moved guys to 30-gal tank.

On Tue, 14 Jun 2005 20:56:34 GMT, Elaine T <eetmail-fish RemoveThis @yahoo.com>
wrote:

>I think cichlids are the worst, except for saltwater fish. On the
>bright side, I netted thousands of fish working for LFS and only a
>couple who got spines stuck and couldn't free themselves were actually
>injured. We'd have to move whole tanks of fish around the store every
>Sunday night to clear room for the next week's shipments and all the
>fish we moved made it just fine.
>
>A fish store trick - use two nets, one large and one small. Use the
>large net in your off hand to herd the fish into the small, quick one.
>It takes a bit of practice and you may have to remove tank decorations,
>but it's the easiest way to catch intelligent fish like cichlids or SW fish.

Hmm... I always thought the way to do it was to herd the fish with the
small net into the large one; this is what I always attempt. I first
saw this many moons ago in an LFS when I was a kid. The owner of that
store used two nets of the same size however. The guy was an expert,
used no effort at all to catch fish, but I guess it's easier in the
store without plants and stuff everywhere in the tanks.

-Derek
 >> Stay informed about: moved guys to 30-gal tank. 

"Derek Benson" <benson.DeleteThis@online.no> wrote in message
news:k9kua1ttk6bbfnvikspfgn39i1sdsb861h@4ax.com...
> On Tue, 14 Jun 2005 20:56:34 GMT, Elaine T <eetmail-fish.DeleteThis@yahoo.com>
> wrote:
>
>>I think cichlids are the worst, except for saltwater fish. On the
>>bright side, I netted thousands of fish working for LFS and only a
>>couple who got spines stuck and couldn't free themselves were actually
>>injured. We'd have to move whole tanks of fish around the store every
>>Sunday night to clear room for the next week's shipments and all the
>>fish we moved made it just fine.
>>
>>A fish store trick - use two nets, one large and one small. Use the
>>large net in your off hand to herd the fish into the small, quick one.
>>It takes a bit of practice and you may have to remove tank decorations,
>>but it's the easiest way to catch intelligent fish like cichlids or SW
>>fish.
>
> Hmm... I always thought the way to do it was to herd the fish with the
> small net into the large one; this is what I always attempt. I first
> saw this many moons ago in an LFS when I was a kid. The owner of that
> store used two nets of the same size however. The guy was an expert,
> used no effort at all to catch fish, but I guess it's easier in the
> store without plants and stuff everywhere in the tanks.
>
> -Derek

Sometimes the plants & stuff can work to your advantage. My technique
was to park a larger catch-net and have a small chaser-net. The
catch-net was between the glass and some natural object (rock, driftwood
etc). I would gently coral the fish into the catch-net and then
depending on the fish, either gently lift the net up, or sandwich them
between nets (the larger the fish, the more you want to have them in
between nets ;~).

Sometimes the trick is to make a sudden movement (jerk the net slightly)
at the moment just before they recognize the catch-net for what it is.
They react instinctively to water vibrations (jumping forwards), but they
have to think about reacting to visual threats (often making the right
choice and getting away from you).

Schooling large groups into nets was fun. We could move most of several
hundred Neons in 5 or 6 tries. Just coral them into the catch-net ever
so slowly. It's fun to watch so many of them pile into a dead end and
then lose all initiative as there is no one to follow. Clown loaches
were the best though. If you could get them to school into a large net,
the ones who were not caught yet would sometimes willingly swim into the
net with their trapped brethren as they like to pile up into groups.
This would not last long though as Clowns are smart and as soon as one
would swim out, everyone would quickly follow, so timing was everything.

For fast cichlids, especially mbuna, I stack the odds in my favour by
removing interferences and sometimes even lowering the water level to the
height of the net. Then I use 2 big nets and get ready to pick them off
the floor if they jump out. Alternately, get them to swim into a
container that you can close (I always prefer to outsmart them as it's
the least stressful (on them), but it requires the most time & patience,
which I don't always have enough of). hth
-
www.NetMax.tk
 >> Stay informed about: moved guys to 30-gal tank. 

On Tue, 14 Jun 2005 20:56:34 GMT, Elaine T <eetmail-fish.DeleteThis@yahoo.com>
wrote:

>Dick wrote:
>> On Mon, 13 Jun 2005 19:34:30 -0500, coolchinchilla
>> <coolchinchilla.DeleteThis@myhome.invalid.none> wrote:
>>
>>
>>>I moved my guys from the 20-gallon to the 30-gallon this afternoon -
>>>10 cichlids and a pleco. Boy were they pale by the time I netted
>>>everyone and got them in the tank. I always feel like I really hurt
>>>them too - the equivalent of a horse stepping on my foot. Poor
>>>guys. Very stressful for them I'm sure but I think they will do much
>>>better in the bigger tank. I also ordered a master test kit so I can
>>>monitor the ammonia & nitrite spikes better.
>>>
>>>Thanks for the advice!
>>>coolchinchilla
>>
>>
>> Once upon a time I decided to separate my live bearers to keep the
>> boys from the girls. I had a choice in my 75 gallon tank. I could
>> move one male, or 3 females. I chased the boy around the tank for 3
>> days before giving up and catching the females instead. He is still
>> in the tank. It took sometime for the other fish to settle down.
>>
>> I really dread having to catch any fish, even a sick one can be
>> surprisingly agile.
>>
>> dick
>
>I think cichlids are the worst, except for saltwater fish. On the
>bright side, I netted thousands of fish working for LFS and only a
>couple who got spines stuck and couldn't free themselves were actually
>injured. We'd have to move whole tanks of fish around the store every
>Sunday night to clear room for the next week's shipments and all the
>fish we moved made it just fine.
>
>A fish store trick - use two nets, one large and one small. Use the
>large net in your off hand to herd the fish into the small, quick one.
>It takes a bit of practice and you may have to remove tank decorations,
>but it's the easiest way to catch intelligent fish like cichlids or SW fish.

Not only decorations, but plants are obstacles. When I chase a fish,
and I do use 2 nets at times, they quickly learn to dive into some
thick plant growth. Then I wait for them to come out before starting
the slow chase again. I don't like to damage my plants in a chase.

I am also so aware of how this chase is affecting the other fish. My
point is given a choice between moving tank with fish and netting the
fish, putting them into other containers then returning them to the
tank once moved, I would try very hard to move the tank and fish
together.

dick
 >> Stay informed about: moved guys to 30-gal tank. 

On Tue, 14 Jun 2005 23:56:53 +0200, Derek Benson <benson RemoveThis @online.no>
wrote:

>On Tue, 14 Jun 2005 20:56:34 GMT, Elaine T <eetmail-fish RemoveThis @yahoo.com>
>wrote:
>
>>I think cichlids are the worst, except for saltwater fish. On the
>>bright side, I netted thousands of fish working for LFS and only a
>>couple who got spines stuck and couldn't free themselves were actually
>>injured. We'd have to move whole tanks of fish around the store every
>>Sunday night to clear room for the next week's shipments and all the
>>fish we moved made it just fine.
>>
>>A fish store trick - use two nets, one large and one small. Use the
>>large net in your off hand to herd the fish into the small, quick one.
>>It takes a bit of practice and you may have to remove tank decorations,
>>but it's the easiest way to catch intelligent fish like cichlids or SW fish.
>
>Hmm... I always thought the way to do it was to herd the fish with the
>small net into the large one; this is what I always attempt. I first
>saw this many moons ago in an LFS when I was a kid. The owner of that
>store used two nets of the same size however. The guy was an expert,
>used no effort at all to catch fish, but I guess it's easier in the
>store without plants and stuff everywhere in the tanks.
>
>-Derek

Yeah, it is the plants that make the difference!

dick
 >> Stay informed about: moved guys to 30-gal tank. 

On Tue, 14 Jun 2005 19:04:36 -0400, "NetMax"
<computeralias.DeleteThis@hotmail.com> wrote:

>"Derek Benson" <benson.DeleteThis@online.no> wrote in message
>news:k9kua1ttk6bbfnvikspfgn39i1sdsb861h@4ax.com...
>> On Tue, 14 Jun 2005 20:56:34 GMT, Elaine T <eetmail-fish.DeleteThis@yahoo.com>
>> wrote:
>>
>>>I think cichlids are the worst, except for saltwater fish. On the
>>>bright side, I netted thousands of fish working for LFS and only a
>>>couple who got spines stuck and couldn't free themselves were actually
>>>injured. We'd have to move whole tanks of fish around the store every
>>>Sunday night to clear room for the next week's shipments and all the
>>>fish we moved made it just fine.
>>>
>>>A fish store trick - use two nets, one large and one small. Use the
>>>large net in your off hand to herd the fish into the small, quick one.
>>>It takes a bit of practice and you may have to remove tank decorations,
>>>but it's the easiest way to catch intelligent fish like cichlids or SW
>>>fish.
>>
>> Hmm... I always thought the way to do it was to herd the fish with the
>> small net into the large one; this is what I always attempt. I first
>> saw this many moons ago in an LFS when I was a kid. The owner of that
>> store used two nets of the same size however. The guy was an expert,
>> used no effort at all to catch fish, but I guess it's easier in the
>> store without plants and stuff everywhere in the tanks.
>>
>> -Derek
>
>Sometimes the plants & stuff can work to your advantage. My technique
>was to park a larger catch-net and have a small chaser-net. The
>catch-net was between the glass and some natural object (rock, driftwood
>etc). I would gently coral the fish into the catch-net and then
>depending on the fish, either gently lift the net up, or sandwich them
>between nets (the larger the fish, the more you want to have them in
>between nets ;~).
>
>Sometimes the trick is to make a sudden movement (jerk the net slightly)
>at the moment just before they recognize the catch-net for what it is.
>They react instinctively to water vibrations (jumping forwards), but they
>have to think about reacting to visual threats (often making the right
>choice and getting away from you).
>
>Schooling large groups into nets was fun. We could move most of several
>hundred Neons in 5 or 6 tries. Just coral them into the catch-net ever
>so slowly. It's fun to watch so many of them pile into a dead end and
>then lose all initiative as there is no one to follow. Clown loaches
>were the best though. If you could get them to school into a large net,
>the ones who were not caught yet would sometimes willingly swim into the
>net with their trapped brethren as they like to pile up into groups.
>This would not last long though as Clowns are smart and as soon as one
>would swim out, everyone would quickly follow, so timing was everything.
>
>For fast cichlids, especially mbuna, I stack the odds in my favour by
>removing interferences and sometimes even lowering the water level to the
>height of the net. Then I use 2 big nets and get ready to pick them off
>the floor if they jump out. Alternately, get them to swim into a
>container that you can close (I always prefer to outsmart them as it's
>the least stressful (on them), but it requires the most time & patience,
>which I don't always have enough of). hth
>-
>www.NetMax.tk
>

I can see that chasing lots of fish in an obstacle free tank is quite
different from chasing one fish in a planted and ornamented tank. The
single male platy was impossible to catch, and the 3 females far
easier, so individual temperament, even in one species, can make a
difference. Of course, that male is not a "individual" in the 75
gallon tank. He is less than an inch in length and is surrounded by
Clowns, SAEs, Blue Gouramis, colorful Tetras, but my eyes always find
him. He stays up with them all.

dick
 >> Stay informed about: moved guys to 30-gal tank. 

"Dick" <remdick.RemoveThis@christophers.net> wrote in message
news:v000b1d4glonca1qec5v2d533ffvco6pv5@4ax.com...
> On Tue, 14 Jun 2005 20:56:34 GMT, Elaine T <eetmail-fish.RemoveThis@yahoo.com>
> wrote:
>
>>Dick wrote:
>>> On Mon, 13 Jun 2005 19:34:30 -0500, coolchinchilla
>>> <coolchinchilla.RemoveThis@myhome.invalid.none> wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>>>I moved my guys from the 20-gallon to the 30-gallon this afternoon -
>>>>10 cichlids and a pleco. Boy were they pale by the time I netted
>>>>everyone and got them in the tank. I always feel like I really hurt
>>>>them too - the equivalent of a horse stepping on my foot. Poor
>>>>guys. Very stressful for them I'm sure but I think they will do much
>>>>better in the bigger tank. I also ordered a master test kit so I can
>>>>monitor the ammonia & nitrite spikes better.
>>>>
>>>>Thanks for the advice!
>>>>coolchinchilla
>>>
>>>
>>> Once upon a time I decided to separate my live bearers to keep the
>>> boys from the girls. I had a choice in my 75 gallon tank. I could
>>> move one male, or 3 females. I chased the boy around the tank for 3
>>> days before giving up and catching the females instead. He is still
>>> in the tank. It took sometime for the other fish to settle down.
>>>
>>> I really dread having to catch any fish, even a sick one can be
>>> surprisingly agile.
>>>
>>> dick
>>
>>I think cichlids are the worst, except for saltwater fish. On the
>>bright side, I netted thousands of fish working for LFS and only a
>>couple who got spines stuck and couldn't free themselves were actually
>>injured. We'd have to move whole tanks of fish around the store every
>>Sunday night to clear room for the next week's shipments and all the
>>fish we moved made it just fine.
>>
>>A fish store trick - use two nets, one large and one small. Use the
>>large net in your off hand to herd the fish into the small, quick one.
>>It takes a bit of practice and you may have to remove tank decorations,
>>but it's the easiest way to catch intelligent fish like cichlids or SW
>>fish.
>
> Not only decorations, but plants are obstacles. When I chase a fish,
> and I do use 2 nets at times, they quickly learn to dive into some
> thick plant growth. Then I wait for them to come out before starting
> the slow chase again. I don't like to damage my plants in a chase.

Agreed, the nature of the chase changes to your disadvantage as soon as the
fish knows it's being pursued. I taught my staff to take their sweet time
catching fish, and it was very rare for a customer to complain that we were
taking to long catching their fish, or the person's fish ahead of them in
line. I don't believe it was healthy to put an exhausted and stressed fish
in a bag to suffer transport and more shock of going into a different
aquarium, so we encouraged technique over perseverence.

We had a 130g planted tank with 6 Otos and we were a little concerned about
them disturbing a shipment of Discus which were arriving in a week. It took
us the entire week to catch those 6 Otos. We kept nets submerged in the
tank, and if you thought you had a chance, you would have one try, before
the Oto scurried under the plant cover. We caught the last one by putting
an algae wafer in the net and waiting ;~).
--
www.NetMax.tk

> I am also so aware of how this chase is affecting the other fish. My
> point is given a choice between moving tank with fish and netting the
> fish, putting them into other containers then returning them to the
> tank once moved, I would try very hard to move the tank and fish
> together.
>
> dick
 >> Stay informed about: moved guys to 30-gal tank. 

"Elaine T" <eetmail-fish DeleteThis @yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:6wHre.1573$Pa5.569@newssvr21.news.prodigy.com...

>
> I think cichlids are the worst, except for saltwater fish. On the bright
> side, I netted thousands of fish working for LFS and only a couple who got
> spines stuck and couldn't free themselves were actually injured.

I had a spiny catfish many moons ago who lived for 3+ years with a bit of
net entangled in his spines and under one fin. I cut him out the best I
could...

I've always caught my striped raphaels by chasing them into a cup.

A
 >> Stay informed about: moved guys to 30-gal tank. 

"NetMax" <computeralias.TakeThisOut@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:4oJre.6544$yU.374324@news20.bellglobal.com...
> Clown loaches were the best though. If you could get them to school into
> a large net, the ones who were not caught yet would sometimes willingly
> swim into the net with their trapped brethren as they like to pile up into
> groups. This would not last long though as Clowns are smart and as soon as
> one would swim out, everyone would quickly follow, so timing was
> everything.

Makes me think if the marching band in "Animal House."

A
 >> Stay informed about: moved guys to 30-gal tank. 

"Dick" <remdick.DeleteThis@christophers.net> wrote in message
news:hd00b1dom6100h0s1nkp5to1c9dp8ctdmc@4ax.com...
> On Tue, 14 Jun 2005 23:56:53 +0200, Derek Benson <benson.DeleteThis@online.no>
> wrote:
>
>>On Tue, 14 Jun 2005 20:56:34 GMT, Elaine T <eetmail-fish.DeleteThis@yahoo.com>
>>wrote:
>>
>>>I think cichlids are the worst, except for saltwater fish. On the
>>>bright side, I netted thousands of fish working for LFS and only a
>>>couple who got spines stuck and couldn't free themselves were actually
>>>injured. We'd have to move whole tanks of fish around the store every
>>>Sunday night to clear room for the next week's shipments and all the
>>>fish we moved made it just fine.
>>>
>>>A fish store trick - use two nets, one large and one small. Use the
>>>large net in your off hand to herd the fish into the small, quick one.
>>>It takes a bit of practice and you may have to remove tank decorations,
>>>but it's the easiest way to catch intelligent fish like cichlids or SW
>>>fish.
>>
>>Hmm... I always thought the way to do it was to herd the fish with the
>>small net into the large one; this is what I always attempt. I first
>>saw this many moons ago in an LFS when I was a kid. The owner of that
>>store used two nets of the same size however. The guy was an expert,
>>used no effort at all to catch fish, but I guess it's easier in the
>>store without plants and stuff everywhere in the tanks.
>>
>>-Derek
>
> Yeah, it is the plants that make the difference!

I usually drain quite a bit of water out too, so the chase is at least
mostly horizontal.

A
> dick
 >> Stay informed about: moved guys to 30-gal tank.