Bait Tank, 2 Questions

[wooduck26]

1. How important is it with Bullheads, to use a chlorene remover with tap water?

2. What's the best food to feed them? I see they are eating SOME nightcrawlers, but Im getting worried!

[ec30_06]

Don't worry about chlorine, and don't feed them. The chlorine will gas out over time, so if you can let it sit for a few hours to a day before putting them in it will help.

[Scott K]

1. depends on how potent it is, most of the time they have no problems. Try it out with a small amount of them for a couple days before putting in a lot of bullheads.

2. I dont feed them anything, they are cleaner that way.

[wooduck26]

The chlorine will gas out over time, so if you can let it sit for a few hours to a day before putting them in it will help.

OMG! My wife was right....I didn't really belive her on that one....Cool!

[jr. borch]

well i dont know alot about bullies yet as i've just started catfishing but i feed mine leaches 2 days ago and they seem fine might have to change water though

[UdeLakeTom]

In response to:

Poster: wooduck26

Subject: Re: Bait Tank, 2 Questions

.

OMG! My wife was right....I didn't really belive her on that one....Cool!

Aren't they alway right??

[Lowblazah]

well i dont know alot about bullies yet as i've just started catfishing but i feed mine leaches 2 days ago and they seem fine might have to change water though

Feeding them causes them to digest, which in turns causes them to defacate which in turn dirtys up your water. making it mandatory to change your water often.

Less is more when it comes to storing bullheads..I run a 40 gal trash can with an airpump/air stone...then use hose water to fill it. Changing the water twice a week. thats it and they stay alive for a long time.

Unless your initials are LFC...i wouldnt put much more than that into it.

[PierBridge]

I guess it would depend on where you live and get your tap water from. Bullheads will die rather quickly in my neck of the woods and a few hours of letting the water sit won't matter much at all. I let mine sit for at least a day or two to make sure my Bait doesn't weaken or die.

[Larry FlatCaster]

Originally Posted By: jr. borch

well i dont know alot about bullies yet as i've just started catfishing but i feed mine leaches 2 days ago and they seem fine might have to change water though

Unless your initials are LFC...i wouldnt put much more than that into it.

Dude.... you think my bait tank is overboard.... You should see my boat.

[wooduck26]

My set up is pretty brutal...Its a cooler...on wheels. But its big enough to hold about 30-40 of them......with an air stone. I change the water every day....overboard? Prolly. It works tho!

[Gordie]

Quote:

Dude.... you think my bait tank is overboard.... You should see my boat.

LFC I did the freezer thing years ago and now after seeing your set up its inspired me to go for it again and started on it today as I know that I have to go back to that post and study it some more and I dont think its overboard at all just VERY THOURGH!!!

[MinnesnowtaWild]

I was thinking about getting a bait tank going, since catching Bullies is so spotty I figured I would stock up when the bite is on.

I have imagined a cooler or a Rubbermaid container with a filter and aerator. Anyone have any idea how much money it would cost to get something like this going? I would only wanna spend like $75 or so on it and would want a capacity of around 30 Bullhead, not even.

[wooduck26]

I have imagined a cooler or a Rubbermaid container with a filter and aerator. Anyone .

Rubbermaid container $10

Aerator, and stone $15?

Filter...Dont bother if your gonna change the water often enough.

I like the cooler idea, I just tape up the edges, and toss in the back of the SUV so it dont leak wall over the place, portable bait. I did throw my back out 2 yearsa go lifting it into the boat

[matt f]

A cooler and an aerator works just fine. All I do is change the water every other day and put u2 bait saver in when i do a water change. It seams to work fine because i have yet to have any die on me and there are about 50 of them in there.

[Larry FlatCaster]

Quote:

Dude.... you think my bait tank is overboard.... You should see my boat.

LFC I did the freezer thing years ago and now after seeing your set up its inspired me to go for it again and started on it today as I know that I have to go back to that post and study it some more and I dont think its overboard at all just VERY THOURGH!!!

Elwood... lets chat at your convenience... send me an email at [email protected]

[MinnesnowtaWild]

So I was gunna just get a 30 gallon Rubbermaid plastic tote and a bait bucket style aerator from Gander Mountain and hope for the best. Should I leave the lid off completely, or just drill large holes in it.

[matt f]

Your best bet on an aerator would be getting one from a pet store. There a lot cheaper than a bait bucket one from gander and you just plug it in to the wall instead of using batteries. They cost around $20 for a 30gal air pump and i would drill some holes in the lid because they like to try and excape some times

Here are some pics of my set up is cheep but gets the job done.

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[MinnesnowtaWild]

Yeah that's what I was thinking. I will definitely just go that route and keep 20 maximum at a time.

[matt f]

We keep around 30 to 50 in our tank and it's only around 30 gal. You just need to change the water more often if you don't run a filter. The more bullheads the faster ammonia builds up in the water and that's what will end up killing them.

[LoonState]

The only real exspense there is the airator. I think i picked that one up from MFF for around $40-50 price range( not to sure, it was 2 years ago, its the one with dual air stones and you can regulate the air flow). The first week you have the bullheads in there u have to change the water a few times. The key is not to feed them and the water will stay clean. After the first few days they get rid of everthing in there system. Plus we use the U2 bait booster and it seems to work great.

[MinnesnowtaWild]

Will I need to treat the water or anything before I add them?

[Shack]

Quote:

I have imagined a cooler or a Rubbermaid container with a filter and aerator.

You should see my transport system for suckers

My bullheads have been living just fine in Tractor Supply 5 gal buckets with the black lids ($5.00 or so).

They are water tight and transport very easy.

I am running up to 6 of these now when stocked full. The nice thing as I used bullheads I just clean out a buckets and do not use. When I need them they are ready to be used. Depending on the size of bullheads will determine how many can be placed in a bucket. I have cut my self off at 30 large in one bucket and 40-50 smaller ones in another. I have had great luck this year and last year with the $9.95 dual outlet aerator for aquariums Wal-Fart sells. I have 5 of them now. I run a 400w inverter in my car during travel. As far as water changes I will not even say how long I am going between them right now. I do not want to start an argument They will last a long time. After the purge out process you would not believe how long they can go. Like said do not feed them anything. They work great in the garden/flower bed if they die.

Main thing is find what works for you. It is pretty fun keeping your own bait.

Bucket with lid=$5.00

aerator=$10.00

20' of aerator tube=$1.50

larger air stone/bar from Wal-Fart=$3.00

Total=$19.50

[LoonState]

i dont think you have too,(bullheads can almost handle anything) but we add some bait booster. It's called U2(thats why the water is so blue) it is supposed to take away all the bad stuff in tap water plus add some stuff to help them stay strong. Or just fill up the cooler a few hours before you put bait in it. From my experience it helps plus it's pretty cheap also. You can find it at any sporting goods store.

[MinnesnowtaWild]

What exactly is an air stone? Is that just the object that the aerator tubes connect to and disperse the air? Also do you want the air discharged at the bottom of the bucket/container?

EDIT: Also, will they do okay in a garage with the intense temp changes?

[LoonState]

an air stone is what makes the air bubbles at the bottom of the tank. And yea a garage floor as long as it is cement should be fine. As long as it doesn't go from really cold to really hot. Or if you have a underground basement it should be alright.