Fish must never be handled. A suitable net, preferably knotless, can be used to capture the fish. A suitable small container should be ready to hold the fish for the required time. Fish should never be restrained in a net, out of water for longer than necessary and only for the purposes of tank cleaning or moving to another tank or pond.

Capture and restraint of fish

To allow some management activities to be carried out, e.g. cleaning of the tank, moving fish to another tank, fish may need to be caught. This should be done using a suitable knotless net and every effort should be made to ensure that fish are out of water for the shortest possible time. Well-established routines should be applied to the care and feeding patterns used in the classroom to both minimize the frequency of cleaning and the moving of fish.

Observation of normal behaviour

This may include observing activities such as fish swimming, feeding and breathing. Observation does not involve capture and students must not knock on the tank.

Fish photography

This can be conducted either in a small photography tank or in an aquarium. Provide supervision and care when transferring fish to the photography tank and be aware of the heat that may be generated by photographic lights. Very good results can be obtained using a short, telephoto lens fitted to a camera and a good lighting system. A teacher of photography may supervise this activity.