Drain tank to get a fish

[A1Abeach]

My name is Jeff. I have this powder blue tang that has gotten to big and not catchable Due to my arch. So my question is if have three people here to help drain the tank low enough to get the fish in two minutes replace the water all in 5 to 6 minutes how much harm might I do to my coral? I would take all my coral onthe sand or loose and place them in a container prior to starting. And would it affect any of my coralline algae on the back wall Or rock. Thanks Jeff

 

[Rainblood]

I've done maintenance on my tanks and left corals out of water for more than a few minutes...I'm sure that they'll be fine.
If you're very worried turn your lights off before starting.

I will say given your rockwork - I'm not sure if lowering the water will make catching the fish any easier.

 

[A1Abeach]

I have to get this nut job out of there. Lol

 

[Steve Burton]

I suggest a trap baited with nori, I have one 6"×6"×9", You can borrow if it fits in your tank.

 

[tdam]

I once had to do the same thing because of a powder blue. The way he swam circles around one of my new fish drove me crazy. I drained it down to about 2 inches. Then it was totally easy to grab him. I don't think it will be problem.

 

[A1Abeach]

Thanks I will get him. Jeff

 

[civics14]

I believe corals get stuck out in the air in some areas during lowtide. A few min should be no issue. I would turn off the reef lights tho to avoid drying them out.

 

[myvwrock]

I wouldnt worry so much about the corals. 10-20 mins probably wont do much.. It might piss them off for a few days but should be fine. The softies and lps are sometimes in intertidal areas that do drain down throughout the day. I would suggest using two nets at the same time and even maybe get some egg crate and try to divide the tank off

Sent from my LM-K500 using Tapatalk

 

[gill]

In my experience, tangs are the easiest to catch in a trap because they are such aggressive eaters. I had to drain my 200 gallon tank to the sand 4 years ago to get a wrasse out so I could let the tank go fallow after a velvet outbreak. Corals were pissed off, but life finds a way...

 

[A1Abeach]

UPDATE: From start to finish it took 15 minutes. The coral was out of water 10 minutes. A successful extraction of the powder blue tang. Thanks to Carlose and my wife for helping me through this stressful extraction.

 

[RedRad]

How did you end up catching him?

 

[A1Abeach]

Draining the tank