Netting a discus

[Disgirl]

In a few days I will be netting my 12 almost full grown discus and putting them into a much larger tank. I have never netted a large discus before, these have been in their tank since they were 1 1/2". In the past I never had a discus bigger than 4", yes they were stunted. So, what is the best way to net them? I have a 10" soft black net, would this do? Or should I try to scoop them up in some kind of container put into the tank, water and all? I am worried about hurting them or stressing them so much they get ill. Tell me how to do it :D
Barb

[JaredP]

How do they respond to your hand? With mine (still small) I am able to move slowly and pick them up by hand.

[srusso]

Yeah I would say go for the two handed approach... slowly close your hands around the fish once you have good placement, grab firmly, lift and drop in the water. I had trouble with mine, big fish maybe easier.... or they could be much harder

Good Luck

[Elite Aquaria]

I have never had a problem netting discus of all sizes from fry to 6"+

[mmorris]

Wear a raincoat. And release them from the net head-first. They come out easier. :)

[Double Up]

Get a nice big net!

[Discus-Hans]

Fork???? JOKE JOKE JOKE, before we get DH said..........:D

10" net is fine, I use the white softer ones, and what Martha said, head first out the net.

Raincoat???????? no, that is why Discus people are always naked lol lol lol

Hans

[Darrell Ward]

Barb, the easiest way I've found, is to drain the water level down about half way. Try to ease the net into the tank, and not spook them with sudden movements. You don't want them panicked and running into tank walls and objects. Trap them with your big net up against the glass, then just slide the net up against the glass with the fish, and cover the top of the net with the other hand when you reach the top of the tank. Nothing to it! :)

[Wahter]

I've had good luck netting fish after they've fallen asleep - sometimes they don't struggle at all.



Walter

[tcyiu]

I prefer transparent/translucent, large, food safe, plastic containers. I have a pitcher that I use all the time for moving my adults and juveniles. The pitcher came from a dollar store. I discard the top and just use the body. It is tall and from the top, it is elliptical. i.e. tall, wide, but shallow front to back. You can hold it with one hand.

Moving slowly and deliberately, you can trap the fish against the side of the aquarium, move the container (with the trapped fish) up to the water line, and tilt the container quickly, and the fish is now secure inside a carrier. (Sometimes have to flash your hand in front of the fish to get it to back away from the glass so you can tilt the container).

The benefit is that no slime is scraped off by the net and there is no chance of tears on the fins.

Tim

[Eddie]

Barb, the easiest way I've found, is to drain the water level down about half way. Try to ease the net into the tank, and not spook them with sudden movements. You don't want them panicked and running into tank walls and objects. Trap them with your big net up against the glass, then just slide the net up against the glass with the fish, and cover the top of the net with the other hand when you reach the top of the tank. Nothing to it! :)

Pretty much do the same as Darrell.

I do not like to use a net that is too large, as the fish always seem to get there fins tangled up. Just in my limited experience. :o

Eddie

[Disgirl]

Thank you for all these good ideas! So, far I am leaning towards the capturing in a big container, like the pitcher, and lifting the fish in the water, out of the tank, 12 times. But all these ideas seem like they will work, I just netted and moved 20 large angelfish, in 2 other tanks, only one got stuck in the net for awhile. I will let you know how it goes, later this week. Thanks everyone!
Barb:)

[Disgirl]

Fork???? JOKE JOKE JOKE, before we get DH said..........:D

10" net is fine, I use the white softer ones, and what Martha said, head first out the net.

Raincoat???????? no, that is why Discus people are always naked lol lol lol

Hans

Hey Hans, I didn't know that discus people are always naked! Learn something new everyday here!
Barb:D

[Elite Aquaria]

Hans,

LOL...This is why I get in trouble with my wife...


Raincoat???????? no, that is why Discus people are always naked lol lol lol

Hans

[Eddie]

Hans,

LOL...This is why I get in trouble with my wife...

You too Dan! :o LOL

[sherry123]

not saying a thing here! lol..now I don't have to explain it to my husband anymore

[Jhhnn]

Lowering the water level definitely helps, as does the fact that they haven't been netted recently. Like yours, only a few of my current stock have been netted since they arrived months ago, so they're chumps, easy to catch... Fish that have been netted much at all can be hell to catch except when they're laying on their sides in an inch of water...

And, yeh, be prepared to get wet...

[rickztahone]

i've grabbed my discus with both hands and i can tell you that transferring a 6" fish can be difficult if it's struggling. at one point i thought i was going to drop one of the discus i was carrying. my advise would be to catch them with a net or a plastic container like mentioned earlier. seems less stressful w/ the container as well. good luck and let us know how it goes. what size tank are they being re-homed to?

[Disgirl]

Thanks for more good advice! They are going from their 75 that they have been in since 1 1/2", to a 125. Soon they can really spread out and I will be putting a bit of sand on the bottom. It is in our living room, 75 is in the dining room and will have all my angels in it. Just two big tanks for me now, down from the 20 I had years ago! But most of them were 20 gal or smaller and I was breeding fish to sell then. I will let you all know how the catching goes in a few days. Thanks again,
Barb:)

[rickztahone]

Thanks for more good advice! They are going from their 75 that they have been in since 1 1/2", to a 125. Soon they can really spread out and I will be putting a bit of sand on the bottom. It is in our living room, 75 is in the dining room and will have all my angels in it. Just two big tanks for me now, down from the 20 I had years ago! But most of them were 20 gal or smaller and I was breeding fish to sell then. I will let you all know how the catching goes in a few days. Thanks again,
Barb:)

just make sure you put the sand in the 125 first. put a filter in there so that the loose sand settles. i've been wanting to add sand to my 125 but thinking of the hassle of taking them out and putting the sand in the 125 and letting it settle is more than i can do without going crazy. make sure to post pics when done.

[Darrell Ward]

i've grabbed my discus with both hands and i can tell you that transferring a 6" fish can be difficult if it's struggling. at one point i thought i was going to drop one of the discus i was carrying. my advise would be to catch them with a net or a plastic container like mentioned earlier. seems less stressful w/ the container as well. good luck and let us know how it goes. what size tank are they being re-homed to?

Yes, catching with your hands sounds a hell of a lot more stressful for the fish than using a net or container, with a panicked fish sliding around, and your hands removing the slime coat. There's no need to play Tarzan at all with your prized livestock. :D

[Disgirl]

Update:
I just finished netting them and so far they are happy (I think) in their new tank. In the end I found that just netting them one by one, with my large soft net, lowered water level, and put them right into the newly set up tank in the next room. Just caught each fish, and walked fast with it to the new tank and placed it in the water which was the same ph, temp and the same filters transferred to it. But you all were right, lots of splashing and I did get wet! And I had never seen my discus jump out of the water before as I was trying to catch them. Good thing I had lowered the water level to only about 8". They jumped out of the water at times. I see why discus tanks need covers. Will post pics when all is settled down and they are out swimming in their new "10 gal per fish" tank. Hope they appreciate all the time, hard work and money it has taken to give them 10 gal each :D:D:D. And I did put a thin layer of pool filter sand on the bottom. They were raised BB though.
Barb

[Eddie]

Glad to hear that all went well Barb! Can't wait to see them in their new home with the sand bottom.

All the best,

Eddie

[waters10]

Good job! Watching discus swim and even pick on each other makes you think they are not able to swim fast. But if you scare them, you can really see how fast they are able to swim! They can jump easily from an open tank. I'm glad they don't use all that speed to hit each other!

[Jhhnn]

I think discus are built to dart quickly over short distances. Mine can move faster than the eye can follow, but I don't think they're really built for speed in open water, not like a trout or a tuna...

But in an aquarium, yeh, they're fast when their flight instincts kick in...

[waters10]

I think discus are built to dart quickly over short distances. Mine can move faster than the eye can follow, but I don't think they're really built for speed in open water, not like a trout or a tuna...

But in an aquarium, yeh, they're fast when their flight instincts kick in...
True, it has to be put into perspective! But it's more about the contrast. You see them swimming, eating and fighting at a certain speed. You just don't expect them to have that speed in them! I've had some of my discus go from one side to the other (4'), back and forth 2-3 times really really fast! That's when I decided to get moonlights ...

Sorry for derailing this thread.

[rickztahone]

i'm glad to hear everything went well. when do we get to see some pics? :D

[mmorris]

But you all were right, lots of splashing and I did get wet!

So, did you go with the raincoat or bb? :D

[rickztahone]

So, did you go with the raincoat or bb? :D

LMAO

[Disgirl]

So, did you go with the raincoat or bb? :D

T shirt and shorts, all got wet, along with the rug, wood floor and even dripped some on a closely watching cat! She ran faster than the discus swam!
Barb:D

[twlee100]

Alot of splashes when I use the net, ( to another tank )

Later, I transfer the discus using the plastic ( from fish shop ).