Fish in back chambers of AIO

[Ultimate Corals]

Hi Everyone,

During a routine water change I noticed two fish (who I presumed were long dead) actually living in the back chambers of my Aqua Euro 34 gallon all in one. A clown and pink spotted goby. I've tried a variety of nets but these guys are way to fast. Any idea's on how to get them out?



Thanks
Mark S

 

[picasso]

I had a goby that would hop into the back chambers of my Aquapod on a regular basis a few years ago.

Turn the pumps off and siphon as much of the water out as you can and scoop them out. A ziplock bag works better than a net.

The "zipper" part mags the bag just rigid enough it doesn't close up on itself, and fish don't seem to see it coming as much.

InTank makes something called a Fish Saver to keep them out. You could probably DIY something too with plastic gutter guard.

 

[jazzsam]

It once took me multiple hours to get a clown out of an overflow. Def not easy sometimes.

 

[Hawkeye]

i've had baby clownfish go into the first chamber of the biocube. I ended up slowly coaxing it up and shooing it into the next chamber where the net was waiting.

Definitely consider getting the fishsaver - although that may not work if you do not have a cover on the tank.

 

[Baxreefs]

I had a 75 g when I got my first Midas blenny. He lived in the system for about a year. Over eight months were spent in the overflow! He kept finding his way past my overflow covers and in there ... three times! Once he got got out on his own, another time I saw him jump out at a feeding. And, the final time, I was tearing down for an upgrade and drained him into a bucket! ;D

 

[TanksNStuff]

I think Mark (the thread starter) is talking about a fish trapped in the back chambers of an all-in-one style tank... not a typical overflow in a standard reef ready tank. Just thought I'd add that to help people get an idea of his situation.

Here's a pic of what the chambers look like in the Aqua Euro 34G

I'm not sure which section his fish got into, but I could see why it would be difficult to get him out.

Sounds like Picasso gave the best advice so far. I'd turn off all the pumps, remove as much water from the back chambers as possible, remove any/all media and pump(s) if you can, and give the fish little to no place to hide.

The fish keeper sounds like a good idea to prevent future instances.

 

[CONSTANTNE]

I have used a clear flexible pipe to siphon my blenny out of my tank. He was unharmed. Just make sure the piping it bigger than the fish.