Netting Techniques

[kiwi1013]

Hi! I'm happy to have found the Fish Forums! Now, I've got a question for you...

Today at the pet store, I chose to purchase 10 neons. The teenager assisting me grabbed his net (from the feeder fish tank...yikes), netted up a few and then proceeded to scoop them out of the net with his fingers in a cradling manner. I cringed! These are tiny fish! How could he do this with neons?? I interrupted him, since he still had some in his net and I thought that maybe he had no clue what he was doing. I told him that I typically just get the fish at the bottom of the net and then with the other hand I gently assist/place (I don't know how to best describe it) the fish into the bag (or other tank). At this point, I offered to bag my own fish. He eventually told me that he was taught by the pet store chain to scoop them out of the net with his hand so as not to damage thier gills since they might get caught in the net or be overcome by the forces of being dumped into the bag.

Is this a new technique? Seems to me that more damage is done to the slime coat by touching them with human hands than by adding them to the new environment straight from the net. Ideally, when moving larger fish, like Angels or Discus, I try to keep the net out of the equation altogether but with tiny neons it doesn't seem like there is an alternative to the net.
What is the best way to remove them from the net?

By the way, he did at least keep the seam of the net on the side opposite to the fish.

Your thoughts are appreciated.

 

[Rooster]

Sounds a little "odd" to me ! I always net fish, then turn the net "inside out" to eject them (with a wet hand)

 

[Truck]

i fill a 500ml yogurt pot with water from the tank then net the fish into the pot and then the bag, or place the bag in the water roll the sides down so it floats and net them into that no hands involved. im 14 i work in a fish store and i would never dream of touching a fish with bare hands, as soap and chemical residues remain on your hands even after washing, which obviously arent good for fish

 

[kiwi1013]

Great, thanks for the replies. I feel better about the way I net fish. What both of you described are techniques that I use on a regular occassion when I need to move my fish. I'm not planning on using my hands any time soon, especially when I haven't seen it either posted on line or in the fish magazines. I just thought it was sooo strange.

I am happy to report that all 10 of my neons appear to be doing quite well on day two at their new home.

 

[tenohfive]

If I'm making sense of this, if he's 'touching' the fish through the net his fingers aren't actually going to be in contact with the fish.

 

[andywg]

There are many different ways to move fish. Spiney fish such as doradids and panaques are best handled with bare hands (grabbing with your fingers under the belly and your thumb on the top of the head makes them lock their fins out and stop moving, allowing you to lift them out and put them where you want them without having to spend hours pulling them from nets).

I see no problem with touching a fish and I often give my porcupinefish a stroke after feeding it.

 

[kiwi1013]

Hello! Thanks for the replies.

Replying to two posts.

First: Tenohfive-- What you describe is how I normally handle fish. The guy at the pet store actually put his hands into the net (not on the outside) and scooped out the itty-bitty neons. He scooped them out with his fingers, those poor tiny neons! (And he used the net from the feeder goldfish tank which had several dead gold fish in it! Ewww. )

Second: andywg-- I can certainly appreciate the fact that some fish must be handled, because I have in the past on some occassions. But as a store policy, where the chain store is teaching their employees to scoop out all fish with their fingers, I just thought it was strange, especially in the case of such small fish. For tiny fish, it seems you could very easily "squish" them especially if there are 5 or 6 in the net.

I just wasn't sure if there a new technique had been determined when it came to netting fish. The pet store really confused me with their hand scooping of the neons. Further, they acted offended when I suggested that they were handling the fish incorrectly and when I requested they use a different method (or better yet, allow me to net my own fish). I wonder if I should bring this up to their management team... I just didn't have a good basis for why they were wrong.

Next time, I'll stick to my guns and request a clean net and no hand scooping! Or better yet, I'll be patient and wait for my local (non-chain) store to stock the fish that I wish to purchase.

Also, andywg, I'll also tell you my most memorable spiny fish encounter (just for fun, now that it is history). To this day, I'm still not sure how the best way to handle a pictus-cat at all. Whatever fish it was, a friend (novice) of mine was trying to move his "cat-fish" from one tank to another using a net. Well, Mr. Catfish got caught up in the net. I (still a novice, but more advanced than him) rushed in to the rescue, because I of course was all-knowing (don't believe that) of how to handle fish. Suffice it to say, the fish's barb got caught in the net and subsequently my finger. The fish's barb couldn't be pulled out of my finger, we had to break out the scissors and cut it, believe it or not. The fish survived and I have a nice scar to remind myself to be respectful in how I handle those spiny buggers. For cats, if I ever have another cat-fish type, I will use the "cleaned out yogurt cup method" (since they kinda scare me now).