Catching The Buggers

[Arktica]

Having been hasty and aquiring more fish than knowledge i recently purhcased 4 of the FISH YOU SHOULDNT BUY: chinese algea eaters.
True to form they have started to harrass the aquarium and in particular my peppered corys whom wouldnt hurt a fly. In order to spare the rest of my tank daily attacks im prepared to remove these aggressive fish. The only problem im having is catching them as they are very fast. i have in the same tank 3 solver dollars which i dont want to distress. in about 5 weeks my new tank should arrive and be cycled which will rehome the silver dollars in peace. however i dont really fancy subjecting my current fish to 5 weeks of nipping. Any advice please?

 

[youngfisher]

Take the deco where they hide out.

And..Patience patience and more patience.

 

[Curiosity101]

Double nets is always a good plan too. Normally they're too busy swimming away from one net to noticed they're swimming into another! lol. Also use the second net to secure them in just in case they dart back out as you life the net from the water

 

[-SPB-]

+1 for the double nets, also as mentioned, take the deco out if you can, as it will make it a lot easier.

 

[Arktica]

cheers for the info will do

 

[waterdrop]

Yes, agree about the double nets and the easiest of all is if one of the nets is quite large. You keep it flat against a side wall, steer the desired fish in that direction with the smaller net and then gently lift the big net in a U-movement, lifting towards the surface, which can help sometimes if you're trying not to let additional fish also get in there.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[Arktica]

Thanks folks.

Double netting with one large net worked a treat and the dollars weren't that stressed. All done in 5 minutes (bette than my 30mins yesterday with no luck). Sadly though i did find my favourite catfish dead , it was a cuttie at a tiny 1cm long. leaving only 3 catfish left now and thats 2 dead in the last 8 days. Water readings are all fine so i know who im blaming. The strange thing was i only found 3 of the algea eaters when i know there were four. Marianne my OH checked without any luck either. Bit of a mistery to me as it hasnt turned up dead on my weekly water changes.

 

[Curiosity101]

I noticed one day that one of my Kuhli's was missing. I don't know when or how but when we moved the cabinet to do the tank upgrade there it was All shrivelled and dead. I blame myself but at the same time how the heck did it get out? The tank lid fit perfectly, only thing I can think is it must've been during a water change or it somehow got out . Either ways...don't rule out checking under the units...

 

[bigpee]

I just had to get rid of my chinese algae eaters too after buying them and then being warned. I was shouting and swearing trying to catch them - what solved it for me was a much much bigger net. Only problem then was that when I did finally catch the last one two of my tiger barbs had also found their way into the net and didn't want to leave. You can't win . They are sly at hiding too - took me ages to track down the second one of my two.

 

[Arktica]

I just had to get rid of my chinese algae eaters too after buying them and then being warned. I was shouting and swearing trying to catch them - what solved it for me was a much much bigger net. Only problem then was that when I did finally catch the last one two of my tiger barbs had also found their way into the net and didn't want to leave. You can't win . They are sly at hiding too - took me ages to track down the second one of my two.

i'll be keeping a close eye out for number 4, including around the aquarium. You know its silly, i joined this forum over a year ago, and have only just got round to reading through the beginner guides. I could of saved myself a lot of bother and money.