attempting to catch a fish before you just realize it is quicker to lift out all the rocks

[eeztropheus]

I like to use an over sized net. I will let it sit in the tank for an hour so the fish get used to it being there. Then I move really slow as not to startle them. I will often use 2 nets as well, one on each side of the tank to try and corral the fish I'm after. A lot of times the fish I'm after will almost swim into the net. If worse comes to worse I will begin to pull rocks out. I try to pull the least amount of rocks out as is possible...

[Glaneon]

I know you guys don't remove all your rocks just to catch and remove a fish or to vent them..

Yes we do.

[Stumpjumper]

I know you guys don't remove all your rocks just to catch and remove a fish or to vent them..

Yes we do.

Yeah I was afraid of that..

I just got my tank all set up and noticed my center support is failing and it is starting to bow.. Now I got to get a new tank and do it all over again, but this time transfer all the substrate and keep the fish happy in the meantime..