A couple months ago my 120G sprung a leak and I put my 5" irwini in my pond temporarily. It's fixed now and I'm ready to put him back in the tank but for some reason this year my pond is staying pea soup green, usually it only does that for a few weeks and clears up, so i haven't seen him since I put him out. Weather is getting ready to change and the pond will be cooling below acceptable temps so i need to get him back out of the pond, preferably in the next couple weeks. Anybody have any ideas how to capture him uninjured? I am considering something like a minnow trap right now but I'm not sure if that'll work.
Catching an irwini in my pond
- Thread starter houie925
- Start date
Draining's a good idea. Should work fine. If you don't want to drain this might work too.
Assuming the pond is not gigantic, I'd get some of the flexible plastic screen that is sold at Home Depot, OSH, etc and lay out enough to cover the entire bottom of the pond + a couple feet. You will need to cut and attach pieces to get one solid piece. A lot of staples should be able to do that. Make sure to double it over so there are no gaps in the "net."
Then carefully work the netting into the pond, slowly pressing it down to the bottom while attaching the extra couple feet on the outside of the pond. Let the fish swim around and don't let him get under the net. Use bricks/spikes/ whatever to make it stay on the edge of the pond. As you work across the bottom, the fish will eventually scoot past you into an area above where the netting is covering the bottom.
Once you have the whole bottom covered, he should be above the net and you should be able to lift and work the net backwards until he's caught.
It might be the wrong way, but that's the only one I can think of.
Assuming the pond is not gigantic, I'd get some of the flexible plastic screen that is sold at Home Depot, OSH, etc and lay out enough to cover the entire bottom of the pond + a couple feet. You will need to cut and attach pieces to get one solid piece. A lot of staples should be able to do that. Make sure to double it over so there are no gaps in the "net."
Then carefully work the netting into the pond, slowly pressing it down to the bottom while attaching the extra couple feet on the outside of the pond. Let the fish swim around and don't let him get under the net. Use bricks/spikes/ whatever to make it stay on the edge of the pond. As you work across the bottom, the fish will eventually scoot past you into an area above where the netting is covering the bottom.
Once you have the whole bottom covered, he should be above the net and you should be able to lift and work the net backwards until he's caught.
It might be the wrong way, but that's the only one I can think of.
Both good ideas.
I'm hoping to avoid draining as it's about 3K gallons and being a small mostly black cat on a black liner and thick green water I'd have to drain it almost entirely, though it would certainly be good for clearing up the water as well.
I like the netting idea as well but it's pretty irregularly shaped and the liner has a lot of pleats where the cat could be hiding.
Unless I can come up with an easier way, I think I'll drain enough to get past the larger pleats in the liner and see if I can find him. If he's not hiding in the pleats I'll try the big net. If that doesn't work I guess I'll be draining even further and hopefully I can find him. Another option I was considering, probably the most fun option but least effective, would be to grab a snorkel, pair of goggles, and a net and see if I can find him.
Thanks for the help guys, any more suggestions would be appreciated.
I'm hoping to avoid draining as it's about 3K gallons and being a small mostly black cat on a black liner and thick green water I'd have to drain it almost entirely, though it would certainly be good for clearing up the water as well.
I like the netting idea as well but it's pretty irregularly shaped and the liner has a lot of pleats where the cat could be hiding.
Unless I can come up with an easier way, I think I'll drain enough to get past the larger pleats in the liner and see if I can find him. If he's not hiding in the pleats I'll try the big net. If that doesn't work I guess I'll be draining even further and hopefully I can find him. Another option I was considering, probably the most fun option but least effective, would be to grab a snorkel, pair of goggles, and a net and see if I can find him.
Thanks for the help guys, any more suggestions would be appreciated.
Good luck. Baby irwini are masters of hiding haha.
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There may be a small albino channel cat but if he were still in there I would think I'd see him occasionally at feeding times. He was a pretty aggressive feeder when I first put him in the pond this spring. I suspect an egret may have eaten him as I have seen one near the pond a few times this year.
I literally never saw him other than very rarely moving from one hiding spot to the next during the time he was in the 120. I suspect I'll find him somewhere in the liner folds, probably when he clamps my hand with a pectoral fin, if I don't trap him.
Yep, I rarely see mine on my 180. Be careful if yourgoing bare hands, the go stiff when threatened and make crazy noises!
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He clamped down on my thumb pretty good when I first got him. Pretty painful but worth it if that's the only way I can find him.