Are Nets Safe for Marine Fish?

[tmRoth]

I picked up a bangaii cardinalfish last week and, in response to something I said, the employee who bagged the fish for me mentioned that they are not allowed to use nets on marine fish because the fish could be damaged by netting. Thinking back on it, I can't recall whether or not nets have been used for previous marine fish purchases I've made, but I've never heard that nets are bad and there are plenty of posts here on R2R about people netting their fish. I found this article from Reefkeeping, though, that discusses the dangers of using nets to transfer fish and recommends using a specimen container or plastic bag (something clear that the fish is less likely to see).

So, a couple of questions: 1) Have you had any problems when you've netted a marine fish?
And 2) If nets are bad, how best to transfer a fish when you don't want to minimize the transfer of water from one tank to another?

 

[Saltyreef]

Ive had a few fish stuck in the nets before.
Namely a filefish, a clownfish with a bad attitude and a coral beauty angel.

The coral beauty was by far the one who stuck in the net the most.

 

[EricR]

Plastic colander works well to minimize water transferred without tangling fish in a net.
*not ideal for corralling fish in tank with rock work but just for draining after you chase it into some other container

 

[damsels are not mean]

I have had fish, both fresh and saltwater, as well as shrimps get stuck. One of the shrimps lost a claw. How much permanent damage it causes I cannot say. In the case of the shrimp the claw was back within a couple weeks. Fish do not regenerate like crustaceans though.

I switched to using a plastic strainer like this long ago and it is much easier it seems on the fish.

 

[i cant think]

I picked up a bangaii cardinalfish last week and, in response to something I said, the employee who bagged the fish for me mentioned that they are not allowed to use nets on marine fish because the fish could be damaged by netting. Thinking back on it, I can't recall whether or not nets have been used for previous marine fish purchases I've made, but I've never heard that nets are bad and there are plenty of posts here on R2R about people netting their fish. I found this article from Reefkeeping, though, that discusses the dangers of using nets to transfer fish and recommends using a specimen container or plastic bag (something clear that the fish is less likely to see).

So, a couple of questions: 1) Have you had any problems when you've netted a marine fish?
And 2) If nets are bad, how best to transfer a fish when you don't want to minimize the transfer of water from one tank to another?

I’ve used nets for almost all my fish. There is only one fish I’ll never met again though and that’s a foxface. Small specimens are alright to net but large specimens are likely to get stuck. I trapped my 7” Magnificent Fox in a net and if you know about any Siganus species, their spines are venomous.
I have caught an Angel in a net once however those guys aren’t venomous and are easier to get out of a net.

If you use a net with fine netting you shouldn’t be too bad. However just be slow with it. This is how they get trapped. Allow them to relax in the net still in water. Then you can do the transfer. Every weekend I’ve had to bag up Atleast 2 fish as I work in an LFS and rushing it is never a good thing to do. They will always go into a panic and get themselves stuck in the net.

 

[tmRoth]

Plastic colander works well to minimize water transferred without tangling fish in a net.
*not ideal for corralling fish in tank with rock work but just for draining after you chase it into some other container

That's what I typically use when I bring a fish home and it's in a plastic bag that I can pour directly into the colander, which sits snugly in a bowl of the same size . I can just lift the colander up out of the water and move it to the tank.

My cardinalfish was in QT and I was able to use a glass jar to corner and trap him, then move him to the colander. But he was easy to catch - he generally sat in one spot staring at the back wall of the quarantine tank most of the time. I don't think I could have caught other fish like a six-line wrasse with a bulky jar, though.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

IMO, there are different nets….white and green mesh for hobbyists, rubber ring nets for larger fish. In proper hands, and avoiding fish that tend to get tangled, nets are fine. I’ve seen people literally destroy fish trying to catch them improperly in nets or rigid containers.
Jay

 

[Mathew0]

Tangs get stuck. Foxface gets stuck. Angels. You can also cause fin damage on smaller fish that you don’t even see. Why risk it? Just get an acrylic box, or make a box out of egg crate if you don’t want the water. Nets also get stuck on rocks and corals. IMO, they’re really only useful for getting crud out of the water.
Nice trick with the glass jar. I use a plastic bag, same ones pet stores use, to get fish out of QT. They can’t even see it until they’re inside, if you go slow.

 

[homer1475]

I once killed a maroon clown from getting it's cheek spines caught in a net.

I use a pampered chef measuring colander in clear now.

 

[tmRoth]

Tangs get stuck. Foxface gets stuck. Angels. You can also cause fin damage on smaller fish that you don’t even see. Why risk it? Just get an acrylic box, or make a box out of egg crate if you don’t want the water. Nets also get stuck on rocks and corals. IMO, they’re really only useful for getting crud out of the water.
Nice trick with the glass jar. I use a plastic bag, same ones pet stores use, to get fish out of QT. They can’t even see it until they’re inside, if you go slow.

I would not have been able to use the glass jar on anything bigger or faster than the little cardinalfish. I worried about smashing him between jar rim and the tank glass, so I came up on him from below and was able to raise the rim out of the water before he could get out. The only nice thing about nets is the handle.

 

[tmRoth]

I once killed a maroon clown from getting it's cheek spines caught in a net.

I use a pampered chef measuring colander in clear now.

I like that, and something similar someone else posted. My colander is much too big and shallow for catching, it's only good for transferring once a fish is caught. I'll have to pick up something like this.

 

[tmRoth]

Tangs get stuck. Foxface gets stuck. Angels. You can also cause fin damage on smaller fish that you don’t even see. Why risk it? Just get an acrylic box, or make a box out of egg crate if you don’t want the water. Nets also get stuck on rocks and corals. IMO, they’re really only useful for getting crud out of the water.
Nice trick with the glass jar. I use a plastic bag, same ones pet stores use, to get fish out of QT. They can’t even see it until they’re inside, if you go slow.

The Reefkeeping article I linked to in my original post also noted that many fish have protruding eyes, and with no eyelids they can easily have an eye scratched by the net, leading to infection.