Funnily enough ive never actually bred anything outside before until now, so i never hummed and haaareed about it till today, im trying to empty a big plastic bath, but its choca with hundreds of little fry and lots of larger breeding fish and has very poor visibility. my question is how do i empty it with the least loss of life? its above ground, base at ground level.

Any veteran tricks out there?

Thanks guys

Put a bit of fine mesh like a ladies stocking over a funnel and jam it into the end of a hose then siphon the water out. I have a pump that I used like that for inground ponds and it worked well. The bigger the funnel is at the big end, the slower the water movement will be. If you still can't see to catch the fish slowly add clean water until clear. Do it slowly (may have to be over a few days) or you can shock the fish

I would have the tank ready with half bath water and half fresh, then get someone with a large net to hold it while I siphoned out as much water as I could through the net. The net will catch any fish or fry. As soon as the water level has dropped enough, slowly tip the bath over, if it is on a slope so you can angle it slightly, and pour the remaining water through the net too.