Tips keeping minnows in garage

[JayDeHay]

I have a 20 gallon aquarium taking up space in the garage that id like to use for keeping my unused minnows. The garage isnt heated, so i figured between a tank heater and space heater, i can keep them from freezing, but i dont know how much heater i need. Would a petstore goldfish tank heater be enough, or should i be looking at stock tank heaters from Fleet Farm?

[sdsu_jacks]

I have an insulated but non heated garage, so it usually hovers it the 20s in there during winter, sometimes colder sometimes warmer. I have a cheap Styrofoam bucket that I put inside of a 5 gallon bucket, close the lid, and wrap an old thick blanket around it and I usually don't have a problem with them freezing. I've had them last a couple months at a time that way. Last year during one of our polar vortex's they did freeze up completely though.

[leechlake]

I'd go with a cooler your already own and buy an aerator that runs on a 12 v battery. I'd bet the water moving from the aerator would keep the water from freezing. Keep it off of the ground and near the wall to the house so it's warmer.

[outdoors247]

I would do what Leechlake said. I would keep the cooler against a warm interior wall and keep the water moving. One thing I would recommend is to buy an aerator that pulls into the wall. I have the model that plugs in so I don't have to worry about the battery dying at the worst possible time. The battery will also take a beating by being in the cold garage all the time.

I've kept minnows going for months in a garage setup. The bait is getting to expensive to pitch it every time.

This is the one I use. You can find these for around $20.00 on the web.

[JayDeHay]

Thanks for the replies, guys! I forgot to mention that this is a detached garage, so I don't have an interior wall to use.

sdsu_jacks gave me an idea though. I have an old electric heating pad that I could wrap around my minnow bucket with a blanket, that should keep them from freezing and make it easier to just grab them and go!

[pikestabber]

If you have a basement that's the way to go... I use a 110 aerator and a five gallon bucket. Change water every 3 days and keep minnows year round. Aerators will freeze in sub-zero temps.

[nofishfisherman]

And if you are in the city don't use tap water straight from the faucet. The chlorine will kill the minnows. Either use melted snow, distilled water, or let a bucket of tap water sit for a minimum of 24 hours before you use it. The chlorine will off gas over time making the water usable. Even then I usually only use tap water to freshen up the water with. I'll empty half the bucket and refill with tap water so that no more than 50% is tap water at any one time.

[pikestabber]

I should have added that if you run your aerator straight into a bucket in sub-zero temps it can and will freeze on you (even with the moving water). With the heat pad or aquarium heater or whatever, that might be enough to get by, but a cool basement floor with a 110 aerator is the most cost effective if that's an option.

[Hoey]

a 110 aerator

$12 or so at the big Wal Market. No batteries to deal with.

[Trump34]

Thanks for the replies, guys! I forgot to mention that this is a detached garage, so I don't have an interior wall to use.

sdsu_jacks gave me an idea though. I have an old electric heating pad that I could wrap around my minnow bucket with a blanket, that should keep them from freezing and make it easier to just grab them and go!

Most heating pads have an auto shut off at 60 minutes or so. That might be a pain to deal with.

[Tom7227]

If you keep them too warm they may die from shock when you toss them in while fishing. I am sure that shiners couldn't take that shock.

[bk_MN_iceman]

I have a non-insulated garage so my minnows freeze in a frabill bucket with aerator. I've been putting them in the basement now with the bubbler going and it seems to be working fine. I do add snow to them every other day to give them a little cool water. I've kept minnows this way for quite some time without deaths!

[Husker24]

I have had good luck in my attached insulated garage keeping them in a foam cooler with an aerator. I have also used tap water but add a couple drops of dechlorinator, they sell this at Walmart or any pet shop to be used for fish aquariums. So far I have had good luck and a bottle will last quite awhile.

[MN BassFisher]

I took an old 48 Quart Cooler, aquarium Air Pump, Airline Tubing, and Air Stone to assemble my own bait station. I plug the electric Air Pump into the garage and store the bait station out there all winter. The garage helps keep the water temperature cold which slows down the bait's metabolism and causes them to live much longer. The air stone helps keep the water well oxygenated and prevents it from freezing over quickly (on cold days I will have to skim a thin layer of ice off).

With the price of minnows, suckers, shiners, etc. increasing over the years this is an easy way to maximize your money spent. You will be absolutely shocked at how long crappie minnows, fathead minnows and suckers will live without much maintenance - I'm talking months. Shiners seem to be a bit more picky and the majority will only live a week or two (I have had some shiners live over a month but not as common as the other bait species). This is a way to have bait on hand for your next fishing outing. The money saved in one season outweighs the money spent and this increases exponentially for each season of use.

[Stickjiggler]

What do you guys feed them if you keep them f our r a long time

[pikestabber]

What do you guys feed them if you keep them f our r a long time

They'll eat almost anything...goldfish food, dry dog food, dry ramen noodles. Lots of options.

[pikestabber]

I have a non-insulated garage so my minnows freeze in a frabill bucket with aerator. I've been putting them in the basement now with the bubbler going and it seems to be working fine. I do add snow to them every other day to give them a little cool water. I've kept minnows this way for quite some time without deaths!

I've used the snow trick, too, and it does make a difference. I got in the habit of changing the water every 1-2 days (using cold water and keeping them in the basement keeps the temp just about right). I'd say if you don't overcrowd your container the mortality rate is around 1% which is pretty darn good!