Fish Folk Posted October 30, 2022 Share Posted October 30, 2022 Hey, hey ya NERMs! I’d love to learn any tips y’all have for effectively catching Bristlenose Plecos from a unique tank. I’ve got this ridiculous chunk of Texas Holey rock that I simply cannot remove, and it becomes “Helms Deep” when I’m trying to catch them for sale. Was at my LFS today, and the BNPs they ordered in from one of their East Coast farm sources all crashed on them. Fortunately, mine do much better for them. Additionally, I have SO many breeding, I’ve got to move them along! So… I’m trying out a “Zucchini net trap” this eve… I bend the net 90°, boil zucchini slices so they sink, and then wait… Eventually, some plecos show up… I pull the net quickly, and move them to a pail with tank water and an airline… I have two of these traps going at present. Here’s the other… I’m just wondering though… is there some obvious, easier way? Plainly… it would be easier _not to have immovable hardscape _ . But otherwise, any secrets to share? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nabokovfan87 Posted October 30, 2022 Share Posted October 30, 2022 On 10/29/2022 at 5:44 PM, Fish Folk said: So… I’m trying out a “Zucchini net trap” this eve… Yeah, that's the big tip for something like this. They do actually have fish traps that might be a good use for you in your situation. Honestly. I think when I do it I see the fish I want to get or know where they like to hang out and then it's a matter of pull the wood / drop them into the net in the fashion that Cory and the crew does for wild caught fishing trips. I tend to use the hand method and plecos are definitely fast when they want to be. I would be concerned with draining that tank 1/2-way down just because they can totally be stuck in that rock and not move. I think your best chance will be to bribe them and then use the hand method and coax them towards a net trap if they don't go for the food / fish trap. I try to spook them to the edge of the glass somewhere and then they tend to run along the glass until you can corner them somehow. It might not work for this big of a tank, but that's my method. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colu Posted October 30, 2022 Share Posted October 30, 2022 (edited) I use a hobby Genius trap it has a sliding door I typically don't feed the day before so they are hungry then I bait the trap with some repashy works well you just have to be patient Edited October 30, 2022 by Colu 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Odd Duck Posted October 30, 2022 Share Posted October 30, 2022 Following intently because I have young super red BN that I will pretty much have to reset the tank to get them out. Mind you, this is a tank I want to eventually reset, but I’m not quite ready for the next batch and yet they’re here. I wanted to put the next batch into an already reset tank. Momma and Daddy got ahead of me. At least the tank they’re in doesn’t have large pieces, but it does have a bunch of small wood pieces with buces or Anubias or moss that will have to be very carefully inspected, put in a bucket with tank water, then re-inspected before they go back in the tank. Anybody want to place any bets on how many end up back in the tank even after double inspection? 😂 🤣 I would like to get the BN out - sell the larger ones (they’re getting close to sale size), release the babies in the breeder net into a different tank completely (10 days until another tank is available), then start dividing cory babies by species as soon as I can tell them apart (and maybe before). I have blackworms in the sand in the BN growout tank and cories will clear them out so I won’t feel bad about wasting blackworms when I dump that sand. 😝 The cories will probably explode in growth with those blackworms available. That tank was intended to end up a cory growout but the BN bred first. If the cories don’t clear out the blackworms then it will stay as a cory growout. If they do clear them all out (more likely) then once they’re ready for sale, I’ll dump sand and convert another 10 to UGF with matten substrate. In the mean time, I’m ready to hear all about the best ways to collect juvie BN out of tanks. 😃 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Folk Posted October 30, 2022 Author Share Posted October 30, 2022 (edited) So… after a few hours and half a dozen pulls of the net-trap, I’ve ended up with 20+ BNPs. I moved them into a floating FIY containment basket made of plastic mesh… Now, these fish are capable of remarkable feats of escape. We shall see how many remain come sale day! Here’s a short video… Some are already breeding size, spawning in this tank. I definitely left the caught ones the zucchini slices as a consolation. Edited October 30, 2022 by Fish Folk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSwissAquarist Posted October 30, 2022 Share Posted October 30, 2022 On 10/30/2022 at 3:21 AM, Colu said: I use a hobby Genius trap it has a sliding door I typically don't feed the day before so they are hungry then I bait the trap with some repashy works well you just have to be patient These work really well, but if the net one is cheaper… Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSwissAquarist Posted October 30, 2022 Share Posted October 30, 2022 Sometimes I just lift up the decoration and see what jumps into a net held underneath... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guppysnail Posted October 30, 2022 Share Posted October 30, 2022 From birth mine learn to eat out of a terra cotta pot liner food dish. I put in fan favorites and wait they come running fast because that is their normal feeding. I stick in a big coop net and cover them and the dish next to the glass. Then lift the dish with left hand and scoop a ton up. rinse and repeat. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSwissAquarist Posted October 30, 2022 Share Posted October 30, 2022 On 10/30/2022 at 11:35 AM, Guppysnail said: From birth mine learn to eat out of a terra cotta pot liner food dish That is a superb idea! Teaching them to feed in one set place from hatching so that it doesn’t take forever to catch them out! Thank you very much! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now