catching pleco

[dory]

i have a 10" common, can i lift him bye the tail ? if i have understod right they have spines in front and i dont want to use a net because last time i messed up the fin a little.

 

[santoury]

No you certainly should not do that.

Pick him up between the "shoulders" right behind the head, and he will "freeze" and they are extremely easy to handle this way.

 

[toehead11183]

i just grab'em by the head

 

[davo]

use the search, plenty of info...
http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=56422&highlight=catching+pleco

 

[WyldFya]

I catch all my plecos by hand, other than the extremely small ones. I grab right in front of the dorsal.

 

[davo]

I tend to net the smaller one regardless, there odontodes usually havent developed enough to be an extreme problem. In this case pick it up by the head as wyldfya said (you'll see a lot of people holding plecos this way in pictures to give you an idea) or use a jug or container and scoop him up.

 

[WyldFya]

I tend to net the smaller one regardless, there odontodes usually havent developed enough to be an extreme problem. In this case pick it up by the head as wyldfya said (you'll see a lot of people holding plecos this way in pictures to give you an idea) or use a jug or container and scoop him up.

I hate getting wet, and the jug method always seems to end with me swimming.

 

[davo]

Lol it's worked alright with me, but sometimes if your coaxing in with a net, they can somehow get caught up in the net then, which is just what your trying to avoid!!!

 

[ewurm]

I catch all my plecos by hand, other than the extremely small ones. I grab right in front of the dorsal.

That's what I do too.

 

[loach43]

I make mine swim into a submerged bag. When you take them out of the tank, they are.....um already bagged.