!HELP! Fish in the Overflow

Melanie · 12-04-2007, 07:14 PM

My six line wrasse is in my overflow. What do I do now??????

reefman420 · 12-04-2007, 07:17 PM

Eric · 12-04-2007, 07:18 PM

I have been there before but will let someone else offerer advice if it's small enough stop the pumps and pull the over flow tube out and let him drain into the sump. Or get the net and hope you get lucky.

Normally just takes alot of patients and a small net.

Hope that helps the draining way is kinda stressful on the fish but is an alternative. Someone else probably has some better ideas.

Good luck
Eric G.

lcstorc · 12-04-2007, 07:19 PM

Try to catch him. It can be quite difficult. I usually turn of the pump so the water goes to about half level in the overflow. This makes it a bit easier to catch them.

JFK_Jr · 12-04-2007, 07:26 PM

I do what EEK does... pull the standpipe out in the overflow, and let him drain into a net in the sump. Have a pitcher of tank water ready so when you pull the standpipe, you can pour extra water if needed.

Works like a charm...

JFK_Jr · 12-04-2007, 07:28 PM

Oh... almost forgot!

Melanie · 12-04-2007, 07:29 PM

Can he live in there forever?

Lynn, I'm scared, didn't your fish die when it went in there????

Snelly40 · 12-04-2007, 07:57 PM

this has happened to me twice, once i put my smaller net in, and the FISH JUMPED IN!!!!
the second time proved much much much harder, i ended up doing what is mentioned above, pull out the overflow pipe and have a net ready and he will drain right into it!!!

reefjitsu · 12-04-2007, 08:10 PM

I would suggest that once you get it out, you come up with some measure to keep it out in the future. Maybe some type of mesh or eggcrate. IME, once fish learn to go back there or pull a sump surf, they will repeat the behavior. My experience with six line wrasses has led me to believe that they are especially prone to this.

Melanie · 12-04-2007, 08:31 PM

Well, that was pretty horrible. I pulled out the sponge and floaty thingy and the smallest net I have couldn't maneuver in that tight space. As I was contemplating what to do next, the heater exploded shooting glass everywhere. If I wasn't wearing a sweatsuit, I would have glass impaled in my legs and stomach.

So after much cursing, I pulled out the overflow tube and he didn't go down the hole, he just flopped around so I grabbed him with my hands.

This was a pretty awful evening and I sincerely hope that he is OK after all that.

burning2nd · 12-04-2007, 08:35 PM

Nemo found his way in to my O.F

took me a day to figure out where he was..... boy what that stressful. needless 2 say.... you could see in his little fish eye that he was screaming at the top of his gills "G E T ME THE #*%^ outta HERE!" Oh boy

after i got him out, he went home and thrashed his house.....

Dentoid · 12-04-2007, 08:35 PM

JFK_Jr · 12-04-2007, 08:37 PM

Ouch... glad you didn't get electrocuted...

BigAl07 · 12-04-2007, 09:19 PM

OMG! what a horrible experience! Glad it worked out for the best.

Keep us posted!!

Melev · 12-04-2007, 09:28 PM

In the future, another option is to siphon the fish out with some 3/4" or 1" tubing into a nearby bucket or trashcan (used for saltwater, of course).

Always unplug a heater before removing it. And even then, I usually rinse them under warm to cool water before setting them down on a towel. Tuck the cord out of the way to avoid tripping over it and knocking your heater to the floor only to shatter.

12-04-2007, 07:14 PM	#1 (permalink)
Melanie Golden Moray Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Naples, Florida Posts: 2,120 View Gallery Karma Komment Add yours!	!HELP! Fish in the Overflow My six line wrasse is in my overflow. What do I do now?????? __________________ My Reef Journey Latest Recap My Videos My Flickr Photos Pres. of Dork Club I love ScubaDrew and North East Coral! Read why HERE...

12-04-2007, 07:17 PM	#2 (permalink)
reefman420 Elegance coral Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: minneapolis Posts: 1,085 View Gallery Karma Komment Add yours!	Re: !HELP! Fish in the Overflow pray __________________ 155 oceanic bow front,20 long refuge packed with caluerpa and mangroves,40 gallon sump,175lbs LR,3x250 watt xm 10ks,aqua-c remora,and pro-clear 150 skimmers sailfin tang,kole tang,royal gramma,cinnimon clown,2xpink skunk clowns,six line wrasse,mandarin, 155 bow coral-orange montipora cap,superman monti cap,scripps green polyped staghorn,ORA pink poccilipora,ORA blue millipora,green slimer,yellow UK acro,pink birdsnest,armor of god zoas,various zoas and shrooms,hammer,frogspawn,clove polyps,favite,fancey toadstool,reg toadstool,yellow leather,purple leather,devils hand,2 types xenia,ricordea florida,ricordea yuma,kenya tree,galaxia,bubble coral,button polyps inverts are lots of snails and hermits,crocea clam,maxima clam and seabae anemone,rbta

12-04-2007, 07:18 PM	#3 (permalink)
Eric Neon dottyback Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: PA Posts: 685 View Gallery Karma Komment	Re: !HELP! Fish in the Overflow I have been there before but will let someone else offerer advice if it's small enough stop the pumps and pull the over flow tube out and let him drain into the sump. Or get the net and hope you get lucky. Normally just takes alot of patients and a small net. Hope that helps the draining way is kinda stressful on the fish but is an alternative. Someone else probably has some better ideas. Good luck Eric G. __________________ I'm the Reefer formally known as EEK :smck: http://www.exoticanimalforums.com/index.php

12-04-2007, 07:19 PM	#4 (permalink)
lcstorc Sunshine Reefer Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Cocoa Fl Posts: 26,433 View Gallery Karma Komment Add yours!	Re: !HELP! Fish in the Overflow Try to catch him. It can be quite difficult. I usually turn of the pump so the water goes to about half level in the overflow. This makes it a bit easier to catch them. __________________ Peace LYNN Lynn and Franks saltwater adventure Lynn's 20g clown tank Lynn's 90g of sunshine Lynn's frag tank experiment A reef tank is like a race car. The faster you go the harder you crash.

12-04-2007, 07:26 PM	#5 (permalink)
JFK_Jr Golden Moray Join Date: May 2006 Location: Hallandale Beach FL Posts: 2,108 View Gallery Karma Komment Add yours!	Re: !HELP! Fish in the Overflow I do what EEK does... pull the standpipe out in the overflow, and let him drain into a net in the sump. Have a pitcher of tank water ready so when you pull the standpipe, you can pour extra water if needed. Works like a charm... __________________ *JFK_Jr's 150 Gallon Starphire*

12-04-2007, 07:28 PM	#6 (permalink)
JFK_Jr Golden Moray Join Date: May 2006 Location: Hallandale Beach FL Posts: 2,108 View Gallery Karma Komment Add yours!	Re: !HELP! Fish in the Overflow Oh... almost forgot! __________________ *JFK_Jr's 150 Gallon Starphire*

12-04-2007, 07:29 PM	#7 (permalink)
Melanie Golden Moray Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Naples, Florida Posts: 2,120 View Gallery Karma Komment Add yours!	Re: !HELP! Fish in the Overflow Can he live in there forever? Lynn, I'm scared, didn't your fish die when it went in there???? __________________ My Reef Journey Latest Recap My Videos My Flickr Photos Pres. of Dork Club I love ScubaDrew and North East Coral! Read why HERE...

12-04-2007, 07:57 PM	#8 (permalink)
Snelly40 Manta Ray Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Charlotte, NC Posts: 3,098 View Gallery Karma Komment	Re: !HELP! Fish in the Overflow this has happened to me twice, once i put my smaller net in, and the FISH JUMPED IN!!!! the second time proved much much much harder, i ended up doing what is mentioned above, pull out the overflow pipe and have a net ready and he will drain right into it!!! __________________ Snelly's 90gal Reef-O-Rama *Member-"Crabs Are Evil" Society*

12-04-2007, 08:10 PM	#9 (permalink)
reefjitsu Plate Coral Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: The Magic City Posts: 758 View Gallery Karma Komment	Re: !HELP! Fish in the Overflow I would suggest that once you get it out, you come up with some measure to keep it out in the future. Maybe some type of mesh or eggcrate. IME, once fish learn to go back there or pull a sump surf, they will repeat the behavior. My experience with six line wrasses has led me to believe that they are especially prone to this. __________________ You can't give up hope just because it's hopeless. You got to keep on hoping and cover your ears and go "blah blah blah blah"- Futurama

12-04-2007, 08:31 PM	#10 (permalink)
Melanie Golden Moray Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Naples, Florida Posts: 2,120 View Gallery Karma Komment Add yours!	Re: !HELP! Fish in the Overflow Well, that was pretty horrible. I pulled out the sponge and floaty thingy and the smallest net I have couldn't maneuver in that tight space. As I was contemplating what to do next, the heater exploded shooting glass everywhere. If I wasn't wearing a sweatsuit, I would have glass impaled in my legs and stomach. So after much cursing, I pulled out the overflow tube and he didn't go down the hole, he just flopped around so I grabbed him with my hands. This was a pretty awful evening and I sincerely hope that he is OK after all that. __________________ My Reef Journey Latest Recap My Videos My Flickr Photos Pres. of Dork Club I love ScubaDrew and North East Coral! Read why HERE...

12-04-2007, 08:35 PM	#11 (permalink)
burning2nd Golden Moray Join Date: May 2006 Location: PA Posts: 2,287 View Gallery Karma Komment	Re: !HELP! Fish in the Overflow Nemo found his way in to my O.F took me a day to figure out where he was..... boy what that stressful. needless 2 say.... you could see in his little fish eye that he was screaming at the top of his gills "G E T ME THE #*%^ outta HERE!" Oh boy after i got him out, he went home and thrashed his house..... __________________ ________________________________________________ 30g, 10g DIY sump w/ mag7 Csr90 over flow. 36" sunpod 2x150 2 Tunze 6020 40 Lb's Live Rock 20 lb's of Ls Aqua C REmora mIxed reef, softies, pora's, clams, 1 Amphiprion ocellaris (hosting GTA) jake the jedi sexy shrimp, and brown bob

12-04-2007, 08:37 PM	#13 (permalink)
JFK_Jr Golden Moray Join Date: May 2006 Location: Hallandale Beach FL Posts: 2,108 View Gallery Karma Komment Add yours!	Re: !HELP! Fish in the Overflow Ouch... glad you didn't get electrocuted... __________________ *JFK_Jr's 150 Gallon Starphire*

12-04-2007, 09:19 PM	#14 (permalink)
BigAl07 Do I look as lost as I am Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Waynesville, North Carolina Posts: 21,549 View Gallery Karma Komment Add yours!	Re: !HELP! Fish in the Overflow OMG! what a horrible experience! Glad it worked out for the best. Keep us posted!! __________________ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~ *Live Rock Rubble will do the SAME thing as Bio-Balls and is NOT a suitable replacement for BIO-BALLS in a Reef System! It's ALL gotta go!!* Nitrate (NO3) reduction is directly proportional to percentage of Water Change. Allen's home-made formula...currentNO3-((%WC.01)currentNO3)=finalNO3 (thanks Luukosian) This means if you change 50% of your total water volume (That's EVERYTHING) you'll get a net reduction of (NO3) somewhere around 50%. Ask me about how to increase your REEF budget without going without FOOD!!* Big Al's 10g Julie's (BigAl's Gal) 6g NanoCube Gone but not forgotten BigAl's Slow 90g Tank Chronicle Allens OFFICE 12g Nano-Reef

12-04-2007, 09:28 PM	#15 (permalink)
Melev Pistol Shrimp Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Ft Worth, Tx Posts: 249 View Gallery Karma Komment	Re: !HELP! Fish in the Overflow In the future, another option is to siphon the fish out with some 3/4" or 1" tubing into a nearby bucket or trashcan (used for saltwater, of course). Always unplug a heater before removing it. And even then, I usually rinse them under warm to cool water before setting them down on a towel. Tuck the cord out of the way to avoid tripping over it and knocking your heater to the floor only to shatter. __________________ Visit Melev's Reef 280g Starfire reef with all the essential equipment.

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