keeping minnows alive

[toomanytoys]

been keeping my minnow bucket in my deep sink in my shop and change 75% of the water every morning and every night and have only lost 3 in 3 weeks .

cold water only

does anybody feed them ?

[KrabbyPatties]

Wow. I change water religiously on the occasions that I try to keep minnows, but they seem to become positively suicidal once they reach my house. I lose a half dozen minnows a day or more, even changing the water morning and night, using an aerator, and keeping them in my cool basement.

I might as well feed them rat poison.

[flipper]

I keep them in my shop refrigerator. I have another bucket in there with water only and ever couple days the minnows go to a new bucket. I lose a few but not many. I have kept them a long time without feeding them, in that cold water they don't need it.

[Mnfisher]

I set mine outside whenever I can, more this winter because of the warmer temps. I have a styrofoam bucket. If the top freezes over, I break up the ice so they can get oxygen, then set them inside until all the ice melts or sometimes just take them in at night. I change water every other day. I think the key is keeping the water cold.

[pathogen]

There are a number of things you can do that all add to your overall success. NO chlorinated water, keep the water as cold as you can, keep the water as oxygenated as you can (bubbler a huge +), change water often to purge waste products. Minnows will keep a long, long time. I've had my best success keeping them in a styrofoam container, it allows oxygen in and is a great insulator. Metal containers are a no-no. You can feed them lightly, but no more than they can eat in 5 minutes. Leftover food decays and puts toxins into the water.

[eurolarva]

Wow. I change water religiously on the occasions that I try to keep minnows, but they seem to become positively suicidal once they reach my house. I lose a half dozen minnows a day or more, even changing the water morning and night, using an aerator, and keeping them in my cool basement.

I might as well feed them rat poison.

When you change the water regularly it has to be the same temp as the water in the minnow tank. If you have an attached garage you should keep them there instead of the basement. 35 degrees plus or minus is ideal for minnows. Basements are usually around 60 degrees. Use spring water from a store. If you are in the sticks and have well water that is fine as long is it is not city well water. Go to wally world and go to the aquarium supplies and get a pump some hose a check valve and an air stone. Key is minnows hate chlorine and major temp changes

[Esox_Magnum]

I change the water while on the ice and put them in the bait fridge till the next weekend, only loose a couple a week doing this....

[PurpleFloyd]

Low density is much more critical than the water temp. I have a 125 gallon aquarium in the basement that I regularly keep minnows and chubs in and as long as i keep the filters going and keep the population density low then they will stay alive in there as long as I need them. I actually don't change water much at all and don't need to once the filter gets cultured with bacteria.

You can get big blue 55 gallon plastic drums from food service companies or other places( Make sure they are food safe and haven't had harmful chemicals in them) and they make excellent minnow tanks and if you look hard you can get them for little or nothing.

For long term storage the minnows need:

Clean water.

food.

good filtration.

If you just keep a bunch of minnows in a bucket then yes, the cold temps help because the cold water slows down their metabolism and thus reduces the amount of waste released daily. Changing water frequently dilutes the waste and makes up for the lack of water volume and filtration.

[PurpleFloyd]

When you change the water regularly it has to be the same temp as the water in the minnow tank. If you have an attached garage you should keep them there instead of the basement. 35 degrees plus or minus is ideal for minnows. Basements are usually around 60 degrees. Use spring water from a store. If you are in the sticks and have well water that is fine as long is it is not city well water. Go to wally world and go to the aquarium supplies and get a pump some hose a check valve and an air stone. Key is minnows hate chlorine and major temp changes

Great points.

I would also add if you have city water then you can put the tap water in another container and "Age" it for a day or two and the chlorine will evaporate out of the water and then be safe for the fish as well as the right temp as it gets to room temp. The air pump and air stone will speed the process.

[amateurfishing]

i use my city water & give it a 24 hour "rest" b4 using it, have only lost 2 minnows in a week doing that this year.

i did the air hose, compressor, and all attachments last year, spent $20 and most were gone in 2 days, threw that idea out the window & returned all supplies for refund. i am back to changing "rested" tap water every 2-3 days this year & keeping in garage fridge right above freezing temp. have only lost 2 in a week.

IMO does not make cents (pun intended) to spend $20 on supplies to keep $2 minnows alive...better off dumping em out or in lake after fishing and starting fresh next trip.

[Fergus Mor McErc]

Depending on where your are, chloramines may be used in tap water instead of chlorine. Chloramines will not evaporate over time like chlorine does. The only way to 'break the chloramine bond' is to treat the water. Enough water treatment to last a season can be bought at a pet store for less than ten bucks.

[eurolarva]

I change the water while on the ice and put them in the bait fridge till the next weekend, only loose a couple a week doing this....

If this is done with lake water those minnows should not be used on other lakes to prevent the spread of disease.

The new law is water from the bait container must be replaced with clean water (not lake water) before leaving the launch area