DIY Fish Trap

[pokmingsheng]

recently i tried DIY-ing a fishtrap,

with the guidance of some videos from YouTube,

i managed to do up a decent fish trap..

proved to be very effective as i got my first fish in within 5mins (although not the one i wanted)

i guess this would solve most of our headache of trying to remove fishes without disturbing our rock scape and corals.

here are some simple steps to do up the DIY fish trap.

Items needed: Get an empty plastic bottle (1.5L or 600ml), a pen knife, and some black tape (optional)

Step 1: Cut the top of the bottle as shown in the picture below..

the current mouth of the bottle would be good enough for small fishes like gobies or wrasse..

to catch larger fishes, you can cut the mouth further as shown below..

after cutting you'll get these 2 parts

Step 2: invert the top part of the bottle and place it on top. Push it down to ensure that its level with the bottle.

Step 3 (optional): Black tape the fish trap

and we're DONE

[pokmingsheng]

After you've done up your DIY fish trap,

make space on your sand bed to place it there..

before you do that,

throw a frozen cube of your fish favourites..

eg. henry's food, mysis, cyclopeeze..

first ones to go in would most likely be your shrimps or snails..

depending on how greedy your fish is,

they should be in soon.

now all you need to do is sit back, relax and wait for your fish to enter..

once the your targeted fish enters the trap,

reach down, turn the trap vertically up..

they'll go "crazy" in the trap,

do not worry as chances of them swimming out through that same hole is not very high..

things to note: ensure that the mouth of the trap is not too big, just nice for the fish to enter

[Harlequinmania]

Thanks for sharing the details information with all of us here.. I am surely be able to use it as well

[edwinwu79]

, Good job and thanks for sharing such good device to catch our fishes. Simple and cheap, yeah!

[Terryz_]

This only works for small and long fishes, Like wrasse and blennys...

Nonetheless, it is good trap for most reefers...

This method have been used in a few countries to catch fishes like Japan, they use this theory for catching moray eels.. The eels will swim in and cannot swim out..

Edited July 29, 2010 by Terryz_

[Thexder]

I use the betta box itself as a fish trap.

[pokmingsheng]

Thanks for sharing the details information with all of us here.. I am surely be able to use it as well

, Good job and thanks for sharing such good device to catch our fishes. Simple and cheap, yeah!

thanks.. just sharing since this method worked well for me... might not work for all fishes though..

This only works for small and long fishes, Like wrasse and blennys...

my yellow tang was the second that went in.. haha..

however it was not the fish that i wanted...

i feel that big fishes we can make do with nets or big containers where we could quite easily corner them,

however the tricky part is always catching the small and fast fishes..

I use the betta box itself as a fish trap.

yup.. heard from other reefers the betta box trick works as well,

would have tried that if my bottle method failed..

however since the betta box is floating,

not sure if its effective against fishes who are dwelling at the bottom most of the time..

[Harlequinmania]

i am trying to trap my golden butterfly since it nip on my SPS.. Will need an enlarged clear container

[dnsfpl]

normally how long it takes for the fish to swim in?

it doesn't seem to care about this foreign object

[pokmingsheng]

normally how long it takes for the fish to swim in?

it doesn't seem to care about this foreign object

what fish are you trying to catch?

my fishes swam round the bottle before slowly going closer,

they were attracted to it immediately...

the bravier ones would enter first...

i notice that the trap is hanging in the middle of the tank,

is the fish a bottom dweller, or does it "hang around" the middle of the tank..

would it work if you try shifting it to the sandbed?

one tip you can try is to soak your frozen food in garlic..

or any other supplements that will bring out the smell of the food,

hopefully it might work.. the "bait" i believe is the most important factor to get the fish into the trap..

another way is by feeding thru the fish trap..

work a bigger opening so that all fishes can enter..

feed them daily through the trap until they become use to the presence of it..

one more way which i read from other sources is to "starve" your fishes for a few days..

and finally when you introduce the food into the tank thru the trap,

chances of them entering the bottle to get their food would be higher...

[dnsfpl]

i place the trap near the swimming area

put henry food in but it only try to nip from outside

will soak frozen in garlic and throw in

thanks for your help

[weesy74]

I caught my yellow and 6 line wrasse using this trap and henry's food inside.

[dnsfpl]

manage to catch a snail

should i remove the trap and try again few weeks later or just leave it there and pray

[pokmingsheng]

manage to catch a snail

should i remove the trap and try again few weeks later or just leave it there and pray

i would leave it there..

but have to bring it out to remove all the uneaten food,

if not it'll pollute your tank..

another trick that i learnt from another reefer is to put a small mirror into the fish trap..

if your fish is those that are more towards the aggressive side,

they'll "attack" when they see their "own kind",

which is actually the reflection of itself in the mirror..

this way there are chances that it may dart in..

if you're really desperate you can do it the hard way,

stop feeding your fishes totally,

only throw food into the trap...

is the entrance for the fish big enough,

i noticed you have a string attached to it...

i think thats even better,

you can let them swim in and out naturally and once your targeted fish is in,

you can pull it vertically upwards...

[dnsfpl]

mine has a mirror already

and it went in...finally

everybody