Aquarium Net Guide - What you need to know ( before you buy )!

Nothing more essential for your fish tank than an aquarium net. You will have to chase and capture your fish or some little critter. What you will want to avoid is snagging your prized fish and tearing fins when doing so. Below is a guide to help you better understand what net you need and for what to use it on!

NET TYPE: Fine Mesh vs. Standard Mesh

Mesh size is very important, especially when dealing with smaller critters or delicate finned fish. Your standard mesh aquarium net is going to be your all-purpose tool. You dropped something in your tank, you get your standard mesh aquarium net. For stronger less ornate fish, you can also use your standard aquarium net.

When it comes to finer items you need to pick up, like leftover food, you want to use a fine mesh aquarium net. Food like beef heart or bloodworms can slip through the holes of a standard net. Using a fine mesh aquarium net will help clean up all the bits and pieces that would get away.

If you have delicate or veil type fined fish, a fine mesh aquarium net will help protect them from tears or fin damage. Depending on the fish, their spines may still protrude and snag a bit, you will have an easier time handling and detangling with a finer mesh aquarium net.

NET SIZE: Small, Medium, Large and EXTRA Large

Aquarium nets come in several different sizes. Depending on your aquarium, you might want to consider keeping several sizes.

Smaller aquarium nets are great for getting in small tight spaces and quickly snagging up smaller tank dwellers like shrimp.

Medium to Large aquarium nets is your general all-purpose nets. These nets give you the versatility of scooping up the majority of aquarium fish, so you get the most bang for your buck here.

Extra large aquarium nets are generally reserved for specialty tanks. Specialty tanks are aquariums that have larger fish that need the extra large opening to capture. Specialty tanks can be breeding or bare bottom tanks, so extra large nets will not be bothered by decorative rocks or plants. With an extra large aquarium net, you are scooping quickly, in and out, but you need the room in your tank to use them.

HANDLE SIZE: Short vs Long Handle

Depending on the depth of your tank, you will want to consider a short handle vs a long handle.

A short handle can come in handy if you keep a shallow depth tank like a coral tank or smaller ten-gallon tank. Most if not all corals or fish will be accessible from a short distance from the top of the tank. If you get a longer handle, you may end up with odd angles trying to get something out at a relatively shallow depth.

A longer handle will help if you have a larger or deeper tank. Eventually, you will end up submerging your arm deep in your tank, soaking your shirt sleeve, it happens. With a larger handled aquarium net, you will have the ability to reach further into your tank before your hand or arm get wet. Longer handles are designed for deep tanks or larger 100+ gallon tanks.

BEST OVERALL: Marina 10 inch aquarium net

If you need an all-purpose net that will help capture your fish with minimal possibility of fin damage, look at the Marina 10 inch aquarium net. It comes with a 12-inch handle that will give you the reach you need in most tanks without it becoming awkward. The Marina aquarium net has a bright blue protective coating that helps prevent corrosive rust and gives it a nice grippy feeling in your hand even when wet.

SANITIZE: Keeping Aquarium Nets Clean

If you have several tanks in your fish room, you may want to consider having a net dedicated to each of your tanks. Cross-contamination can happen quickly if you are dipping the same net from one tank to another.

The cost of buying a dedicated net for each of your tanks is much more affordable than treating all of your tanks for an outbreak of disease.

More so for breeders and advanced hobbyist who go through long hours and dedication to keep their tanks disease free. If you have two or more tanks consider buying extra nets to avoid sick fish.

If for whatever reason you just can't seem to get another net, you should at the very least be sanitizing your net between uses. How do you do this?

Have you ever been in a barbershop and you see them pull out a comb from blue liquid? The blue liquid is a sterilizer, it kills bacteria and viruses on the comb before it used on someone else.

Similarly, there is a blue liquid product called Net Soak, it is also blue and also sanitizes your nets, just like the combs at the barbershop.

If you have an extra bucket, you can follow the instructions and set up a quick aquarium net bath to keep your nets clean. As they say, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure...

Keeping your fish safe and preventing disease can be as simple as keeping your aquarium net clean.

Closing Thoughts...

Certain things we just can't go without, an aquarium net is one of them. Take a moment to get the best net for your fish before you cause irreversible fin damage or worse yet, death due to net snags.

Take the precautions needed to keep your fish nets clean using Net Soak and if you are an advanced hobbyist or breeder, you should have a net for each of your tanks. Perhaps you might think it's a bit overkill, but you know disease spread very fast. If you think it hurts to lose a prized fish, don't wait to feel what it's like to lose them all due to illness.