How can I get some fish out of a heavily planted large aquarium?

[jeaninel]

There's always that one or two fish that are masters at hiding and evading capture, especially with smaller fish. I still have two Rummynose left in my 55 when I transferred them to my 135. I just finally gave up and said what the heck, if you become a snack, you become a snack. I had already caught the other 18 rummies and 9 cardinals lol. Those two rummies are still living peacefully with the Polleni.

 

[jaws7777]

Drain the water to fin level and use two nets

 

[convict360]

If you guys ever feel like torturing yourself in this manner, stock your tank with Odessa barbs; then attempt to remove them.

I swear they don't do the normal fish thing, of hide then bolt for it. These crafty little gits pick hiding spots, and stay dead still; I've actually "emptied" a tank 3x, and came back later to sincere "wtf" moments when another 2 or 3 can be seen cautiously swimming around

 

[boldtogether]

First, I get all the fish to one side. Then I use a divider slightly wider than the tank so it bends and completely seals off both sides and then I push it down into the sand.
Then, I drain the tank to fin level or slightly higher and slowly remove target/s. Getting frustrated usually resulys in a lot of splashed water.
Good luck.
And BTW, I use 1/16th" acrylic for the divider and I keep it handy behind the tank.

 

[ragin_cajun]

Before you try any of those excellent suggestions, try this. Just net 'em in the middle of the night. Once they've been in pitch dark for a few hours, and they're "sleeping" really hard, walk in and turn on the light and net 'em real quick.

When the lights come on, it takes em a couple minutes to wake up and their eyes to adjust to the light. Soon as you turn on the lights, they're like sitting ducks. Some fish are more vulnerable to this than others I've noticed.

You could also trap 'em. Guys who run reef tanks have this problem all the time. Search on reefcentral.com for "fish trap". They've come up with all kinds of ingenious ways to trap fish in their tanks.

Or, you could gig 'em, depending on how you feel about that. Different people have different ethics on that sort of thing, but it IS an option. Reef tanks have trouble with nasty crabs and aiptasia, and they'll just get a big long oyster fork looking tool to gig 'em.

 

[justin]

Best way I found out was trying to remove giant danios from a planted tank. At night when the lights have been out for a few hrs I go and take the hoods off and use a dim red light and catch a few before they wake back up then I stop for a bit and do it again. I was punching homes in the walls trying to get the danios out, then when I tried this it was a piece of cake. Did the same thing with some large tinfoil barbs in a pond.

 

[Allan01230]

Get a huge oversized fish net but not so big that you cant turn the thing around in the tank

 

[Jamesrazel]

That bottle method is the best. I tricked my fire eel thinking a wine bottle is a super dope home, but really it's an easy trap muwhaha

 

[convict360]

Best way I found out was trying to remove giant danios from a planted tank. At night when the lights have been out for a few hrs I go and take the hoods off and use a dim red light and catch a few before they wake back up then I stop for a bit and do it again. I was punching homes in the walls trying to get the danios out, then when I tried this it was a piece of cake. Did the same thing with some large tinfoil barbs in a pond.

Lol I can see that happening, the frustration is real sometimes; especially when its been dragging on; your arm is tired, then they get caught in the net then either jump or quickly swim out lol

 

[xraycer]

Here's what Curious George suggests