How to net a fish

[Rocketman]

Was just wondering... any advice on how to net a 2-inch quick feeder fish in a 60 gallon planted tank with various other small inhabitants?

[OrionGirl]

Feeding time would be best, then use dividers to reduce the amount of escape space available to the fish.

[thom336]

i use a large net and a small net. direct the fish into the large net using the small net. and i would agree that feeding time in theory would be the best time...but in practise there would be a lot of hungry fish swimming all over the place, and you would send food flying all over the place around the tank. thats what ive found anyways.

trying to net a single fish is where the question arises:
do they have a 6th sense?
because, i think we would all agree, the one fish you want always seems to know your after it...every time...

[125gJoe]

If you don't have 2 nets, get a (plastic) spatula to help herd the fish into the net. Patience is very important.....

Should you try this at feeding time and scatter food all over the tank, break out a Vortex Diatom filter and get it going.. :)

[NJ Devils Fan]

I was thinking I would have the same problem just a few minutes ago. I had a long fin danio in my 72g planted tank and I had to take him out and give him to my friend because he was bothering all the fish to school with them. I thought my friend was going to be here awhile since the fish is very fast and I couldn't catch him before. I feed the fish when I get home, so what I did was just put a very small part of the net in the water and the danio swam over to it thinking it was food. Right before he was about to bite it, I very quickly put the whole net in and scooped him out. I didn' think it would be that easy. Give it a shot at feeding time.

[thom336]

the last time i had to net fish in this type of situation was when 4 blue/green tiger barbs needed removing from my 36ins by 18ins by 15ins planted community tank. (sorry...i know tanks in measurements not volume). they had to be taken out as they were worrying the other fish with their fast, aggresive behaviour. unfortunately, it was this fast behaviour of theirs that made it difficult. i spent hours trying to chase them with the nets...and only caught one. so i came up with an idea by thinking like the tiger barbs. they are a fish that get very hungry as they are so fast moving...and i had been chasing them for hours, so they must have been starving. so i placed some food in the big net, and held it still in the water. when one of the tiger barbs went in to get some (and when the neons finally left the net...) i would jerk it up, and the fish was caught. this worked for 2 more fish, so i had just one more to go....i left it for a day, hoping it will get lonely and come to its senses and agree to get caught. unfortunately, my skills as a diplomat didnt work...and he didnt fall for the food in the net trick (he was a smart one who had learnt his lesson....). so it was back to chasing him with the nets....he was eventually caught acouple of days later, and reeunited with his friends in a 18ins by 12ins by 12ins tank i had set up for some small shelldwelling cichlids...and they are still theer with afew more tiger barb friends - so my dreams of those shelldwellers havent come true yet, much to the pity. but it is a very colourful and lively little tank all the same.

[Matak]

I use my nets as sparingly as possible. That way, when it's time to net, the fish have forgotten all about the dreaded net :eek:

It is also helpful to net during a water change, when your tank is mostest empty. Less room for the critter to escape. ;)

[Skittyfish]

Try it just as the lights come on. Make sure the room is dark and use a flashlight. This works for me.

[125gJoe]

Good idea Skittyfish! Stealthy....

Matak, I hope I never have to use a net on my Discus... ouch..:eek:

[superstein61]

I have a Yo-Yo Loach that couldn't stand the idea of being netted. I was trying to move it from a 29 gallon I was dismantling to my 72 gallon.After trying for several days with no luck, I finally started dismantling the tank and took out all but a few inches of water. Even then he wanted to make it difficult - A few times even diving head first into the gravel to half bury itself. However, even then he would escape when I tried to scoop him and some gravel out. Well, I figured ok, You want to do that, I will take counter measures. I buried all but the handle of a net in one corner - and chased him there with my other net. Sure enough he dove headfirst into the gravel covering the net. I covered his top with my one net and scooped the hidden one out of the water - finally snagging him.

He is still psycho to this day

[pinballqueen]

I have to ambush my fish from underneath with the net. I put the net in the water and leave it there for a little while so the fish can get used to the idea of it being there. I leave the handle sticking out so I can grab it easier.... then, when the fish swims above the net, I simply pick it up. Then again, my fish are about as sharp as a bowling ball, because I can repeat the process 30 seconds later with another fish.... by the time it gets down to one or two, I have to chase the ones that got wise to the plan, though.

BTW, invest in a long-handled net. You'll thank yourself for it, and so will your wardrobe. I haven't had wet shirt sleeves in ages....

[Aderynglas]

Hi Rocketman,

The Zen art of catching fish

Softly softly catchee monkey !!:) :)
This is my mantra when catching fish - even fast ones

Another trick I always use is the large net and plastic basin (dark plastic) the net is used to "herd" the fish into the plastic basin, they swim into the basin thinking they can hide from the net and hey presto - fish is caught and the transfer is less stressful because the fish never leaves the water. This works even for tiny fish although for really tiny fish like neons or danios I would use a ladle to catch them.

The beauty of this method is that the fish loses none of its mucus layer, and fins remain undamged.

[Matak]

Aderynglas - I think I like your method best of all of them. Less stress and physical damage. (The net & bowl method, that is :) )

Joe - Skip the net, use a gaffing hook for safety - JK :p

[125gJoe]

Originally posted by Matak
....Joe - Skip the net, use a gaffing hook for safety - JK :p Naaa, these are still too small... EPCOT should take better care of their Snook. They are just too skinny! I have definetly caught healthier Snook then these I saw on Tuesday!

http://pic4.picturetrail.com/VOL59/715239/1510346/21740173.jpg

[125gJoe]

Sorry about the species in my above post, they are of the saltwater variety.

But, in this pic, a freshwater species...the Largemouth Bass was netted just fine!! Friday's catch appeared healthier than the Theme Park Snook... The 8 pound Bass was released for your info.. :)

http://pic4.picturetrail.com/VOL59/715239/1510346/21740519.jpg

[Skittyfish]

MMM, Yummy. I love bass dredged in cormeal and fried.


Oops, sorry. I am just hungry.

[FASTRAKR]

We have had a Gourami that has been terrorizing two otheres in our tank and tried catching him for hours(honestly). We finally caught him Saturday with a little bit of ingenuity.

We took a empty plastic V8 container, probably half a gallon size?, and sprinkled a little food in the bottom of it and filled it with water just enough that it would float but the bottle neck was under water and the food wouldn't float out. Next step is to just be patient. Then rebait the trap and try again because I will gaurentee you won't catch the one you want on the first try. I actually left it floating for an hour and came back down and the little prick was in the bottle loking out at me and as soon as I went to lift the hood he was gone. Just be patient.

I would love to have seen the look on the LFS guys face when the wife walked in with a V8 bottle with a fish inside!

[thom336]

have a look at this link...

http://www.floridadriftwood.com/fish_trap.htm

fish traps are commercially made, but i couldnt find the advert in my magazine to see if it had a website! so i found you this, maybe you could work with it...

[jiggerpolebill]

ive been using 2 methods for the last couple of weeks for catching my babies. one is a fish trat which is nothing more than a small glass jar with fishing line tied around the top. the fish swim in and cant get out easily. ive left the jar in there for 2 weeks now so the fish are pretty used to it.

my other method has been with the net(a big one and a little one). i leave them both in the tank for the while and the fish get used to it. they swim in and out of it on their own and when the one i want swims in, i snap'em up. both methods take time. one other thing i did with both methods was place food in them and waited til their first feeding of the day so they would be really hungry. good luck.

[Aderynglas]

Matak you're right, there is less stress both for you and the fish !

Believe it or not the ladle method can be really quick for the tiny fish. I use a stainless steel ladle and slowly bring it up under the fish I want to catch - they usually swim into it because the reflections confuse them and they feel safer in the ladle :confused: :confused: not sure why they feel safer in there! but they don't try to swim out as I sloowlyy lift the ladle out of the water. I then gently transfer them to a basin of their tankwater for further transport (to the waiting tank)

I always think that for most fish being netted must be the closest thing to being abducted by aliens !! :eek: :eek: after all air is an alien environment for most fish and they can't understand whats happening to them, no wonder they panic when they see a net lol at least if they stay in water in the dark its less traumatic for them. :) :) :)

[Matak]

That is good info for me. I have a fingerling Mollie I like to net before putting in my monster gravel vac. I'm always thinking I'll suck him up one day... :(

I'll give your ladle method a try next water change :)