How to capture/catch clownfish in a tank

[mr.iacuessa]

this is all awesome info, though i dont think ill be using cyanide anytime soon(sounds like a dumb idea) and since ill be getting some maroons in a couple weeks, im sure ill find this info useful...im new to saltwater so almost any info is good

[OrionN]

One way to catch a pair of clown fish from very sticky anemone like Gigantea and Haddoni is to use a clean wide mouth glass container. Anemone will not stick to clean glass. Glass that cover with a thin layer of algae is another mater.
Anyway, the glass in invisible to the clowns. It is very easy to scoop them from the anemone in the middle of the night. I got my Onyx A. percula from an 18 inches S. gigantea with just one try. Less than a minute to capture both of them. Plastic and dirty glass will be sticky and will cause injury to the anemone.

[rocride]

i haven't read through this thread but i'll throw my two cents....
when i moved my saddlebacks which were/are hosting a PLTA,hosting doesn't decribe what relationship they seem to have but anyways
i took a large juice jug,the ones with a handle and cut the top of it leaving the handle and gently uprooted the nem and slid him into the jug...and then sat and watched....the male went in right away and wallowed in the nem but the female was way more reluctant ...she watched that jug for 30 mins and all the time the male was in and out,finally she went in!!

then he came out,lol

after about 10 mins of them going in and out the both finally settled in to the nem and about 2 mins later i slowly covered the opening with a net and lifted the jug upright and out of the tank....they traveled like that(in a bucket of tank water)til i poured them into the new tank...

[125mph]

Caught my two clarkii's last week.. one I used an acrylic trap that has a string attached to the gate... that worked for the female and got her in 2 minutes using bait.

The male I had to net at night when he was sleeping in the nem LOL... took about 15 tries that night though.

[Da Saltwater DJ]

Maybe im just lucky , but i put a clear plastic cup in the water with mantis shrimp cube and the clown come right in the cup after about 10 seconds , it works ALLLLLLL the time . Maybe im just lucky ....

[kruserm]

I moved a tank with a clown in it and I used a clear container and herded the clown into the container...worked sweet with very little stress on the fish. In fact I used this method for about all the fish. I did the same thing from the stock tank after I got the dispaly tank setup.

[Tmoriarty]

I just recently got a pair of true percs. While they refuse to host anything but the picture on the wall (have to eventually remove the background i guess lol) they are more then willing to swim up to my hand and even sample my fingers. I would use the container technique but in all likely hood my clowns will just go out of the tank in my hand, they oddly try to lay in my hand its kinda funny to watch.

[ScottCRRT]

The old mysis in a net trick worked for me. lol

[Dragon moray ki]

Same here exept I used brine

[Sherrf1]

Unfortunately, I have to remove my clownfish from the tank every time I do a good cleaning. This is for her own sake. More than once I have had her jump out of the tank while trying to bite my hand, even if it is not even in the water, just hovering above it. Luckily she is easy to catch by putting a clear container under my hand, she swims in and I take it out and cover it until I'm done cleaning.

[darkwaterdevil]

my black and white clowns will swim right into my hands

[tankmates]

I tried bottle trick, container trick, everything for extended periods to catch my clarkiis , nothing worked, then I saw they are too aggressive and always want to bite my hand, otherwise they will not eat from container etc....so i put my hand in, let them bite it, they moved to top and then i caught them in container ...LOL....it was simple 5 minute job , though I was left with severely bitten hand

[BlackLagoon]

I tried to catch a pair of Gold Stripe Maroon Clowns in a 180 full of rock. Tried the net, homemade trap, and luring them with food. I caught the much larger female, but could never catch the male. The male became more skittish once the female was gone. I kept the female in my refugium for a couple of weeks while I was trying to get the male and I eventually felt bad for her so I released her back into my display. I'd like a pair of True Percs but it looks like my Maroon Clowns aren't willing to vacate. Tearing apart the tank is not an option. Oh well.

[Miss Nano]

Lol, my clowns are ridiculously easy to catch. All I have to do if put a fish specimen container in the water and they will swim right in it....repeatedly... Clowns are awesome like that.

[mischa91]

Luckily i have 1 very easy to catch picasso. Unluckily i have 1 occy who is a runner and a jumper and is just ridiculously hard to catch. I had to dismantle the tank yesterday due to a leak so was able to catch her after all the rock was taken out... even then she proved difficult. I used a clear plastic measuring cup and herded her into it, she was not a happy fish. She's fine now but we'll have to go through all that again once i get the tank leak fixed.

[redgator]

Have you ever seen the Acclimate by Reef Gently? I just caught a super hard fish to catch, a Blue Tang, and it took less than two minutes. Not only is it easy, but a lot more stress free than nets, etc. Plus, you can use it to acclimate, transport and catch all the bristle worms you have.

[av8]

Originally Posted by bgi

I'm constantly amazed how trusting tank-rased ocellaris clowns are. I can practically reach in and grab them with my hand (not that I would...) The clear container trick works great: Food in the container, clown follows. One of mine has gill parasites. So catching him for a FW dip was a no-brainer.

Any good links for clown gill parasite info?

I needed to move an Ocellaris today, so I DID reach in and scoop him up with both hands. No fuss, no muss; I've done this many times. They like to swim into your hand, just bring the other hand on and keep covered during the transfer.

[vaporized]

IME, clowns have been the easy fish to catch. I have never had to pull all the live rock to catch one, unlike some of the others. My Niger trigger is a beast to catch. It hide in the smallest crevis and lock it dorsal fin in to the rock.

[Sagz70]

Catching a clown fish is always a challenge for me. Especially with LR and the beloved caves.. This writeup hopefully will change all of this for me!

[Freddie83]

I tried everything when trying to catch my pair of clowns, I was finally able to scoop them up with zero issues in the middle of the night while they were sleeping. I don't even think they woke up until the day after.

[125mph]

Just took out another set of clowns.. these guys didnt fall for the fish trap and obviously couldn't net them..

I took out 1/3 the rock structure on the left side of the tank.. I have a egg crate tank divider I made a while back.. when the clowns traveled to the left side of the tank, i simply used the divider and blocked them from going back into the rock structures.. after that, netting them was real easy.

[ClayaLaLeona]

I use the anemone in a container technique but putting a clear container in the tank and egging the clowns into it with my hand works just as well. I tell people I'm going fishing, as wacky as it sounds

[higorc]

Good info guys

[SantaMonica]

I got lucky... when transferring things out of my cracked 90 to the poly tub, I was able to drain everything down to 1/2" of water. The clown was still as hard to get as the chromis.

[Railcar79]

reading this thread makes clowns sound like apista (sp?) probably be easier to drop an extension cord in the tank. Once I get my tank up and going the clowns will stay till they die.