removing fish?

[blueboy]

i have an algae blennie who has developed a taste for my squamosa clam, and recently took a couple of chunks out of my new kole tang! i've tried about everything i can think of to catch the blennie, but he's very fast, very cautios, and doesn't eat much of what i feed, so he's proven to be my nemesis over the last few weeks. anyways, my plan is to drain my tank into a large rubbermaid tub i have, without removing any of the corals, catch the offending blennie, then fill er back up. the corals will only be in the air for 10-15 minutes, at most, i don't think it will harm them any. my main concern is my clams, if i leave them in place , will i have to "burp" them, or is that only really necessary when they've been shipped? so, what do you guys think of this plan? i'd like to hear any comments/suggestions, but i'm pretty motivated to do this soon, so...

[jc]

Have you tried trying to catch him at night? I had to catch a blue tang once and I finally succeded when I waited till he went to sleep. In a pitch black room with only a small flashlight I moved the rocks away from where he normally slept. Then I just reached in and scooped him up. He did move around the tank a bit but he was blinded enought so that I was able to catch him. I also had my wife help me with another net.

[greatwit]

Have you tried putting in a couple nets in the tank, leaving for awhile, then feeding? By the way, what bulbs are you running on your tank?

[hoho19]

This month's reefkeeping magazine has an awesome article entitled Get Out of My Tank! Fish Removal Tips & Tricks

I suggest you check it out!

[blueboy]

yeah, i tried leaving the nets in the tank for awhile, then feeding, no good. i tried actually putting the food in the net, and over a period of about a week training MOST of the fish to come get it, but not the blennie. i tried fish traps, caught all my crabs. i tried siphoning him out, no luck. maybe i'll try siphoning him out while he's asleep before i take drastic action. thanks for all the tips/ideas, but what do you guys think about the clams? greatwit, i'm running coralvues, switched from 10K to 14K, then one of the 14's burned out, so now i have 14 on the left, 10K on the right. the look doesn't bother me at all, but it is time for new bulbs. why do you ask?