In this MarineAndReef.com Budget Tank Build Series video, we set up and use a fish trap.

The reason we're using this fish trap is we had a disease outbreak in this tank where some clownfish brought in some Marine Velvet, and it wiped out a lot of our fish. We want to remove the remaining fish, our wrasse, and a couple of the damsels from the tank and medicate them in a separate aquarium to ensure they're not carrying that disease. Now to do that we need to catch them, and doing that with a net is near impossible at this stage. We have enough coral in this tank that we don't want to pull the rock out. We risk knocking them over on top of the corals, smashing them. So, getting in there with our hands and a net isn't very practical at this point. A fish trap is the best option

We've selected an IceCap Fish Trap. These come in small, medium, and large sizes. Because the fish that we're looking for are maybe one to two inches long we don't need anything other than the very smallest size.

One unique thing about these fish traps is they come flat. Most fish traps come pretty big and that's actually what makes them pretty expensive. They break easily and they're expensive to ship. These are affordable because they do fold flat and then you build them back up yourself.

In the video, we assemble the fish trap. This is much better to watch than describe. It takes about 10 minutes, with 8 of the 10 minutes spent peeling off the protective paper.

The fish trap is mounted to the glass of the tank with a suction cup. There is a feeding tube included. You can adjust the height of the tube with the rubber ring to where it's just above the water. Open up the lid on the top and pour in some food as bait for the fish. I use New Life Spectrum Pellet Food

The trap door has a string attached to it. You need to hold the door open and then close it when the fish are inside. At that point, you can easily scoop the fish out of the trap with a net. However, the fish rarely enter the fish trap immediately. It may take a few days. The trick is to only put food in the trap. At some point they'll get hungry and enter the trap.

I'll just head home, and leave the trap open. By leaving it in, it's going to get the fish very used to it where they just think it's a normal part of the tank rather than something weird and unusual. I just hold the string in place with my stapler on the desk next to the tank.

When I get back to work the next day the fish should be accustomed to the trap and they should realize the only food they are going to get is in the trap is in the trap. I'll trap the fish on Monday and treat them in isolation.

Stay tuned for our next video. We'll follow up on the treatment of the fish and move on to automation. My wife is about to give birth and I trust no one at work to look after my tank. I need to set up an auto feeder and an auto top-off.