how to catch small fish in a planted tank?

[scott the fishman]

hello fish keeping friends!

so as some of you might know from a earlier post need floating plants, that i am going to start a huge project in my 75g. i need to catch 14 fast swimming small fish in a heavily planted tank. my 1st thought was take all the plants out drain 90% of the water saving 45 g of tank water to add back. this means i will need to do this huge project in one prosses. keep in mind i will be adding more plants and about 13 more fish. any tips or concerns i may need to know about. thanks!

 

[MickS77]

I've always found its easiest to catch fish early in the morning or late at night when its dark. I use a red light headlamp to see them and use two nets to corral them. That or try a fish trap, I have one of the floating fish traps (Tankmatez), they work good. 

Edited February 24, 2022 by MickS77

[scott the fishman]

On 2/24/2022 at 11:23 AM, MickS77 said:

I've always found its easiest to catch fish early in the morning or late at night when its dark. I use a red light headlamp to see them and use two nets to corral them. That or try a fish trap, I have one of the floating fish traps, they work good. 

thank you i didnt know there was such a trap. i will google it 

[BenA]

How does this trap works? Are there any videos?

Thanks

[Griznatch]

 I use the night  time trick. after they've been basically asleep for a fer hours leave all the lights off in the room and use a strong flashlight and net them before they get a chance to wake up.  I've used this trick to catch neon tetras in a heavily planted 75, and rasboras in a 55. if you don't get them in about 5 minutes then you'll probably have to wait a while and try again. They catch on pretty quick.

[MickS77]

On 2/24/2022 at 3:29 PM, BenA said:

How does this trap works? Are there any videos?

Thanks

 

[scott the fishman]

On 2/24/2022 at 12:38 PM, Griznatch said:

 I use the night  time trick. after they've been basically asleep for a fer hours leave all the lights off in the room and use a strong flashlight and net them before they get a chance to wake up.  I've used this trick to catch neon tetras in a heavily planted 75, and rasboras in a 55. if you don't get them in about 5 minutes then you'll probably have to wait a while and try again. They catch on pretty quick.

thats a smart trick. thank you

 

[Anon]

Get the biggest net that will reasonably fit in there, keep it steady and use your other hand to scare fish into it. Cory has an old video showing off this technique.

[scott the fishman]

On 2/24/2022 at 12:57 PM, Anon said:

Get the biggest net that will reasonably fit in there, keep it steady and use your other hand to scare fish into it. Cory has an old video showing off this technique.

good video thank you

[Guppysnail]

I use this. I put it in the front left corner and hold it at the bottom at a slight angle. I use the net to “chase”. The fish to that corner and lift the strainer straight up underneaths them. Works like a charm for me catch most of the group on the first go

[scott the fishman]

On 2/24/2022 at 4:02 PM, Guppysnail said:

I use this. I put it in the front left corner and hold it at the bottom at a slight angle. I use the net to “chase”. The fish to that corner and lift the strainer straight up underneaths them. Works like a charm for me catch most of the group on the first go

clever! thank you😉

[Odd Duck]

I use the soda bottle fish trap when possible but it needs tending and patience.  You can NOT just leave it in overnight or you could wake up to dead fishes inside it.  Ask me how I know.  😭 

But if you check it frequently, you have it in the right place, you have it appropriately baited, it can work for many different species.  I’ve easily caught cories, pea puffers, and ember tetras from very heavily planted tanks.

If I need to catch fish faster or they won’t go in the fish trap, I use the double net.  Next time I need to, I’ll be adding the night time technique to the double net if possible.

[BenA]

On 2/25/2022 at 12:02 AM, Guppysnail said:

I use this. I put it in the front left corner and hold it at the bottom at a slight angle. I use the net to “chase”. The fish to that corner and lift the strainer straight up underneaths them. Works like a charm for me catch most of the group on the first go

😬

You are more clever than me🤐.. I used the same idea but used a large face covering (against midgets) net and inserted a safety wire around to keep the shape. 😃

[Guppysnail]

On 2/25/2022 at 6:22 PM, BenA said:

😬

You are more clever than me🤐.. I used the same idea but used a large face covering (against midgets) net and inserted a safety wire around to keep the shape. 😃

Now that is creative! 

[Torrey]

On 2/24/2022 at 5:10 PM, scott the fishman said:

clever! thank you😉

I can add one more trick:

If you go with Guppysnail's colander, and you don't want to have to chase fish, you can bait the colander with either live or frozen bloodworms. Once the fish swims in, lift the colander out.

I can generally get a good 50% to 60% of the inhabitants that way.😁

[scott the fishman]

first off thank you all for the great tips! i am going to try the colander with food in it. if that doesnt work i will drain the tank saving 45 g to add back and remove my plants and net the fish. i am allso adding 30 more pounds of choride black su8bstrate and new plants like lily for cover anf forground plants. so yeah a total rescape all in one day. wish me luck!😬