Fish trap

If you run to the local petco or petsmart, you can get a critter keeper like this.Link

Squirt food down in it and when it goes to get it, close the lid. It works for me.

I am the keeper of one of the WMAS loaner fish traps.

There are quite a few things that can be done to help our pet fish be more peaceful, happier and better tank mates.

Number 1 on the list is definitely food. Here is something to think about. How do public aquariums get all those different fish to live peaceably together? They feed them generous amounts of different kinds of foods. These fish are always very fat. 

Competition for food is the major reason for aggression. Sometimes the aggression is more about perceived lack of food. Think about what the wild environment is like for a particular fish. What kind of food does it eat there? Research it and then try to provide more of that environment and it's associated food. This will comfort the fish and relieve the aggression. Does the fish eat algae or bugs? What kind of algae? What kind of bugs?

Number 2 on the list also has to do with the environment. As research is done and the specific nature of the wild environment comes more clearly into focus, look at the aquascape for a particular fish. Does it live in open water eating plankton, small or large fish. Does it live in shallow rocky areas and graze on algae all day? Or does it live in a rubble zone where bugs are plentiful because of all the protective spaces between rocks? Does it live in a grassy or thick macroalgae growth where other types of bugs find refuge?

Along with the environment is depth. What depth does the fish come from? Depth changes everything. Not only is lighting drastically different at depth, but different foods grow at 5 feet compared to 60 feet depth.

Please feel free to post a pic and provide some basic info on your tank so that we may provide some real time advice on how to modify it to help the fish feel more comfortable.

Number 3 on my list would be the tank mates and roommates. Some fish feel more threatened, or competitive, or aggressive around certain other fish.

Why Roommates? Is there clutter on top of the tank (shadows -> shark attack!) and surrounding it. Maybe there is a lot of foot traffic or a child bangs on the glass constantly frightening the fish with sonic booms. Absence of these last things lends to a calm peaceful environment with happy fish.

Number 4 is that the fish simply needs to be trained. I have said a lot about this many years ago in the thread linked below. This "fish training" is not simply theoretical. It is a well worn tool in my "bag of tricks."  IMO, fish are about as intelligent as dogs. They can be conditioned to get along. http://utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=34014

Aloha,

Mark 

Edited by Mark Peterson - July 24 2016 at 4:00am

Hey mark. Thanks for the tips. I read through the linked post and I have been doing most of what you suggest as far as acclimation, feeding and using garlic oil. I would be interested in what you saw in the picture that gave you a hint, if you would share. In regards to the stomatellas, I love them and I'm not intending to rid my tank of them. I just have an over abundance of them and I know that other hobbyists would benefit from them. I will try to post some pictures of the current setup, which does include a refugium.
Thanks again.

Mark sometimes you are just to funny. No detritus

Mark, that pic was from when the tank was set up brand new.  Trust me, now I have tons of detritus and my wife complains about dirty sand.  The fuge is growing bugs really well and the parameters of the water are on point.

Marcoss,

it is a cadlights tank.  I had the bracket custom made by a guy I work with.  it's made of 1" aluminum, welded together and I anchored it to the wall studs behind the tank.  I was nervous about hanging a 48" T5 from the ceiling, so I went that route instead.

WaitForIt... wrote: Marcoss, it is a cadlights tank.  I had the bracket custom made by a guy I work with.  it's made of 1" aluminum, welded together and I anchored it to the wall studs behind the tank.  I was nervous about hanging a 48" T5 from the ceiling, so I went that route instead.

I'd love to! I will shoot you a PM one day. Thanks again!

Angel is still a jerk, but there arent any more new fish to pick on.  it seems to be getting used to the presence of the fish trap, so hopefully i'll be able to pull it out soon.

If you can't get it out, here is a suggestion.  This is how I catch fish in my 400 gallon 8 foot long tank and it works like a charm.