Wow you all have been extremely helpful, thank you! I finally found a flexible cup that fits within his 360 tank that I've started using for siphoning as well.. very useful! Also I think I won't use the net now--the more i think about it the more terrifying it seems to be for the fish to be taken out of water like that. I'll just keep it for nabbing up decorations at the bottom instead of putting my whole hand in.
It's fascinating to know that he might be able to 'learn' to just swim right in.. i'll have to work on that a few times and get him in there without actually taking him out to get him used to it :)
again thank you so much everyone!