Scooping

[sincerelyk]

What method do you use to scoop your betta? Long ago I used the net, shortly after deciding I hated it because it made me so scared of ripping fins. Afterward I switched to the tupperware scooping method, and it worked well for a year. But lately my betta has been so uncooperative it's not even funny. Every time I put the tupperware down into the

Comments

[masked_creator]

Some days I use a soft green net, other days I use a small cup. None of my bettas are really big though. If they're being difficult, getting them into a corner is a good idea (unless you have a bowl).

[gatehorse]

My boy was slow enough that I could catch him in a cup, but my girl is fast, so I have to use a net. I have a small net, but she's small (and obviously has smaller fins) so she doesn't get stuck. Sometimes I can just chase her into the cup with the net, but last time I actually had to take the cup out, catch her in the net and then put her in the cup, because I really had trouble catching her.

[kittencuffs]

I use my hands. I've broken a fish's spine using a net (he was a runner, and after chasing him around the tank with it, I finally snagged him--or thought I did--right in a corner; in fact, I only partially caught him, and snapped his spine between the edge of the net and that corner), and that's made me leery of using anything else.

My fish get used to my hands pretty quickly. Some of them actually get so accustomed to me that they'll swim right into my hands without any prompting, even if I'm not actually there to pick them up. Example: I just got a new snail, whom I feed by hand because he's smaller than a marble and Bacon would snatch his food in a second. At feeding time, I reach into the tank to grab the snail, and actually have to push Bacon away because he won't stop trying to slide into my palm.

[heatherface]

Okay see, I was gonna be all "EW GROSS HANDS" after you mentioned this, but you didn't mention the horrifying story. D: D: D:

I used a net, the kind used for brine shrimp so they're soft as opposed to the ones for actual fish which look like they'd scrape off an eyeball or something. I also used a coffee mug a couple times, that wasn't easy though. I had small tanks so I usually removed the decorations to help catch the fish. I tried using my hands once but dropped the fish because he was a fighter, he splatted on my desk but if he'd moved at all, he would've fallen onto a dusty surge protector. So I never used my hands after that.

So all I can suggest is removing the easy hiding places to try and catch the fish better.

[kittencuffs]

You dropped him "because he was a fighter"?

You were overpowered by a fish, Heather?

[heatherface]

He jumped out of my hand, stupid. I wasn't holiding him with both. This is the "omg my fish has Velvet" girl here, remember? lol

[fyreharper]

I have to sneak up on my fish with his cup - if I start by putting it into the water near him, he'll avoid it (like it sounds like yours is doing). So instead I wait for him to be hanging out at the top of his tank, and put the cup into the water next to him fairly quickly (on its side) so that he gets sucked into it along with the water. And then tilt the cup upright (it's now full of water+betta) and take it out of the tank before he has a chance to jump back out again.

[sincerelyk]

How big is the cup that you use? I feel like the tupperware I've been using to scoop him for the past year isn't wide enough anymore. His tail has grown pretty long.

[fyreharper]

I used the cup he came in, until it got lost somewhere. Now I'm using one of these: http://www.amazon.com/Jarden-Home-Brands-1440083000-Freezer/dp/B001XVZW3K

[mekkababble]

I use the cup they came in and usually remove any decorations/hiding places so they're easier to catch.

I'll hover near the top. They gotta surface for air sometime... ;)