# Tips on catching a SAE Anybody?



## skinns (Apr 8, 2004)

Anybody have any good tips on catching these guys. I have one that is about 3.5 inches long and I can't even get near the guy with the net. I do more damage on the aquascape than I do catching this guy.


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## fishfry (Apr 15, 2004)

I destroyed my entire 20 gallon catching one of those...good luck


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## JanS (Apr 14, 2004)

Remove all of your aquascape?? :roll: 

There are DIY traps out there that supposedly work pretty well if baited with the right thing, but I haven't tried them.
The only experience I've had with catching them was when a few of us were tearing down some tanks of a friend, and then it wasn't bad at all - compared to some of the other fish..... :shock:


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## stocker (Jun 15, 2004)

Use 2 nets. A big one in the open area, a small one to chase the bugger around until he swims into the big net... then swoop!

EDIT: Oh a good help would be to do it in the middle of the night when all the lights (including your room's) are off, then suddenly switch on the tank lights, and put those nets in. All the fish will be shocked and unable to move really fast. I've caught my SAEs this way.


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## jsenske (Mar 15, 2004)

As a last resort, you can crank up your CO2 just until the fish begin to hover at the surface/lightly gasp. Catch the fish immediately and have an airstone/airpump ready to drop right in and obviously turn CO2 off right away. Maybe do this right before a water change to help restabilize things quickly. You may lose a shrimp or two, but not if you are right there watching the whole time. I have had no choice but to do this method on very large tanks (like 500 gallons+) where you simply can not catch fish with a net.


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## Phil Edwards (Jan 22, 2004)

Dynamite.


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## Ghazanfar Ghori (Jan 27, 2004)

Yeah! Gas em!


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## gnatster (Mar 6, 2004)

> Dynamite.


Isn't the idea NOT to destroy the aquascape while removing the fish?

[sarcasim]Phil, your the one destroying all the reefs for that elsive chunk of odd rock, eh[/sarcasim]


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## Erirku (Oct 5, 2004)

The best way to catch fish is at night!? Their more vulnerable at that time. I usually wait for awhile and catch them.
1) grab a flashlight and point it upwards so the light doesn't shine right at them.
2) manuvere the net slowly and also make sure your lights get adjusted to the dark.
3) if they are swimming around to much try turning the light off for alittle while. Also, if you don't have a flashlight, try using the other rooms light and use the glare as your light source.
Hope this helps. Inform us on the catch 8)


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## Bert H (Mar 2, 2004)

FWIW, my sae's love to scrape my hand when I do my water changes/pruning, etc. I have caught them by gently maneuvering my net towards them when they come after my hand!


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## Sir_BlackhOle (Jan 25, 2004)

The big net/little net has worked for me in the past.....patience is the key if you dont want to end up destroying your aquascape.


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## pineapple (May 4, 2004)

Skinns might actually have a Chinese algae eater if one of his previous posts is relevant to this one. CAEs are not much easier to capture either. A gentle method is to leave nets in the water and feed fish in them. When the fish gets used to the net, take advantage and strike...

Andrew Cribb


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## vancat (Nov 5, 2004)

when i had to catch one a couple of years ago, the only way i could get him was to take most of the water out of the tank. good luck with the other methods, though!


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## skinns (Apr 8, 2004)

wow, lots of ideas and experiences. Here is the 29 Gallon that he is in. You can see him pearched on his favorite leaf in the middle. He is just to big now...



















I think I will go with the NIGHT time approach. I'm gonna feel like a burlar though...


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## gpodio (Feb 4, 2004)

I use a couple nets too to catch them, I usually leave all the nets in the tank for an hour or so, this gets them used to them, then I chase them with a white brine shrimp net into the other nets, worked every time so far. But the key is not to chase them with it, lot's of patience and slowly "encourage" them towards the other nets. A little flake food may also help bring them up away from the aquascape. Night time might also be easier for you, could try to blind them with a flashlight.

Good luck, they are tricky if they catch on to what you are doing
Giancarlo


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## cS (Jan 27, 2004)

If it is not a big tank then I advocate the "surprise them in the middle of the night by turning on the lights" method. All the fish in your tank will be sluggish for about 30 minutes or so. I try to do this after a water change.

(1) On water change day, siphon some old water into an old bucket.
(2) That night, catch the fish and transfer it to the bucket.
(3) Ship/return fish to LFS/wherever the following day.

This way, you don't have to wonder where to store the fish until morning. 

The flash light method never worked for me. Only succeeded in giving me frustrations: trying to point with one hand and catch the fish in the other. Some days, you just wanna be an octopus. ::squirts::

---

If it is a large tank, then you'd have more success by rigging a fish trap. I can't find a link right now but I recall cutting the top half of a soda bottle and invert it so that the neck and opening are facing the bottle's bottom. Put some food in there. The theory is that the fish will swim into the bottle to get the food but is too stupid to find its way back out. Those SAEs are clever little buggers though. :toimonst:


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## Gomer (Feb 2, 2004)

gpodio said:


> I use a couple nets too to catch them, I usually leave all the nets in the tank for an hour or so, this gets them used to them, then I chase them with a white brine shrimp net into the other nets, worked every time so far. But the key is not to chase them with it, lot's of patience and slowly "encourage" them towards the other nets. A little flake food may also help bring them up away from the aquascape. Night time might also be easier for you, could try to blind them with a flashlight.
> 
> Good luck, they are tricky if they catch on to what you are doing
> Giancarlo


This is EXACTLY how I do it...except for the nightime flashlight part [smilie=d:


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## gpodio (Feb 4, 2004)

Yeah I never had to resort to the night time thing either but it sounded like a good idea reading the previous posts. I guess it depends where your SAEs like to hang out at night too.

Happy hunting!
Giancarlo


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## Gomer (Feb 2, 2004)

My SAE would hide along right where driftwood meets the substrate...and under the leaves of plants. You'd think that with lots of light, only 29g, and a 4" SAE that he wouldn't hide so well that I had to spend 5 minutes between "sessions" to find him LOL.


SAEs...they are the Houdini's of the aquarium world LOL


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## niko (Jan 28, 2004)

CO2 suffocation works better than waking up in some weird hour of the night trying to suprise the SAE's in their night gowns.

I've torn a whole tank before trying to catch those fish and I agree they are much harder to catch than many others.

--Nikolay


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## travis (Oct 5, 2004)

I've had trouble catching the African cichlids in my 125G let alone a wily SAE. I finally found that using a trap works the best for me, although I've never caught any SAEs in it before I have caught just about all of my cichlids and flag fish. And it's sort of entertaining to sit back and watch them take the bait  Some action photos:

Curiosity . . .










Panic!!!


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## TomE (Jul 24, 2004)

Okay ready ... here's my secret ...

Get a little red furry hunting cap, the one's that cover the ears too. Then get a red plaid hunting coat to match. Next, pick up a shot gun ... then say ... bbbaaahahahahaha, its sae hunting season. Please note, if a waskly rabbit goes 'its duck season'. Do not answer. You might just get confused and shoot yourself.

Please note, if the sae places a stone or algae pieces into the end of the barrel. DO NOT PULL THE TRIGGER!!!!

Now, walk to the tank using the very tips of your toes ... you must be absolutely quiet ...bbaahahahaha ... ssssshhhhhh .. Then stick your barrel into the tank. The sae will stick his/her fins up and say ' what's up doc?'

Bang, you got it!!!! Really, tank water all over the place, pieces of glass over here and there ... hehehehe :twisted:


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## trenac (Jul 16, 2004)

The trap works great, you might catch some fish you don't want too so keep a eye on it if you use this method. Here is the link that I used to build my trap: http://www.reef-aquarium.net/resources/general/bottletrap.html
I used a 20 oz bottle instead of the 1 liter.


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## plantbrain (Jan 23, 2004)

I do a 70-80% water change, let them flop off the gravel, remove them easy that way.

Hard to run when you ain't got *no water*.
Simple is good, the water change does good for the tank and plants.

Everyone is happy, except for the SAE's.

Regards, 
Tom Barr

www.BarrReport.com


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## shalu (Oct 1, 2004)

*catching SAE*

I just netted out the huge 6" SAE from my 100g tank couple of nights ago. I turned off all lights for about an hour at night so all the fish dosed off in the tank. Then I turned on the lights, found the SAE, quickly turned off the light again except a dim embient light. Netted out the SAE straight out of the tank, the darn thing did not move at all until in the net. No aquascape was destroyed in the process.


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## pineapple (May 4, 2004)

The question that begs to be answered is: where have all the large SAEs gone?

cS takes them to her LFS. What about everyone else?

Andrew Cribb


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## gpodio (Feb 4, 2004)

Mine go to friend's larger tanks, I've never had an adult stop eating algae so even when large my friends will take them very happily. My largest pair to date just changed hands again a couple months ago and they cleaned up a messy BBA infested discus tank in 2-3 weeks.

Giancarlo


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## vancat (Nov 5, 2004)

mine stopped eating about 3 months before he died , of old age i presume, 9 years.


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## Zapins (Jul 28, 2004)

gotta give the 80% water drain props for being the only method i have used to get CAE's out of my tank (that and the Co2 gassing technique :twisted: )


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## JanS (Apr 14, 2004)

pineapple said:


> The question that begs to be answered is: where have all the large SAEs gone?
> 
> cS takes them to her LFS. What about everyone else?
> 
> Andrew Cribb


Mine go downstairs to the 125 gallon. Not that I have a lot of them, but it's a good "catch-all" tank. I don't have a LFS anywhere near, so I have to be creative, and careful of what I do buy....


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## vancat (Nov 5, 2004)

I have mine mounted and hang them in the den.


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## pineapple (May 4, 2004)

Vancat, that was the best yet. I was wondering whether we'd head into receipes...

Andrew Cribb


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## plantbrain (Jan 23, 2004)

Where have all the larger ones gone?
Deep fryer.

Or in TX, as bait on the end of bass hook.

Regards, 
Tom Barr


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## JanS (Apr 14, 2004)

[-X 

Do you know how hard it is for so many people to get their hands on them?? :shock:


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