keeping minows alive

[spotty]

I was just wondering how people keep their minnows alive that they don't use up on the lake. I keep mine in a 10 gal black tub with a bubble maker in it. The only problem that every night I have around 1/2 dozen die off. the tub is in the basement in a darker corner. Any thoughts would be great.

[SpecialK]

What kind of water are you working with?

[spotty]

I am using city water but i let it sit in another bucket for a couple of days before i switch out the water.

[SpecialK]

Check at a pet store that sells fish (or better yet a store that only deals in fish if you can find one) and get some water treatment tablets. You may be able to find these at Gander / Cabelas / Bigger bait stores.

I think that would help you out alot. Even though you are letting the water sit I think it's still not enough.

If you find a fish store they may even test your water to help determine what you need.

[FrontenacPike]

Its the city water, use lake water, and they will last forever.

[JRB fishing]

I purchased a bottle of "better-bait" at fleet farm and it sure seems to help keep them alive alot longer than doing nothing. You just add 1/4 teaspoon per gallon of water. The bottle says it conditions water,removes chlorine,keeps bait frisky and lowers bait losses. I think i paid $16.00 for the bottle last year.

[SpecialK]

Its the city water, use lake water, and they will last forever.

Can't transport lake water

[chad austin]

In MN it is illegal to transport lake water on any roadway. Do what was suggested earlier in the post and either get the tablets or they also sell a liquid that you would put in a set amount of drops per gallon.

[chad austin]

Can't transport lake water

You beat me to it

[otis]

I have found if you have an aerator the less water you use, and the colder you keep them the better. I had been using about 7 gallons and the water would get dirty and smelly. Kept them in my garage. Switched to a small minnow bucket and left it outside with only the bubbles keeping it from freezing out and it works wonders. No dead minnows.

[Fergus Mor McErc]

City water has chloramines in it which don't evaporate like chlorine does. Letting the water sit won't help. Get some aquarium water treatment from the pet store, change a good 1/3 of the water every week and keep them cold. Extreme temp changes are hard on fish but an ammonia spike from their waste is what will kill them. Adding air is always a good idea.

[Walleye One]

I keep my minnows in a five gallon bucket with a bubbler and keep it in the garage. If it gets to cold I put it in my garage frig which is turned off for the season. I do jimmy rig the refrig light so it stays on and this keep the temp a little above freezing. I’ve also used an extension cord with a light bulb attachment. You do not need a very big bulb to keep it at the optimal temp.

If it’s going to be more than a week before fishing I’ll fill a second 5 gallon bucket and in a couple days the water will be ready to be switched.

Seems to work pretty well.

[simple1]

+10 on the water treatment. You can get a bottle of the stuff for almost nothing at any pet store.(like 5ml per 5 gallons it will last as long as you do) Thats what I do and my minnows last until i use them up. Just don't let them freeze solid.

[spotty]

curious on what baitshops use or do they have a high mortality rate also. They always fill my minnow bucket with water out of the faucet.

[Walleye One]

I would guess they use Well water which is not treated and comes out very cold.

[Bigslugger]

curious on what baitshops use or do they have a high mortality rate also. They always fill my minnow bucket with water out of the faucet.

The bait shop in my home town uses this blue2 water. I believe it is called that. It somehow keeps the minnows alive for FOREVER but its spendy she says so not much gets put in the bag when leaving

[Great Outdoors]

I was just wondering how people keep their minnows alive that they don't use up on the lake. I keep mine in a 10 gal black tub with a bubble maker in it. The only problem that every night I have around 1/2 dozen die off. the tub is in the basement in a darker corner. Any thoughts would be great.

Try shutting off the aerator, and make sure the water is cold (about 35-45 degrees)

Too much agitation can kill them.

[Fergus Mor McErc]

Indeed, too much agitation will kill fish. Keep the airflow into the tank to a minimum. Surface agitation is what introduces oxygen into the water, too much of it and they'll die off (in an aquarium type of setting like this).

[FrontenacPike]

In MN it is illegal to transport lake water on any roadway.

Your 100% right, I completely forgot about that!!! Since moving to town this summer I will be in the same predicament with city water. Hope the wife understand when she see's buckets of snow melting in the garage.

[OnAFly]

I just keep mine in a 1gal bucket in the fridge with the lid off. They last pretty long.

[low277]

I use a 5 gallon pail in my garage which is maintained at 40 degrees.

I fill the bucket with city water and let stand for at least 12 hours before adding the minnows. I use the cheapest bubbler I could find at Walmart. I change the bucket every 5 - 7 days.

I have keep chubs for 2 - 3 weeks with very few lost.

[amateurfishing]

just curious, been reading quite a bit bout this topic last couple of years....is it not more cost effective to just keep the minnows as long as possible as is without any extra $ in setup for $2 minnows? I tried couple of things last year with really no difference either way so i just keep the minnows as long as possible without chaninging anything (cept taking out dead ones) & when their gone thats it and go spend another $2 on bag of minnows. I find it ironic ppl want to spend 10,20,30 to keep a bag of $2 minnows alive. IMO this sport is expensive enuff without going the extra mile to try & save one of the cheapest products involved with it. LOL

[northernsportman]

What i do is keep mine in the fridge. never had a problem with this and have been doing this for years. i'm in town and use tap water. change it every other day. have maybe 3-4 max die every couple days. Maybe i'm blessed by the minnow gods?

[Rube]

For saving a few dozen minnows for a week or two, I have found that using the "better bait" and keeping them in an old styrofoam beer cooler "with a lid" , in the garage works pretty good. The cooler keeps the water from freezing. Another thing that I use when taking them out fishing is a 1 1/2 gal water jug, keeps from spilling the water out during transportation and when pulling the shelter out on the lake.

[hookncook]

Too many minnows in a bucket can cause mortality as well. I keep no more than 6 shiners or large suckers, or 2 dozen crappie minnows in a 5 gal pail with a small pet smart air. I change the water in the bucket every two or three days, rotating the buckets of water.

It also helps to keep the buckets covered and dark so the minnows don't consume so much oxygen and move around as much.

One thing that can't be helped is starvation. Seems that I can only keep my minnows alive for about two weeks before they start expiring. Wish I can find the perfect minnow food.