Speargun to catch fish in 220g

[SDreefer453]

Hello R2R!

I'm having quite the dilemma. I made an oopsie buying a fire clownfish early on with this tank without knowing how aggressive they are, and its his time to go. I've tried using the nyos fish trap, using nets or whatnot to try and block him out of his sleeping place, but without taking lots of rock out it's not possible. He sleeps right behind where that white circle is on the green coral kinda near the bottom, completely surrounded at night and unable to reach. My other clownfish have serious attack marks, and he bullies everyone else relentlessly. Blocking entrances to where he sleeps to try and net him somewhere else is causing lots of stress on the tank I've noticed - when I enter the room and round the corner to where my aquarium is, all the fish see me and bolt for cover - This is very new behavior and I'm done stressing out everyone in the tank for this one guy. I made a big mistake not doing my research beforehand, learned a good lesson with this fella. Now that I'm done ranting, (apologizes) does anyone have experience using a small speargun to get a fish in an aquarium? I've asked around local shops/maintenance guys and they haven't heard of someone actually using one, but didn't think it was a horrible idea if I make sure to hit rock and not glass. Any thoughts would be great

 

[blaxsun]

 

[jfoahs04]

How big is the tank and what do you have in there? Trying a speargun (even a small one) in a reef is about the last thing I'd do, personally.

How long have you tried the trap? Sometimes they take a while - the fish has to get comfortable with it in the tank. If you haven't already, try not feeding the tank for few days. The fish will be a bit more incentivized to check out what's in the trap.

You know where it sleeps, so I'm assuming you've tried to get it with the net at night in the dark? It's easier then. You can also try waiting after the lights have been off for a few hours and then turning them on immediately to 100%. This will disorient the fish for a second or two and give you a little time to get it. It's surprising how well this can work sometimes.

Finally, as a last resort, you can drain most of the water out if it's practical for you. It may still require some rock removal, but it'll drastically limit the area in which the fish can run. The coral should be fine being exposed for a short while.

 

[Daniel@R2R]

I wonder if we could perhaps help you figure out some other method that would be better for removing the fish. A speargun sounds like a really bad idea. The above suggestions are good. I definitely think we can work together to find a better way to do this.

 

[Malcontent]

Why not depth charges?

 

[BanjoBandito]

 

[Dorsetsteve]

I know fishing is a rather different affair in the US and A to here in England but you may be able to source some size 16 barbless hooks, about half the size of a grain of corn. You’d have it out in no time, especially if it’s so dominant. Being barbless the hook would pop straight out and there would be very little damage.

 

[Tamberav]

I know fishing is a rather different affair in the US and A to here in England but you may be able to source some size 16 barbless hooks, about half the size of a grain of corn. You’d have it out in no time, especially if it’s so dominant. Being barbless the hook would pop straight out and there would be very little damage.

this was going to be my suggestion

 

[RELLIK-REEF]

Hook idea is perfect. Couldn't find barbless ones so I just used a grinder and smoothed it down added a small piece of shrimp and works like a charm. Good luck.

 

[nereefpat]

Yep. Smallest hook you can find. Cut the barb off. Bait with chunk of shrimp.

 

[bnord]

have heard the barbless hook approach and never tried it - others have endorsed it

I have found that a plastic Nyos when left in long enough to work on anything except a troublesome Melanurus - so you might want o be patient with the box

 

[vtecintegra]

I went through the same thing with a damsel. Considered making a spear gun with something like a kids rubber band gun. Too much trouble. After a month of tracking it down where it sleeps, I was going to epoxy the hole shut, but the back side was to hard to get to. I bought a micro fishing hook with 2# test line. Everyone else wanted the piece of mysis I put on the hook, except the damsel. Finally, I got a large piece of clear plexi, and created a 2" wide partition along one wall of the tank. I chased him with a high power led flashlight on strobe mode one evening until he made the mistake of going behind the partition with a dead end. Game over, and back to the LFS. Total time, three months.

 

[Floyd-]

I use a blackout method. Turn off all lights in the room to make it as dark as possible with only the tank lights on. Once they are out and swimming kick off the tank lights and use a bright flashlight and a black net and just scoop them up.
You only get about a 10-20 second window but its worked REALLY well for me in the past.