Help Help Help!!!!!!!!!

[lisa67]

I have had my tank set up for a couple of months now and i used damsels to cycle it but now comes the time to get rid of them,but i have been trying to catch them with nets and even a trap loaded with food but to no avail so has anybody got any ideas how to catch these little sods, any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

[mps9506]

dynamite?
This is one reason a lot of folks have started recommending cycling with a piece of shrimp or squid or something.
Couple of tips, although there is no 100% guaranteed way to catch them short of removing all the rock from your tank and using a big net:
Leave the net in th tank for a few days/week/weeks/months to let them get used to it. Feed the fish and scoop em out at the same time. Use the biggest net you can fit in there and still move.
Traps... same thing as with the nets, leave an empty trap in there to let them get used to it. Usually traps are great at catching everything you don't want to trap. If you wanted to keep the damsels they would be getting caught in there every 5 minutes.
I've heard of people using tiny fly fishing hooks with food on them. I have no idea if they come small enough for a damsel. I'm not a fly fisherman and think it would be hard to cast a fly rod in the house...
Rent a trigger fish or a lionfish from a friend and let them take care of the problem. The lionfish is very easy to capture as long as you don't get poked!
Finally, if you have a smaller tank, the easiest solution is to get a plastic container, take your rocks out put them in the container, and net the fish out, and put everything back in.

[sasquatch]

You can try 2 nets at the same time. You can leave a net in the tank so they get used to it, then start feeding there, them pull up the net. lol now you see why none of us here use live stock to cycle they are hard to catch and its an unnecessary cruelty, try a couple of deli shrimp next time. Steve

[GeeWizzItsMe]

I caught my damsels with a net in no time, maybe keep trying with the net..

[bluespotjawfish]

If it were me, I'd put the rocks in a bucket first. You'll catch them in no time with a lot less stress.

[AQTCJAK]

eels work (jk) I would remove the rock then catch them

[bigpotd]

I just had a similar problem with a yellow tang and a four striped damsel. If you dont want to move rock there is one way.

Look at your tank and think of ways to divide it off with plexiglass. I set my rock in the middle of my tank (not touching the glass) in two large piles. I was able to first divide my tank in half with one piece of plexi. Then, with another, i made a triangle out of the corner of the tank (if you are looking down from the surface). Open one side of the triangle so the fish can get in there. feed only in there and soon they will swim inside, close and Voilà.

I got so frustrated i wanted to squash my fish on the floor when i was first trying to get them. This method worked wonders.

Measure your tank and come up with dimensions for your plexi sheets. Go to Ace hardware and they will cut it for free.

[SoccerBum474]

yea i cycled with a damsel too, bad idea it took me about 4 days to catch that one i had, i named it convict cuz it was a four-striped, it was an @$$ hole and it would escape from my traps and my net

[lisa67]

thanks everyone for your tips on trying to catch my damsels i think this is gonna take me a while as these fish are elusive, getting to enjoy this hobby but seem to be having problem after problem all the time. 1 week ago i lost 1 listick tang, 1 percula clown which seemed fine and healthy then this morning i woke up and my other clown fish is missing i am now thinking this is also dead in the tank somewhere. also my regal tang has a kinda bubble on its head looks like a water blister, i dont have a clue but something is picking off my fish, so once again if anybody has any idea's as to what could be going on i would be really grateful, cheers p.s all my checks on water are ok

[Woodstock]

What size is your tank?

Damsels can live through just about anything but the other fish you mentioned are more sensitive.

• The damsels could be so aggressive that they chase the new fish to death.
• Disease
• Overstocking/crowding can stress some fish to death. Lack of swimming room, no swimming room, no quiet place to rest, etc.
• Ammonia/nitrIte spikes kill quickly.

[lcstorc]

Welcome to RS!
Sorry you are having so much difficulty but I think it is all caused by the same thing. You are going way too fast.
Slow down and do a lot of reading and ask a lot of questions. There are tons of people here who are more than willing to help.
Also post your water paramaters (the actual numbers) and the specs on your tank (size, filtration, LR, etc) and that will help us help you.

[lisa67]

Hi
i have a 90 gallon tank, just gonna check my nitrite and ammonia levels again they was ok yesterday, i have in my tank 1 yellow tang
1 cleaner wrasse
1 regal tang
1 spotted grunt
2 yellow tailed damsels
2 zebra damsels
2 domino damsels
is this tank over crowded. cheers

[Melanie]

First off, welcome to RS!

Second, did you quarrantine each new fish when you added it? Sometimes they can come in with a parasite that doesn't show for a few days. If you put them in a separate tank (I use a 10 gal. reserved just for this) for a few weeks or more you can observe them to make sure they don't have a parasite or infection and that they are eating well. If you see a problem, it's much easier to treat in a 10 gal. than your display tank. Also, they don't infect every other fish you own.

Here is my QT (quarrantine tank).

[tbittner]

Is the "blister" on the tang over it's eye? If so, either it could have bruised itself on the rock OR it could have pop-eye. You can search for "tang pop eye" on google and see pictures and see if that is what it looks like.

[lcstorc]

Once the damsels are removed I would not call that overcrowded. The rule of thumb is one inch of adult fish per 5 gallons of water so you should be able to keep about 15 inches of fish. The tangs alone will fill that up as they grow and I would really recommend not having them in a 90g since they need lots of room to swim. I am assuming they are small now but keep in mind at some point they will outgrow your tank. The regal for instance has an adult size of 12 inches. Also you should know that the cleaner wrasse will likely not make it. Very very few survive in captivity. There is very little known about their natural feeding habits and most just don't make it. Please do not get another if/when this one passes on. I did once keep one alive for 6 months only to have it jump out of the tank. Every one I have tried since has quickly perished just like the experts here told me they would. Obviously I do not even try them anymore.
In your first post you say you have had the tank for months. How many? What do you use for filtration particularly biological filtration (usually Live rock or bio-balls). The more information you give us the more we can help.