Help Find Raphael

hegehog · Post by **hegehog** » 26 Sep 2006, 19:29

We have a Raphael catfish in our outdoor pond, which is about 6'x 9' x 3' deep. We only see him about once a week near dusk. Now it is getting cooler and he needs to be brought inside only we can't find him to catch him. We have removed plants (temporarily) and rocks and looked in the folds of the liner. I am starting to get worried that the only way we will find him is when it gets cold and he dies. HELP!

Reginator · Post by **Reginator** » 26 Sep 2006, 20:02

A tube with a piece of glass stuck over one end will let you see the bottom better to net him, or a partial drain if things get a bit chilly...

Post by **Marc van Arc** » 26 Sep 2006, 21:32

Or totally drain if necessary.
An easier way: feed when dusky. Perhaps it'll be lured out of his hideout then. Warning: first catch must be good, otherwise it'll be gone for days....

Btw: post sits in the wrong forum.

apistomaster · Post by **apistomaster** » 27 Sep 2006, 12:54

You may be able to build or buy a fish trap and bait it with the Raphs favorite food and catch him that way. I sure it covers the entire underwater zones every night and won't take long to find the food in the trap. Check out http://www.aquaticeco.com to see what they have.

hegehog · Post by **hegehog** » 28 Sep 2006, 19:06

thank you to all of you for your helpful hints. We finally spied him last night, but each of us with a flashlight and a net meant not enough hands to get him. I hope we haven't totally spooked him. We did learn just how easily he hides and in the smallest spaces!! Made the coke bottle trap and will use it if nothing else works. He doesn't come out when I feed the other fish so this may be the only way to lure him.

hegehog · Post by **hegehog** » 28 Sep 2006, 19:09

Thank you to all for your helpful hints. We finally spied him last night, but each of us with a flashlight and a net meant not enough hands to get him. I hope we haven't totally spooked him. We did learn just how easily he hides and in the smallest spaces!! Made the coke bottle trap and will use it if nothing else works. He doesn't come out when I feed the other fish so this may be the only way to lure him.

apistomaster · Post by **apistomaster** » 28 Sep 2006, 23:16

Hi Hedgehog,
I think you probably are on the right track with the "coke bottle?" trap/refuge but there is another method if all else fails. You can actual fish for him with a barbless hook and line and just wrap an earthworm to the barbless hook with cotton sewing thread. This really won't harm him as long as the barbs are smashed flat with a pair of needlenose pliers and you use a single hook not one of those wicked treble types.
When I am not taking care of tropical fish I am a professional flyfishing bum and I fish special regulation waters for wild trout where single barbless hooks and no bait are mandatory as is catch and release of the trout I catch. The Fish and Game biologists have found that fish caught this way and not manhandled have at least a 99% survival rate for wild trout which are far more delicate than Doradid catfish.
I mention this as a seriously viable option and I'm not just being facetious or trying to be a smart alec.
Should you try this don't use a hook so small it can be swallowed. You would just want to hook it in the lip. The catfish would be more likely to stick you with it's spines and do more damage to you than the other way around. Use a bobber so you know the minute it picks up the worm. Barbless hooks slide in and out like a hypodermic needle doing very little harm.
It may be unconventional but then again not many Raphael cats live in a big pond.

hegehog · Post by **hegehog** » 19 Oct 2006, 13:37

If I told you the whole story, it would make your day. But I really just want to thank you all for your helpful replies.
We had given up and we had spent hours trying everything you suggested. The water temp had dropped to between 58 & 60 degrees. Last Friday, my daughter called me to say she found our Raphael and he was not alive. I went home expecting to bury him, but was greeted by her telling me that he had disappeared. She had seen him, flipped him over and he did not move so she figured he had died. We couldn't find him.
About 10 PM we went out with flashlights. I found him on a ledge in about 1/2 inch of water and he had signs of life!! I captured him, put him in a bucket of pond water and took him to the garage. Then I cried with excitement and relief.
For an hour I took out 3 cupfuls of water and added 3 of warmer water until I raised the temp to within 2-3 degrees of the aquarium temp.
Happily he is alive and well and we are so relieved.
He will never go back to the pond!!!!!

MatsP · Post by **MatsP** » 19 Oct 2006, 13:40

Congratulations to the capture and rescue. I hope all continues to go well...

--
Mats

Help Find Raphael

Help Find Raphael

Find Raphael (cont)

Find Raphael (cont.)

found - Thank you for your help