Ejected from the Game

I have decided to move the Ancistrus pair from the 150 to the 37-gallon angel fry growout tank. I need something in there to hold the cycle for me until the next batch of fry, and their diminutive size makes them good candidates, but they'll still have plenty of room. Perhaps, in their own private digs they'll spawn for me. I'll provide a cave for them and see what happens. I have left a good deal of brown algae on the glass of this rank, and there is a large piece of driftwood in there (it is not possible for me to maintain a bare tank) so hopefully they will be content. It is very sparsely planted.

I can't tolerate the bullying of the Corydoras in the 150, and I'd rather make them comfortable and eject the Ancistrus, though I do enjoy them in that tank. They are out and about more than other Ancistrus I have kept, and they seem to do a good job of controlling algae on the glass, though I don't know how much algae I am growing, actually. I will soon find out, if I can get them moved.

The problem is trapping them. I set up my usual clear soda bottle with the top and neck section cut off and inverted into the body of the bottle, with a nice slice of zucchini inside, and a rock to keep it down on the bottom. No takers. I omitted their zucchini feeding last night to be sure they'd be hungry, but they are not going in yet. I don't have a practical way to get them out of the tank other than trapping. I will wait them out, I suppose.

The tank is too heavily planted and 'scaped for me to try to chase them down with a net. I'd have to drain the tank and remove all objects to do it. This is a problem when you have a large tank like this. Any fish I want to get out must be trapped, or they have to be relatively curious and not easily spooked, where I can lure them to the net.

I have discussed this whole thing with Deborah, my catfish expert friend, and she finds their bullying tendencies to be unusual, but she is an advocate for the corys and is in favor of moving the bristlenoses out - there ought to be no issues whatsoever between them and the angel fry, no matter what the size of the fry might be.

She is also considering other options for me in terms of a suckermouth catfish for the 150, if I should desire to replace them. I also may wish to consider a replacement for my beloved Planiloricaria cryptodon that I lost not too long ago. I do miss that fish, and it might be a better environment for one now without the Ancistrus, which did seem to pester him a bit, though he did not put up with much from them. He was much bigger than they, unlike the little cory cats, which are intimidated by the Ancistrus. I could try to find another whiptail like before, or go with one of the twig catfish or Sturisoma species, but I need something that does not mind the balmy 82F water. I would not mind an algae eater, but I don't know that there are that many species that do a particularly good job of that, except for the Ancistrus sp. I may be very wrong about that, however, and will discuss it with Deborah if I do manage to remove the catfish pair and I find algae growth to be a problem. I will hold off on it and hopefully will see the cory cats scooting around in total comfort, knowing no spiny face will be coming after them and keeping them in hiding.