Good way to catch a wolf eel...

[kevjtomy]

Any ideas? I "adopted" Ellie (the eel) a little over a year ago and would like to give her to a new home. She will either go to someone in the area, LFS, or road trip from WI to SD. Once before I had to catch her and to do so I had to disrupt my tank more than I would like to do so now. Anyone know any tricks?

 

[Mouse]

You could try something simmilar to a lobster pot, im not sure how good wolf eels are at reversing. Either that or a barbless hook, but then a wolf eel thrashing around on the end of a line is likely to wreak havok on the sand bed. I would strongly advise against re-introduction to the wild as it has lived a life of luxury in comparison and will undoubtedly be crap at catching fish.

 

[kevjtomy]

Thanks for the help. I caught her to take her to LFS, but she slipped away as I tried to put her in the bag, so she's still in my tank....I was going to give her back to my brother in S.D., but now he too has smaller fish. I guess I'll just keep her-unless I can find someone in the area interested. Can't take her to the LFS now until they get a tank freed up......

 

[Diane]

First off...carefully. I have had to catch my blue ribbon and ghost eels before and I had to have my hubby lure them out of their caves with food and gently with one had removed the other half of their bodies from their cave and then scooped them up with the net using my other hand. I also put stress coat in the tank that I was putting them in. Just to make sure they would be alright. From what I understand the stress coat "slimes" them again. I could very well be wrong about that but it didn't hurt to use it. Just wondering also if you actually have a new home for this guy?
Diane

 

[davelin315]

Wolfeels are more "fishlike" than eels, for lack of a better term, and you probably won't be able to scoop them into whatever you're using as you might be able to with a ribbon eel. I would just suggest sticking a piece of food into a net, letting it swim in, and lifting it out. They're very quick, and have good control over the entirety of their body, so you might want to cover the top of then net up right away, as it will easily slide out (as you have already experienced). Or, you could just stick a piece of capped pvc in there, stick in some food in the end, and when it swims in, pull the whole thing out, covering it up. Use a piece small enough that it won't be able to turn around, but big enough so that it doesn't injure itself when it starts thrashing around in the tube.