How to....

[ccCapt]

So I haven't seen my Yellow watchman goby in a few weeks. I was just cleaning the glass and glanced into the overflow. There she be....lol. Any suggestion on getting it out besides taking off the bulkheads and pulling out the plumbing?

 

[yote]

Got a small black net?
If you do,just rubber band it to something you can get down in there.Then you'll probably have to take something else and run the goby into the net.

 

[cthegame]

try it with a net and something else to get the goby in the net as yote suggested

 

[tcarroll]

I have had my clown fish and six line wrasse get in my overflow.The easy way i found was to empty the overflow,he may come through the tube.If not stick you a small net down in there and he will flop in the net.That's how i got my wrasse out.The clown i sat and waited patiently for him to service then knabbed him.Since then i have covered the top with a piece of plexiglass no more fish in overflow.

Good Luck

 

[Bifferwine]

Lenny the Lawnmower Blenny ended up in the overflow after being missing for some time. I had a small net on hand that fit in it, and I chased him into the net using a paint stirrer from Lowe's... Unfortunately, once put back in the main tank, Lenny wasn't looking so hot. He was skinny. I saw him the next day, but never again after that. I still wish that I had looked in the overflow sooner, but he was trapped in the one that is in the corner, sandwiched between the dining room wall and the kitchen wall, at the back of a 3 foot by 7 foot by 3 foot tank. Poor Lenny, he was my favorite fish. One of the first fish I ever got.

Ohh...ummm...did you have a question??? I kinda got sidetracked :cry:

 

[Alexander]

My starry blenny and chromis both got stuck in there that was the only time I have been thankful I have a large center overflow that is really in the way. Sounds like everyone has you covered here. Small net seems to be about your only option.

 

[ccCapt]

So this is what I have to work with. Yote knows exactly how much room is back there and it isn't much.

I tried putting a small net in there and chase the fish into it, but it hangs out behind the 1 1/2" drain pipe. When I tried to spook it out, it just swims around the front and hides behind the return line. Damn fish...lol.
I'm going to have to pull off the bulkhead for the drain line and pull that piece out. Then I can just push it out the hole...I hope.

 

[Bifferwine]

Good luck. I'm guessing that chasing him into the net with a paint stirrer or some such long skinny object was a no go?

 

[yote]

Yeah,theres no room to work at all in there.
Another suggestion Capt.Place a little bit of frozen mysis in a net and see if the goby will go in after it.Might save the trouble of taking the bulkhead out.

 

[ccCapt]

Good luck. I'm guessing that chasing him into the net with a paint stirrer or some such long skinny object was a no go?

Yeah, I tried. I got a small net down there, but couldn't move it around at all. I just sort of set it in the corner and used a long piece of rigid airline and tried chasing it. Damn fish is pretty smart. It just kept swimming in circles around the pipes.

Yeah,theres no room to work at all in there.
Another suggestion Capt.Place a little bit of frozen mysis in a net and see if the goby will go in after it.Might save the trouble of taking the bulkhead out.

Actually, I think pulling the bulkhead will be pretty easy. When I put everything together I kept it so it was easy to take apart. Here's a pic of the underside from when I 1st set it up. All I have to do is pull off the short piece of flexible drain line. The piece of pvc glued to the bulkhead is only 3-4" long so I can pull it right up and out.

 

[daugherty]

holy crap i have more room in my 75 than that but than i guess it is not in the corner. i bet the only way to get it out is to pull the bulkhead

 

[ccCapt]

That was Easy! :^:
I shut down the pump then drained the overflow...it holds about 2.5g. All I had to do was remove 1 hose clamp and unloosen the nut on the bulkhead. I pulled the plumbing out of the hole, grabbed the rigid airline and helped the goby find the hole. It landed right in the towel I had under the hole. Put it back in the tank and now I probably won't see it again for a few months....lol.

 

[RyanG]

With my tank the easiest way to get my anthias or clownfish out of the overflows(frequently see my post in reef talk section) is to pull the durso and drop them into the sump. Clowns are much easier than the anthias!

 

[ccCapt]

I thought about doing that, except my returns dump into my sump right where the skimmer and platform is. I would have had to tear 1/2 my sump apart to get it out of there too. At least it's in the tank now, but I haven't seen it since I rescued it...lol.

 

[Teixeira29]

How did you get that Philedelphia Flyers icon. I want to get a Boston Bruins but i dont know how to do it! I also dont know how to put it on here. Get back to me Thanks

 

[yote]

Capt,If you'll put some barbed wire around the top of your overflows and hook a fence charger to it,that goby will stay well a way from em:D
Glad you got him out without to much trouble.

 

[ccCapt]

Well he did it again....dummy. I haven't seen it, so I checked the overflows and it was in the same 1. The overflow has a slot cut out in it at the top for the return line. There was about a 1/2" gap between the top of the opening and the bottom of the return line. It must have been going in thru there, so I took some skimmer mod mesh and filled in the opening.
I got it out the same way as before. It only took about 15 mins to drain the overflow, take the bulkhead off, push the fish thru the hole, put everything back together and turn the pumps back on..

 

[yote]

I had a mandrine that stayed in the overflow for a while.I git tired of fishing him out and hauled his butt back to the store.Traded him for a frag.:D

 

[ccCapt]

You know the cut out I'm talking about Yote. Right below the return line at the top of the overflow. It won't be able to get thru it now with the mesh I put in there.

 

[yote]

Yep.I know exactly which cut out your talking about.I used a piece of sponge on mine when I set the tank up.Been swapping the sponge pieces out every couple of weeks,but guess I need to pick up some mesh and fix it for good.