Archived message board.
How to catch my pleco????????????
Badmans Tropical Fish Message Center:
General message area: How to catch my pleco????????????
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liz
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Monday,
March 18, 2002 - 12:32 pm
I am hoping to get a new tank soon ad allthough i will rest
it and all i am looking to the future. I want to put my
pleco in it cos he has kind of outgrown his. Anyway he is
really timid (he swims away when i go near the tank.He
goes crazy when i put anything in the tank like when i thought
he was dead and put the net in. There is a big piece of
wood in the tank and he goes under it. He went mad when
the pet shop person got him out. I don't want to hurt
him. Any ideas anyone?
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peter
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Monday,
March 18, 2002 - 04:22 pm
Yes, a few ideas:
(1) Don't put it in a new tank. They like established
tanks with algae for tehm to eat (at least 6 months,
according to the web gurus.)
(2) I would pick up the big piece of wood and try
to net him as he comes off the bottom. That's what I
would do, but some People who handle plecos often actualy
pick them up by hand. My friend who owns many expensive,
exotic plecos swears this does not stress them out. Others
on this site may argue this point, as it does sound dubious.
He picks them up behind their head and above their first
set of fins on the side.
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liz
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Monday,
March 18, 2002 - 04:33 pm
He's a bit big for his tank at the moment and i don't
think i could pick him up by hand i'de probably drop
him. I'm a bit screamish
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Anonymous
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Monday,
March 18, 2002 - 05:06 pm
Try this. Turn off the lights and cover the tank for about
1 hour. Then uncover the tank and turn the light on. This
will stun the fish for a few minutes and are pretty easy
to catch. That is how I catch a hard to catch fish.
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joycedonley
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Monday,
March 18, 2002 - 06:11 pm
I remove most of my decor and sometimes use a tank divider
to chase them into one area. Then I have hubby net them
out. I'm with you liz and would probably scream if I
had to grab a large catfish by hand!
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G
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Tuesday,
March 19, 2002 - 01:05 pm
I've never had too much trouble catching any of my plecos...they
are kind of fun to pick up and chase people around with...well,
I've never tried, but I bet you could really get a scream
out of some people...especially the next time the girl scouts
come around selling cookies.
As far as catching the pleco, buy a larger net if yours
is small. Without knowing the size of the pleco, I'd
say to get at least a 6 inch net to chase him with. When
I set up my first tank, it came with about a 2 or 3 inch
net, which made catching my fish (even in a 10 gallon)
nearly impossible. What I finally did, since I was moving
the tank anyway, was drain just about all of the water out
and leave a couple decorations in that sort of trapped them
in a corner. Trust me, a $4 or $5 investment in a bigger
net will save literally hours of frustration
With plecos, I can usually chase them up onto the glass.
Once they're on the glass, just put the net over them,
and he's trapped. Sometimes, the fish will swim into
the net by himself, other times, I'll grab him through
the net, and that usually gets him swimming. Sometimes,
a quick upward sweep with the net will get the pleco if
he's trapped between the net and the glass.
Going after him shortly after the lights have been turned
on will probably prove fairly effective. On some occasions,
I've been able to pick up a piece of driftwood, with
the pleco still attached, and put the net below him. Raise
the wood or whatever the decoration may be up and out of
the water, and the pleco will fall into the net.
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liz
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Tuesday,
March 19, 2002 - 02:28 pm
Thanks alot everyone. It should be a lot less stress free
for me and him. I'll get a bigger net and try some of
your ideas
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Karen McCollam
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Sunday,
March 24, 2002 - 02:49 am
Hey Liz,
I just had to take my very large pleco out of the tank today
and he thrashes if you startle him so I put a large--like
a Big Gulp plastic cup in the tank and nudged him into that
with the net.
the reason I don't like a net for the Pleco and my Pictus
cats is some of their fins are very sharp and can get stuck
in the netting. That happened with one of the pictus cats
today and I had to cut the net off its fin--and now looking
in the tank I realize I will have to catch him because there
is still a tiny piece of netting stuck to him!
I have handled my Plecos before--they prefer the cup --and
sometimes the fins are sharp--and can poke your hand a little--if
the fish thrashes it might hurt. I think my pictus cats
would cut the skin but I am not going to find out.
Use a cup or tupperware or something --push the pleco in
the cup with the net. (:
good luck
Karen
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Bryan Starbuck
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Monday,
March 25, 2002 - 02:16 pm
I use karen's technique when I need to move hard to
catch fish - convict cichlids and clown loaches in my case.
I have a couple of old pickle jars. Chase them into one
and then transfer. In my experience it is very unstressful
for the fish. They don't even seem to realize anything
is going on until you dump them in the new tank. ~Bryan
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