farmchick Posted August 20, 2006 Report Share Posted August 20, 2006 Good morning all After the recent population explosion in one of my tanks, I now have a dilemma :-? Can anyone recommend an easy way to catch about 30 baby bristlenose? Dad is already nurturing a new batch of eggs laid yesterday so I cant take the wood out with disrupting him (its one massive big piece with lots of nooks and crannies in it). I have caught all the sword, molly and guppie babies (about 100 ) and moved them to another tank and the latest "city" of Kribensis are still about 2 weeks away from being relocated to their grow-out tank but after about 2 hours of fishing, I only managed to catch 1 bubba bristle :oops: . Any help gratefully accepted. Im even tempted to say for every 2 you catch, 1 is yours to keep!!! :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanksman Posted August 20, 2006 Report Share Posted August 20, 2006 One method I use is get them in the dark method The babies tend to come up near the waterline once the lights go out. If the room is lit they wil be easily seen and can be netted carefully out. Of course I have a hood which takes any shadows I or the net etc may cast to scare them off. It's still a one or two at a time approach. The easiest way tho is to get them before they hatch by stealing dad's cave - much to his disgust - they can either be hatched in the cave - you'll have to rig something up for that - or carefully scraped out and hatched in a breeding trap. Good luck - Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ktttk Posted August 20, 2006 Report Share Posted August 20, 2006 Heres an idea that I've read somewhere, but haven't used myself: Put some food (courgette) in an ice cream container and weight the container down in the tank. Once the little BNs are inside feeding, you can lift the whole container out with the BNs inside.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tsarmina Posted August 20, 2006 Report Share Posted August 20, 2006 Heres an idea that I've read somewhere, but haven't used myself: Put some food (courgette) in an ice cream container and weight the container down in the tank. Once the little BNs are inside feeding, you can lift the whole container out with the BNs inside.. the one i read said to use driftwood, but food is a good idea too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jude Posted August 21, 2006 Report Share Posted August 21, 2006 I am hoping to catch some of mine by putting courgette into a glass jar - then lifting the whole jar out with a net ............ wish me luck!!!!!!!!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
farmchick Posted August 21, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 21, 2006 Thanks Tanksman The problem I have is that dad elected not to use one of the 4 possible caves but instead chose a split in the huge piece of driftwood that would involve dismantling the entire tank!!! :evil: And everyday, he seems to be teaching his children new ways to elude the net Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
farmchick Posted August 21, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 21, 2006 fantastic idea Jude and Ktttk. Im gunna try that tonight and tomorrow, who knows I may have a success story to tell :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanksman Posted August 21, 2006 Report Share Posted August 21, 2006 If the jar doesn't work you could try a coke type bottle with a string around the top. The narrow opening may stop the little blighters getting out. I have used this on kribs and it works ok if you have the patience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suphew Posted August 21, 2006 Report Share Posted August 21, 2006 you can cut a coke bottle in half and push the top half upside down into the bottom making a fish trap. Put some gravel in to weight it down and food of course. Leave it over night as they tend to come out more in the dark. The other method I have used is to leave the net in the tank as you will know as soon as you start trying to catch them they disappear, if you put in the net and walk away for 5 minutes then slowly go back to the tank and very slowly move the net to trap them they dont panic and hide. If possible you should try not to move the baby B/N's until they are about 1-1.5cm long they don't transfer well when smaller than this so often end up dieing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Souxsi Posted August 22, 2006 Report Share Posted August 22, 2006 Good luck with them! If I had room I'd definitely take a couple! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
farmchick Posted August 22, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 22, 2006 Well, after 2 nights of tempting treats in a jar overnight, the bristles are still happy as larry in the main tank!!! :evil: Little blighters. I now have a new batch hanging around dad with their older brothers and sisters smothering the log! I think I may have to resort to taking the log out of the tank, put it in the grow-out tank and hope they all get off :roll: Unless there are any more ideas out there? Help Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caper Posted August 22, 2006 Report Share Posted August 22, 2006 Sorry farmchick...wish I could help...but I've never had babies to catch in the tank...and sure sounds like you have a..a...a...tank full :-? All the ideas sounded great that they gave you...however, for a rare instance you have children (a.ka. fishies) that are apparently listening to their daddy :lol: :lol: "okay, kids when she comes...HIDE!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
farmchick Posted August 22, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 22, 2006 thats exactly what he says........ or the other one is..... okay, when she gets the net in the water, back into a hole and smile at her :-? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanksman Posted August 23, 2006 Report Share Posted August 23, 2006 If you think you can get the log up and into a bucket with a small amount of tankwater already in it then you may catch quite a few that way - if you do it smoothly and as quick as you can. Bristlenose often get mistakenly removed from the tank attached or inside tank decorations. It took me quite a few days to get the 20 odd I "rescued" out of my community with a net. :roll: . It is much easier to get the eggs before they hatch. Maybe you need to take out the wood and make the male move into an easier alternative for the future? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
farmchick Posted August 23, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 23, 2006 Thanks all. I managed to catch 2 more last night. I think the plan for this weekend is to try and take the log out. Im getting a bit concerned about dad. He is losing weight as he just wont leave the creche :-? . I make sure food is in his area so he has access to it. Hes not really skinny but I want to make sure he doesnt get that way either. Any ideas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suphew Posted August 23, 2006 Report Share Posted August 23, 2006 Im getting a bit concerned about dad. He is losing weight as he just wont leave the creche . I make sure food is in his area so he has access to it. Hes not really skinny but I want to make sure he doesnt get that way either. Any ideas? This is just the way it works, he wont leave the eggs to feed until they hatch. Once they do hatch he will eat like crazy, just make sure there is plently of food for him. If he gets too skinny and weak he will stop breeding till he puts it back on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suphew Posted August 23, 2006 Report Share Posted August 23, 2006 Also heres an idea, rather than trying to catch the B/N have you thought about using your current tank as your B/N breeding tank and setting up the new/other tank as your display tank? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
farmchick Posted August 23, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 23, 2006 If I tried to add another to my already existing 4, I would be throttled :lol: The BN's are in the 3ft livebearer, the other 3ft is the community/display tank, the 2ft has all the baby livebearers and the other 2ft has the bristle bubs and kribs. If anyone knows of someone who has the time (and the inclination) to build a stand for an 8ft tank, then I can shift some of mine into a 4 1/2 ft'r Problem solved :roll: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zoban Posted August 23, 2006 Report Share Posted August 23, 2006 When I am scooping up the plant particles that the mollies keep knocking off my Water Sprites I wish I had that trouble in catching fish .. Darn Mollies, Swords and Platties all nosey or whatever keep swimming right into the net. Makes for easy move to Nursery tank though.. Place bag in water and just wait till the right fish swims in, all of about 2 seconds it took to scoop out the female molly currently expectant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
farmchick Posted August 24, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 24, 2006 I know what you mean. Just when I think I have got a BN, a mollie gets in the net and just looks at me. I swear they smile! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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