How to net big fishes?

[bossteck]

Dear all,

I am toying with the idea of netting a few of my catfishes which had grown quite big for photography.

However, my experience in netting big fishes (more than 18 inches) so far had been terrible. 2 died soon after I tried to transfer them, one was for bringing to LFS for sale, another was a FOC pleco from a friend. I suspect both of them died due to poor technique in netting, perhaps sustaining some injuries during the process (I don't think it is due to poor acclimatization).

Would anyone with experience please share some pointers on how we can go about netting/transferring big fishes safely? Do we need to drug the fish, if so, what and how to do it? Or are there some types of nets to avoid?

Thanks!

[bryan]

I did see fish tranquilizer for sale at the LFS. Nets should have the finest mesh possible to avoid entanglement.I would suggest keeping them in the dark when they are bagged to avoid further spooking.

[LTL]

can use Transmore to pacify the fish before transferring...

... another way which i used often is to place a smaller container into the tank and coax the fish into it...

[bossteck]

Hi LTL and Bryan,

Thanks for sharing. I somehow have the same thinking that nets are generally quite harmful to big fishes, with them thrashing about, fish scales, fins, barbles have a good chance of getting caught in the net, even for fine meshed nets, the container method seemed safer, but i think it require lots of patience!

How about something more rigid, like those plastic strainers? Or even those plastic food cover use for covering your dishes after a meal. Would those work?

Can anyone with experience of using Transmore pleas share some feedback?

[benny]

This is what I see at the fish shops somestimes. One chap will insert the big plastic bag in the tank. The other will "chase" the fish from the other side of the tank into the bag.

However, this works better for mid and higher level fishes. For catfishes, it's usually rubber gloves and caught by hands.

Cheers,