Oh what fun we have had over the last 48hrs. Came down yesterday morning and only half the shoal were there. Exactly one half of them had disappeared, nowhere to be seen. I took the front of the cabinet off, was peering in with a torch. Don't tell me somehow they have managed to get into the corner boxes! Now his was not going to be easy to check. Right iPhone suspended by some string and video running. If either of them it is going to be the left hand side. Drop the camera down the back, move it around a for a couple of minutes .... And nothing. Down the highly unlikely left hand side and there they are bless 'em, in the box that it is just about impossible to get them out of, fantastic.
Ok, scratch head time.
1. How did they get in there
3. How to stop it happening again.
2. How to get them out.
Do 1 first as need to see what we can do about 2 and think about 3 rather than make a snap decision.
A couple of hours searching and thinking and wondering and could it be....nah! And then I saw it. The smallest of gaps between the side glass and background. It was so small but not so small that a juvenile Cardinal couldn't wriggle through it and into the chamber and through into the corner box. Easily fixed by either underwater silicone sealant or just pack it with filter wool. easily fixed but how to rescue the group from isolation, not so easy.
The access into this box is minimal (and I mean minimal) and access isn't easy and a net is completely of of the question and I couldn't get any 'solid' object into it which as far as I can see leaves me
1 cut through the background and acrylic box to create a 'thoroughfare' which can be blocked off again once everybody is out
2 create a foldable trap, lure them in with food and haul them out
3 syphon them out
The first is a bit drastic. It can be done but would take a lot of cutting. Ok it's a last resort. The second is far less drastic. But it could be a long process, got to get them to swim into it and what kind of trap and there is no chance of getting anything solid down there. The third just seems harsh and whilst they should come through relatively unscathed there is a risk.
Right decision made, option 2. First job get my iPad using the phone as a remote camera which works a treat and I can look right down into the box, there you all are. For the trap I have a 10" net, that I bought for some reason, removed it from the handle and made a new frame from 5 cable ties so that they would force the net open but could be squeezed together to get into the tight space. A bit of ribbon to suspend it on either side, and plant lead in the bottom to weigh it down.
Overnight, another two have removed themselves to solitary. I The first is a bit drastic. It can be done but would take a lot of cutting. Ok it's a last resort. The second is far less drastic. But it could be a long process, got to get them to swim into it and what kind of trap and there is no chance of getting anything solid down there. The third just seems harsh and whilst they should come through relatively unscathed there is a risk.
Right decision made, option 2. First job get my iPad using the phone as a remote camera which works a treat and I can look right down into the box, there you all are. For the trap I have a 10" net, that I bought for some reason, removed it from the handle and made a new frame from 5 cable ties so that they would force the net open but could be squeezed together to get into the tight space. A bit of ribbon to suspend it on either side, and plant lead in the bottom to weigh it down.
Overnight, another two have removed themselves to solitary. I had left the gap open just in case they made their own way out knowing that I could lose more, it is now filled (at least if anymore disappear I know they are getting through somewhere else.
So that is all in place now and we shall see how we get on. I left the gap open just in case they made their own way out knowing that I could lose more and, yep, another two decided to try and make a break. The hole is now plugged (at least if anymore disappear I know they are getting through somewhere else. Will give it a week and see how it is getting on and if no progress has been made then I think I will try the syphon.