Catching Tetras

[aquafrogstuff]

I have a 6ft planted tank with various discus and numerous tetras. I've been trying for days to catch the little buggers (tetras) without disturbing too much of the tank. I've tried nets, no luck. I've tried a cordial bottle (washed of course) with food inside to see if I could catch them like lobster.

Any ideas how to catch tetras and loaches in a reasonably planted tank without upsetting the rest of the fish?

[scott bowler]

a bigger net

[goldenpigeon]

drain the water level to about 10cm, then have fun with your net. i had to get my tetras out of my old 6x2x2 and doing it htis way only took a few minutes.

HTH

David

[shewey]

Yeah, I would drain it pretty low and then use two big nets. One net to herd them towards the other net them scoop em up.

Good luck! :-)

[Robdog]

Wire trace, small hook, live poddy mullet. Make sure they are barbless hooks so you can catch and release.

[Bill T]

Tricky little buggers, I must say!
I've had some success with low water & two big nets approach.
Scared the wits out of my discus fish & did some plant damage.

[aquafrogstuff]

Got it. Thanks for the suggestions.

[luvmydiscus]

You can also try catching them with the tank being dark and then shine a light on them. I have caught many this way.

:D

[gro]

aquafrogstuff,

oh man i know your pain!! I am glad to hear someone else in the same boat.

I am trying to streamline my tank by removing some previously uneducated choices.

I too tried all the tricks( traps etc. ) i managed to get one loach out because he went into a breeding pot. Threw the net over the top and then had to very very quickly lift it and get the second net under it! Almost had the other one the same way but recon he was a bit smarter as got away thru a very small crack when i lifted it.

the first time i had to catch some fish my discus went timid - this time they seemed to be a little used to it only one has got a bit shy.

any who another idea me and a mate had, which does involve removing items such as wood etc, (and i am going to try this next time i have a spare copla hours - spent 5 hours in front of the cricket the other day, and ironically almost had success whenever they got a wicket, so missed them all!!) -back to the idea: find a piece of perspex or knock up a fly wire screen to fit - can find bits at hardware store - and once you have chased and separated the one you want slide down the divider and then you only have half the tank to deal with. - Also the theory is that the fish on the other side may not get so frightened by the net flying passed them all the time - will let you know if it works.

sorry for the long post - first day back at work and am a little bored! or not so much bored but refuse to do any work!!!!

[aquafrogstuff]

Hey Gro, Thanks for the long post.

I've thought of trying the perspex or fly screen barrier but this is a bit of a challange because the tank has a number of plants and some driftwood that make it difficult (see pic below).

I think I might try and get my wife to give me a hand.

Failing all else, they may have to stay.

Cheers,

Dwayne

[sammigold]

Dwayne, I dont know if this would work but it is essentially the same as gros idea...

recently I had to make a separator for my tank to stop some of the bullying between discus (problem solved now but that is another story :-( ) anyway when I put the separator in I found that my tetras all congregated on the smaller side ..(safety? for them) anyway all ten of them would congregate on that side

.... so what I am saying I suppose ... is that maybe by separating about a foot of the end of the tank (even on a diagonal) with say plastic mesh with the 1cm squares and see if they congregate and if they do put some sort of barrier so they cant get back through and then they will all be in that little area.

hope that helps. OH!! and two nets at least or a pot..(I have used a pot (saucepan) in the past as it seemed to be easier to herd them into that and then lift it out. (two people job though)

cheers

[gro]

good luck dwayne,

nice job on the tank mate!! Love the way that you can see it from both sides! wish i had the room to do that!

i am going to wait till my mate comes back from up north and we are going to spend a day doing it! If all fails we will settle for beers and a bbq!

[gingerbeer01]

Calm movements - two nets one big one small

And patience - lots of patience.

then when you get the willies rip the tank too peices and catch them and claim you felt the need to redo to fix the dodgy back corner.

Works every time
:D
Stve

[gro]

Had a realisation last night.

One of my other hobbies is bonsai....just realised what would make a great divider for the tank,

Bonsai mesh...you can buy a large sheet....maybe two...wire them together....cut them down to fit...and presto....you have a very flexible divider that you can bend in through the top struts in your tank, flexible enough that you can bend around plants to avoid ripping them out, also flexible enough to pull back and herd the fish in question into one side of the tank....

probably two person job as will require someone to hold it in place...but better than a rigid one that is harder to manouvre

[Merrilyn]

Okay gro, now you know we all (well me at least) want to see some of your Bonsai :P

Dwayne, I think I'd be happy just to let the little tetras stay in there, unless they're causing a problem.

Your tank looks lovely. Be a shame to tear it down.

[gro]

ladyred,

this is the only shot i have at work and it was taken a while ago when the elm wasn't in leaf so the pics not that flashy, but i will see what i can do about getting more........

[aquafrogstuff]

Thanks for the comments guys.

I have had some success over the weekend with some assistance from my kids (4.5yrs + 6yrs). They really enjoyed it. We only caught a few using two nets and some patience, which is an extreme requirement for a 4yr old.

Thanks for the comment gro. I was dubious about having the tank perpendicular to the wall because of the exposure the fish have to passing traffic, noise noise from TV etc etc but it really hasn't been a problem. So now I have a 'pretty' room divider and a fish tank I can enjoy from both sides. It's also really good for maintenance because you can get access from both sides, so gravel vaccing is easier. I can highly recommend having a tank stand out from the wall.

Thanks again, Dwayne

P.S. Have you thought about doing an aquatic bonsai???

[gro]

i have thought of it just not sure if it would work probly get eaten anyway!

now i am looking for sympathy here -

only two weeks since i tried removing my loaches. Last time i moved the tank around one discus went quiet and did not eat for a month - then came good and looks really healthy today!

this time not the case. my turk went quiet and of course i thought it was just like the other one - bit shy but he will come good.

anyway he deteriorated quite quickly and last night passed on! have been keeping discus for 6 - 8months and this is the first one to "move on" - was really amazed how the colour instantly drained from the body once he gave up!

better go now getting a bit misty eyed!!!!

[Merrilyn]

Awwwwww sorry to hear that gro :(

It's tough when fish die, and we don't really know the cause.

The only thing I can suggest is that your fish suffered from stress from having things moved around in the tank. That stress has cause his immune system to drop, and left him open to a disease or pathogen of some kind.

Fish quite happily cope with all sorts of bacteria and pathogens, and even a slight worm problem, and their natural immune system sorts things out, and keeps everything under control, until the fish suffers from some kind of stress, then their natural immune system is compromised and the disease takes hold.

Unfortunately some fish are more prone to stress than others, and there's no way of telling.

All you can do is keep your water conditions perfect, give them the best available food, and treat them for worms and gill flukes on a regular basis.

[Bill T]

Also, Discus have this ability to swim very fast and bash into objects when upset. I reckon I have had fish get fatal internal injuries in this way.

[gro]

thanks guys

once my tank refurb is complete maye i will treat myself to a new one!