# Catching fish in a planted tank.



## beaucon (Feb 4, 2005)

I recently bought what was supposed to be a Siamese Algae Eater. It was very small and I could not really judge it well. It turns out, as I feared, that it is a Flying Fox and not the true SAE. 

It is nasty, and I realy want to get rid of this fish. So here is the problem. I cannot catch the beast. Yesterday I went to the extreme of draining my tank to just a fraction of the gravel line. I could have caught any other fish in the tank, but that damn SAE was uncatchable. He buried deep in the plants and I eventually had to give up for fear of all the stress on my plants and other fish. I'm thinking about going with a very very small fishing hook. One thing is for sure; I wont' use beard algae for bait. He won't touch the stuff.


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## Lil boy blue (Jan 26, 2006)

Go to this thread its about dicus but it has differnent ways for catching fish....http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/fish/27444-catching-these-discus-help.html?highlight=traps


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## beaucon (Feb 4, 2005)

*Thank you*

There are a whole bunch of good ideas there. I think I am going to try the fish trap. I had been thinking about something along that line. The soda bottle idea is great.

Thanks for the link


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## fusQer (Jan 23, 2006)

the same thing happened to me, but i kept the fish. they still eat alot of algae...


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## RoseHawke (Mar 10, 2004)

I had (before I knew any better) a CAE (Chinese Algae Eater.) The bugger got to almost maximum size, close to 6" in a 29 gallon tank. He was chasing everything and flinging the gravel around so badly I could frequently hear it hit the glass. I ended up (again, before I knew better) tearing the tank down to catch him. The LFS was happy to get him. I was happy to see him go.


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## beaucon (Feb 4, 2005)

*My new fish trap.*

Thanks to the tips from Lil Boy Blue, I decided to make a fish trap. The plans for the same follow.

Material:
1. Clear plastic Baby Bottle. Cost $1 at the dollar store. I comes with a silicone nipple and a cap.

2. Monofilament Fishing Line.

Procedure:

1. Cut the end off the nipple. Depending on the location of the cut you can select the size of the opening. I cut it just a little bigger the the diameter of the Flying Fox. (estimate only... if I could actually measure him I wouldn't need the trap :icon_roll )

2. Drill a series of holes in the bottom of the bottle to allow for the water to drain out when you pull up the trap. This will also give you neutral boyancy. 

3. Invert the nipple so it points into the bottle and cap with just the retainer ring. The fish can swim in but the can't swim out. They won't get hurt on the nipple because it is so soft.

4. Add food and suspend at the depth you prefer. 

So far I caught both my American Flag's twice. It figure... they eat the algae and are nice. They force there way into the trap. I mean they really have to squirm to get in. Even if I never catch the Flying Fox, it is worth the dollar just to watch these two.


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## emoore3 (Oct 18, 2003)

Yeah SAE's and other fish of that type are a pain to catch. They are always the last fish in the tank (SAE's) when I am moving tanks. A fish trap might work but you might have to disassemble the tank.

RoseHawke; Your 6" CAE was no where near fully grown. A long time ago a neighbor of mine had a CAE in a pond for about 5 years. One day he decided he did not want it so he asked if I would like to take it. He said it was pretty large. I was thinking maybe 6 or 7" so I decided to take it and put it in my oscar tank. When he brought over the fish I was shocked. It was over 12"!


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## Livebearer101 (Feb 7, 2006)

For future reference, what i do is have a large tub and my net. I feed my fish and the tetras usually come to the top. I use the net to guide them all into the tub. That normally works for tetra and guppy.

You want to try my peaceful betta for time  You put a small net in and he swims into it for you


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## Lil boy blue (Jan 26, 2006)

Awesome.....glad to help...Tell us when you catch the flying fox!!


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## RoseHawke (Mar 10, 2004)

emoore3 said:


> "... When he brought over the fish I was shocked. It was over 12"!


:icon_eek: :icon_eek: :icon_eek: !!! 

Well, it wasn't getting any bigger in MY tank :icon_lol: !!!


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## GreenerSideofLIfe (Dec 24, 2005)

One way that always works for me. Feed them. Once they get really into the food.... scoop them up from bellow with the net. No chasing required  Thats how I catch my rainbows...and those buggers are FAST!!


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## beaucon (Feb 4, 2005)

*Rocketing Rainbows*

Greener

I know what you mean about rainbows. They are amazingly fast. I have three in my tank and nothing can even compare in speed. They are actually among my favorite fish. The three of them deploy at equal intervals on sentry posts around my leopard sword and all face head to tail like they we installed on a merry-go-round. From this position, they rocket out to food or other points of interest. Fortunatley, I don't have to catch these now. I hope I never do.


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## Samir (Mar 3, 2014)

I used the inverted soda bottle trap and it worked


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