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Unread 11/12/2005, 11:43 AM   #3
Anthony Calfo
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Join Date: Nov 2001
Location: Pennsylvania
Posts: 5,436
The BAG in a BAG METHOD:

This is my favorite way of catching realy shy or elusive fishes from the reef tank. Dwarf angels, basslets and the like can be had this way with little disturbance to the tank as long as you have a little bit of patience

Take a fairly large plastic bag (new and sturdy 3-4mil preferably). Size relative to the fish being caught... but typically a 10X22" catches most home reef aquarium fishes.

Fold the top of the bag down about 2" to make a sturdy collar and sink this bag into the aquarium while removing all air from in and under it (the collar).

Place the bag expanded (fluff it out so it is a bit spacious) in the aquarium... but MOST IMPORTANTLY lean it against the rockscape so that shy fishes are more likely to slip by or in it (security) as opposed to waiting with it in open water. duh!

The Bait: take a tiny golf-ball sized plastic bag of concentrated live bring shrimp... tie it off, then throw it into the back of the large sunken bag trap.

Then... with a bowl of additional live brine shrimp in a slurry, you sit near the tank (lights off in the room) and occasionally squirt (turkey baster) just a little bit of brine shrimp into the mouth of the bag every few minutes as needed.

The obvious ploy here is to lure fishes to the mouth of the bag and tease them with the "motherload" in the back! (the small tied off bag of concentrated live food)

Now of course... every other fish and its brother that you do not want to catch will enter the bag first But eventually the shy fish will too... and when it does, you are sitting several feet away from the tank with a piece of fishing string that was tied around the neck of the bag, under the collar... and pull!

You'd be amazed how well this works for really elusive fishes. It takes time though... and patience.

But if you are afreared to drain your tank or use other methods... this may be an option.

Kindly,

Anthony


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"If you give a man a fish, he eats for a day... but if you teach a man to fish, he eats for a lifetime."

Current Tank Info: 2K gallon fishroom, garden ponds
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