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Trapping Pakistani Loaches

SunnyP

Member
Joined
19 Jul 2008
Messages
130
I have been trying to get rid of the 2 pakistani loaches I have in my planted tank but with no luck. I don't want to move the wood and plants about to catch them till last resort. I have tried trapping them in bottle with some algae wafers at the end of the bottle but do not go in the bottle at all. Got a bristlenose stuck in their instead, having a panic attack. Did it again with some flakes but the shrimps wandered instead.

Any ideas are really welcomed as these loaches have now decided to start uprooting most of the plants making them more of a hassle rather than a pleasant feature.
 
Hi SunnyP,

I know exactly where your coming from mate I had the self same problem with an overgrown SAE being just plain clumsy. Have you ever seen how fast them things can swim when shown a net!!! Eventually got the better of him though without uprooting my plants. The solution is really simple when you think about it but then often the best ideas are.

Make a sizable depression in a suitable place in your gravel so that its a couple of inches deeper than the rest of the substrate and then drain all the tank water off until all the fish end up in this depression or stranded either way you get the fish out without damaging your plants. If you have other big fish in there aswell you may have to remove these temporarily especially if they are deep bodied like angels or discus. Be aware that it will stress all of your fish out but its only temporary and they soon recover.

Obviously don't throw away the water but if you combine it with a water change then you'll only need to store 50% (or less)of the total volume of your tank. Also because of the closeness that your hose is going to get to your fish whilst draining its advisable to put a stocking over the end to avoid sucking small fish through the pipe and any other damage to fish that could occur.

Go on show em who's boss..... :lol: :lol:

Regards, Chris.
 
Another method which I had recommended to me recently for moving a large plec and my loaches is to use a tube (like drainpipe for example), wait for fish to enter, then block each end and move to new home.
 
I just had to express a grin just by looking at the title - nippy little so and so's aren't they! And they seem to know exactly who the net is for!

The pipe method works well, as does a small flowerpot.
 
JamesM said:
Another method which I had recommended to me recently for moving a large plec and my loaches is to use a tube (like drainpipe for example), wait for fish to enter, then block each end and move to new home.

Don't know why I didn't think of that method as they do love their piping. I took most of the tank apart last night and spent nearly an hour catching with a net and a small cup but they always have a planned escape route. One dug himself under the cup.
Gonna try the pipe idea today which I got from MA last night and entice them with bloodworms as they now know algae wafers = NET!! ( Still ate the food after I gave up).

chris1004 said:
Hi SunnyP,

I know exactly where your coming from mate I had the self same problem with an overgrown SAE being just plain clumsy. Have you ever seen how fast them things can swim when shown a net!!! Eventually got the better of him though without uprooting my plants. The solution is really simple when you think about it but then often the best ideas are.

Make a sizable depression in a suitable place in your gravel so that its a couple of inches deeper than the rest of the substrate and then drain all the tank water off until all the fish end up in this depression or stranded either way you get the fish out without damaging your plants. If you have other big fish in there aswell you may have to remove these temporarily especially if they are deep bodied like angels or discus. Be aware that it will stress all of your fish out but its only temporary and they soon recover.

Obviously don't throw away the water but if you combine it with a water change then you'll only need to store 50% (or less)of the total volume of your tank. Also because of the closeness that your hose is going to get to your fish whilst draining its advisable to put a stocking over the end to avoid sucking small fish through the pipe and any other damage to fish that could occur.

Go on show em who's boss..... :lol: :lol:

Regards, Chris.

I try this chris if the pipe dosen't work which I feel may not work as they know what's coming for them in dark places. NET!!

Cheers guys for the ideas, will let you know how I get along later today.
 
JamesM said:
Another method which I had recommended to me recently for moving a large plec and my loaches is to use a tube (like drainpipe for example), wait for fish to enter, then block each end and move to new home.

Don't know why I didn't think of that method as they do love their piping. I took most of the tank apart last night and spent nearly an hour catching with a net and a small cup but they always have a planned escape route. One dug himself under the cup.
Gonna try the pipe idea today which I got from MA last night and entice them with bloodworms as they now know algae wafers = NET!! ( Still ate the food after I gave up).

chris1004 said:
Hi SunnyP,

I know exactly where your coming from mate I had the self same problem with an overgrown SAE being just plain clumsy. Have you ever seen how fast them things can swim when shown a net!!! Eventually got the better of him though without uprooting my plants. The solution is really simple when you think about it but then often the best ideas are.

Make a sizable depression in a suitable place in your gravel so that its a couple of inches deeper than the rest of the substrate and then drain all the tank water off until all the fish end up in this depression or stranded either way you get the fish out without damaging your plants. If you have other big fish in there aswell you may have to remove these temporarily especially if they are deep bodied like angels or discus. Be aware that it will stress all of your fish out but its only temporary and they soon recover.

Obviously don't throw away the water but if you combine it with a water change then you'll only need to store 50% (or less)of the total volume of your tank. Also because of the closeness that your hose is going to get to your fish whilst draining its advisable to put a stocking over the end to avoid sucking small fish through the pipe and any other damage to fish that could occur.

Go on show em who's boss..... :lol: :lol:

Regards, Chris.

I try this chris if the pipe dosen't work which I feel may not work as they know what's coming for them in dark places. NET!!

Cheers guys for the ideas, will let you know how I get along later today.
 
Got rid of the loaches after labouring hour. Tried trapping them in pipes with bloodworms to entice them but no luck at all. Got impatient and removed all plants and decor in the tank. Chased them with the NET!!!. One hid in the pipe, just got him before he scuttled out. The older one (much wiser) made me have to remove tank water to the height of my NET!!! and got him that way.
Put the second loach in the fish bag and the first bag went balistic when it saw the NET!! go into the bag.

They really do hate the NET!!

I've now put everything back and all the fish and shrimps are fine and more relaxed with more of them swimming to the bottom and shrimps grazing on the gravel. A noticeable increase in the mosquito rasbora's colour and moving at a more gentle pace.

Get guys, helped a lot.
 
I had to capture 2 SAE's recently and used one of those storage containers usually used for breakfast cereals - they have a small, round flip top in the lid. You can fill them will water and they'll still float. I put some food in there and then left it floating in the tank with the flip top open.

Then I waited. Just kept an intermittent eye on it and waited for the fish to go in. They're pretty curious and very greedy, so once they'd gotten used to the intrusion in the tank, they were happily in and out of the container. All you have to do is gently close the flip top lid and you've got em! The fact that the container is floating on the surface helps because you can close the lid easily without having to get the the bottom of the tank. The plastic is opaque too - so you can see which fish are in there. It took a day to get both of them - but it wasn't a mission - just a case of remembering to keep checking who was in the trap and waiting until I had the right fish.

I didn't have to stress out the fish by chasing them around and my plants didn't have to take a battering either.
 
Hi CeeBee,

Thanks for sharing that its a great idea I'll try it next time things get tricky catching fish.

Regards, Chris.
 
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