Catching fish - SIT-n-WAIT method

Okay, so I think I've perfected my method of catching fish. I've always preferred the SIT-n-WAIT method over tearing down my rockwork just to get at one fish.

In the past it has taken me up to 2 hours of just sitting and waiting for the fish to swim close enuf to the net (during feeding) for me to swoop it up.

But recently I've been catching fish (and a cleaner shrimp) in much less time. I even caught a pygmy angel (cherub angel) fish most recently w/ these simple steps (I can't guarantee it will work on 6-lines, but I've had success w/ firefish, cleaner shrimp, perc clowns, ocellaris clowns, hi fin banded goby, and most recently the cherub):

STEP 1: Get a nice frozen thick piece of food (here Formula 2 for the Cherub since it likes its veggies):

STEP 2: Clip it to a pair of tongs, long chopsticks, whatever. I find these tongs to work the best (got it for $12 at, ironically, Tong's fish store).

STEP 3: secure the tongs in place and then bend the net so that the net part forms a 90 degree angle w/ the handle. I like to bend the other end of the handle as well so I can rest it over the top of the tank.

For best results: leave the net in the tank for a few hours or a day before attempting to do this SIT-n-WAIT method...it let's the fish get used to the net inside the tank.

STEP 4: be patient. let the fish take nips at the food over the net a few times. One missed swoop and your fish will never go to the net again. I let the fish pick at the food for at least 3 or 4 times before making one fast swoop upwards to catch the fish.

Make sure that the net won't snag on anything (like your LR or corals) or else the swoop won't be so smooth and you'll have corals flying everywhere w/ no fish in the net.

practice makes perfect...but eventually it works for me now all the time.

STEP 5: not really a step, but the final result will be a fish in your net and out of your tank.

I know this is very basic...and I'm sure most ppl try to do this...I think the key is the WAITING part of the SIT-n-WAIT method. some fish are just really gullible...and some fish take forever...just wait. don't get impatient and try to swoop it up the first moment the fish goes near the food. just wait and let it pick at it.

hope that helps!

hm, well, this is the reason I don't take chances with fish that have been known to eat corals and Inverts

Good Method

This is fantastic Tigahboy. I have been trying to take out that Damsel for the longest and the little ba$tard is still in there. But now with this method I think I can actually try to get him out without destroying my tank dude.

Here's another Sit-N-Wait method.. and I actually got to sit! lol

I poked a couple holes in a plastic cup and placed some pellets at the bottom of it. I just sat and waited for my pygmy to swim into the cup to eat and I pulled the cup up towards the surface of the water and voila, caught myself a pygmy.

Here's the little booger. Mean little guy, that's why he's out of the tank and into a cup. I'll miss him.

Flush him.

lol! but.....flushing is bad, there are three ways to euthanize em humanely, sort of. first way, which is the worst, is flushing the sucker. the second way, which is a lil harsh and UNHUMANE is boiling it, its instant. The third and final way is the most humane. you freeze the poor sucker. it sounds bad, but its the best. its slow, but painless. freezing slows down their metabolism, making them fall asleep, and never waking up :*(

btw, i've never done any of this, it would be to sucky on my part.

Or the worste one of all.. taking him back to the LFS.

DOM DOM DOM!!!!

Hmm my cherub has been no trouble at all so far. It's actually my perc who is somewhat mean and bites my hand every time I put food in or feed the sun coral.

Originally posted by NaNO ReeFiN

Or the worste one of all.. taking him back to the LFS.

Oh no, that's not the ultimate worst. This is the ultimate worst:

Take him to Petco.

lmao. I somehow knew you would take pictures. My pygmy is still the best! *Knock on wood* It's those lighter colored pygmys you have to watch out for. The dark blue ones are fine. Anyways... I had to do the freezing method on a leopard frog once when I was a kid. I had a cool terrarium (sp) and the frog got some kind of illness and developed a tumor-looking thing on his back. It didn't go away for a long time and the guy could barely move anymore, so I froze him... Too bad you didn't have this method perfected when we tried to catch that rascal of a cleaner shrimp a couple months ago.

Originally posted by imafishboy

...The third and final way is the most humane. you freeze the poor sucker. it sounds bad, but its the best. its slow, but painless. freezing slows down their metabolism, making them fall asleep, and never waking up :*( ...

acctually freezing them affects the capillary blood vessels just under the skin causing them extreme pain before death...the most painless method is actually to sever their spinal cord behind the head with a scalpel or sharp knife...but i don't think anyone has enough time on their hands to preform a surgery on their doomed fish...or you could obtain a fish anaesthetic MS222 and leave the fish in a solution of this for several hours...i don't know if i'd be able to bring myself to do it, personally.

luckily my roomate has a 120gallon with a lion. nuf said

Vodka it to death, it is clear and nobody else knows what happened.

Actually, the most accepted method is currently using clove oil. But we all know jmt is kidding. You ARE kidding right? I'd eat it before I flush anthing!

when I had a fresh water tank i fed my trouble making dannio to my buddys jack demsie cichlid. . . AND got it on tape!!!

I make sure I can give the fish away to a friend, or to the LFS store, and if not, I think about it long and hard, then flush him!

well with me, i would let my cat eat the poor thing! (not like ive ever done it or anything)