chlorinated water and bait

[Guest]

Does anyone have any info on the length of time it takes for chlorine to neutralize in tap water.I want to change my bait tank water using tap water treated with 'shiner life'.I have 5-5 gallon pails of tap water sitting waiting for the chlonine to dissipate. Are we talking an hour,a day,a week?

[Guest]

That would be a good thing to know.I use aquarium chemicals to "dechlorinate"the water for my tank,but not using it would save a few bucks.

[Guest]

24 Hours

[Guest]

Fishhead,how many bait do you keep in your tank? I'm keeping 500+ native minnows in 50-60 gallons of water for the season which is thanksgiving to March 1st on a good year here in western Ma.This years been tough due too warm temps so frequent water changes have been the norm.

[Just4fun]

Chlorine doesn't take very long to leave water once the pressure has been relieve. Once it's in a bucket it will be gone in a hour or so. Before the temperature of the water from the tap settles to the air temp it should be gone. The biggest concern is if your local water department is using chloramin (not sure of the spelling). It's a bonding of chlorine and ammonia. Some towns use it because the price is cheaper for them. In this state, the chlorine can not escape the water. The chemicals for treating water for aquariums often contain a chemical to break this bond apart. If you let the water sit over night, water with just chlorine will be fine to use and it will also be at the temperature the minnows are used to. Sudden temperature changes, that you get by changing water of different temperature, will kill them just as fast.

[Nels]

2 weeks ago I bought a scoop of Crappie minnows and a dozen suckers. I have been keeping them all in a small foam bucket, and changing the water from the tap every other day. I am really suprised that I have only had a couple of each type of minnow die so far. What is really amazing, is the second time I went out, I was in a hurry and my bucket dropped and spilled all of the minnows on the driveway. It took awhile to pick them all up and run in the house for some water. I'm suprised the salt from the driveway didn't kill them.

[Guest]

I've had luck over the years topping off the bait bucket with tap water with no casualties.However the chlorine levels in our tap water continue to increase as state regulations on bacteria get tighter. I have no clue when they will reach toxic levels but I'm sure it's comming if it's not here already. If I lost a bucket of bait due to chlorine so be it. To lose my entire season's supply would be devestating.Thats why I need to be sure the water has been dechlorinated before changing the tank water.It is amazing how hearty these fish really are though.

[Guest]

I have put regular tap water in a cooler when out collecting bait and in a half hour seen them turn belly up from the chlorine.The stuff is pure death to some fish!
I have a 30 gallon tank(garbage can).I usually only run my tank during the open water season.I can keep around 6 dozen large chubs/suckers/shiners alive and kicking in the tank if I keep up with the water changes(once a week).The bait stays livley if you use a filter system.You have to keep a benificial bacteria culture alive in your tank to prevent nitrate and amonia from becoming a problem.A regular over the side aquarium filter doses a nice job.Always leave a small portion of the previous filter(this contains the bacteria that eats the fish waste that produces the amonia and nitrates)when you change the filter.Or you can use the amonia eating chemicals from your pet store like e-man said.Also I run a large two hose aireator.The bait I keep comes from well oxygenated streams so the more air I can get in the water the better.It helps to know a little about keeping aqariums and picking up a book on aquriums can help a guy out in keeping a bait tank.After all that is basically what you are setting up.

[Guest]

hello

chlorine, chloramines, ammonia, temperature
and airation.... what a combination!

i have numerous aquariums, salt/fresh and bait. the chlorine dissipates quickly all of the other components do not.

there is a product called "AmQuel" that costs about $10.00 at petco. 1 16 0z bottle treats 960 gallons.

try to be sure that the water temp is close to what your bait is in already. shock will kill em real quick. this includes when you take them from home to the ice. i usually take a 5 gal bucket full of treated water, put a scoop or two of bait in the bucket for about 12 hrs prior to my trip and put it outside, it's ok if it skims over, be care ful if it's closing in on zero for the temp.
minnow popsicles do not work!!!(been there, done that!!!)

change the water when it becomes cloudy, next day, next week whenever.

keep the dead minnows out, amonia is created by fish [PoorWordUsage] and rotting debris. can't stop the fish [PoorWordUsage] but you can keep the dead ones out.

if you are keeping them for longer than a few days you have to feed your bait to keep them healthy. cheap flake food will do. NOT TOO MUCH. the more they eat the more they [PoorWordUsage].

keep a small aquarium areator with an air stone running on the bottom of your storage container.

shiners.....good luck!

sorry for all of the words but it works.

[Duck-o-holic]

Fishhead-- How do large Chubs/Suckers/Shiners kick?

Just messin' with ya! Seriously though... WOW!! You know your stuff when it comes to a fish's ecosystem! I was impressed with your post, and learned a bit of stuff that makes a lot of sense in the perspective that you put it in. Do you ever keep fatheads, small shiners, crappie minnows (you know... the NON-Catfish type baits) in your tank?

Let me know when Rick will be offering the official "Fishhead's Finicky Garbage Can Minnow Tank" on the site! LOL! Try writing a catchy song for THAT title!

Duck-o-holic

[169Sportsman]

I don't think that the chlorine makes nearly as much difference as the water temp., ammonia, and PH levels do. The water for our bait tanks in the store comes right from the tap. When you get high ammonia and PH together it is instant death to minnow especially shiners. If you notice the minnows getting soft the PH may be too high, you can get test kits at many pet places. Try to keep the PH from 7.4 to 8.2 if you can. If it gets too high just pour in some white vinegar this will lower the PH and will not harm the minnows. Hopefully you guys don't keep'em alive too long, you gotta keep the local bait shop in business too. LOL

[Gonzo]

I have my own well, and I've had good luck keeping the minnows going for a long time in a five gallon bucket. I do a lot of the things mentioned earlier (aquarium pump, change water every other day, take out dead ones every day), I've always used a household tap that comes right from the well, and isn't softened. I also have a root cellar that works great for keeping the minnows nice and cool to avoid shocking them, but my unsoftened taps are outside and one is in the kitchen. If I could use softened water, it would be a lot easier to change the water. Do I need to avoid the softened water?

[Guest]

Some cities do not chlorinate their water.The city that I live in did not chlorinate the water untill just a year and a half ago.Before this I could use city water with no problems at all.Let me tell you chlorine will kill them fast!Well oxygenated water will dissipate chlorine faster than just letting it sit.Temperature shock will definately get them too.But I have not had as much problem with temps as I have had with chlorine.
I don't worry about using soft water.Good old well water is probably better than softened water because some water softening salts contain other chemicals which may be harmful.I use an outside tap which is not softened and I can attest to hard water not being a factor with my minnows.You should see the way my truck looks after I wash it in the driveway!
As for adding vinegar to you water I would not advise it.Vinegar is an acid and will decrease the ph of your water.If you want to increase the ph(more alkaline) use sodium bicarbonate(found at you pet store or baking soda).I believe that most water found in city taps or even wells in MN will be nuetral(ph7) or slightly alkaline(ph8)Extremely hard water will be alkaline and have higher ph levels (10+). To lower the ph and to soften the water you would be better off filtering you water through peat than using vinegar.The problem with higher ph levels is not so much the alkalinity of the water or the hardness but the nitrogen process increases producing harmful nitrites.

[This message has been edited by fishhead (edited 02-03-2002).]

[Guest]

It has occured to me that this is getting more complicated than it should be.We are talking about kepping your bait alive for their lifespans when we get into all this water chemistry.
In the tank I have I use tap water with a chlorine remover called"Slime Coat".This removes the chlorine instanty and helps the minnows keep their protctive natural slime.
If you change your water every few days or at least once a week and get the dead ones out you do not have to worry about ammonia and nitrites poisoning your bait.Keep your water well oxygenated and cool.If you are keeping your bait long enough to worry about these chemical proccesses your spending too much time playing with your bait and not fishing with it.

[Guest]

24 Hours, but sun light is what supposidly removes the clorine the quickest so put it outside in the sun.

[tip-up king]

Bob, I have used shiner life for 2 years now and have had really good luck with it.When I change my water (60 gal.)I ad it right away when I start refilling and put the minnows right back in.Never lose any doing it that way.I love the stuff.

[MuleSkinner]

This may sound stupid, but does a little salt help when transporting minnows?

A few years ago, I bought a minnow trap that came with a small "instruction" sheet. It actually said that a few teaspoons of salt will help reduce stress in minnows when transporting.

I have NEVER tried this, but I wonder if there was any truth to this? Sounded crazy to me. Anyone ever hear of this?

[Guest]

Muleskinner, I have, but only for aquarium fish, not minnows. I can't remember the reason why, but it's in one of my aquarium books.

[Guest]

HERE'S A TWIST TO THIS TOPIC,
I ONCE MET A VERY EXPERIENCED FISHERMEN (80 YEAR'S PLUS) HE TOLD ME..YOU'LE CATCH MORE FISH IF YOUR'E MINNOW'S DON'T SMELL LIKE CITY WATER, (CHLORINE), I DON'T KEEP ALOT OF BAIT, MAYBE OVERNIGHT ON THE WEEKEND'S, AND HAVE THOUGHT OF BRINGING HOME WATER FROM THE AREA I AM FISHING TO KEEP THEM OVERNIGHT,
TO GET THE SMELL OF THE WATER IN THEM, ANY THOUGHT'S ON THIS???

[Guest]

whiskey,

sounds like it would make sense.
look how different water tastes to us. our sense of smell and taste are nothing compared to animals, fish etc...if you could get lake water i'd use it.

ever watch a crappie on camera?
they'll sometimes come up and give the minnow a kiss on the side (not the term i use but this is a family channel) and sometimes they just take a small part of the head and hold it in thier mouth. i'm assuming that they are tasting their soon to be meal. we say if it tastes like fish, throw it back...i wonder if they say if it tastes like humans, spit it out!!!

[Guest]

I'm hearing you fishhead,the sooner we feed these bait to some fish the better. It is good to hear the survival tips though. It sure is more fun to trap them and keep them all season than to run to the bait shop every time out.

[Mankato-Ice-Man]

This may be a little off the topic, but I have found that now that we have snow, I have been packing the bottom 1/3 of my sit and fish pail, then putting my smaller foam insultated frabill bucket inside of it, then packing the rest in snow.
Add that to changing the water every weekend, leaving the bucket outside during the day, and a cheap walmart aireator, and I have lost only 2 little guys in over 2 weeks.
That has nothing to do with long term storage of a large amount of minnows, but for those of us that are looking short term, the combo of these things works great for me.

[Guest]

When I usually go out I go an buy at the bait shop, but if I wanna keep um alive for a week or so what do you guys think is better tap water from a well or snow? I know my friend uses snow a lot, and I think that is works pretty well, but I was wondering what you guys think.

hsolist&MEL

------------------
"The Big One is down there, keep at 'im"

[icemaster]

Hey Tip-up King,how many bait are you keeping in 60 gallons? I'm keeping 500+ in 60 gallons as of Thanksgiving here in western Ma.Quite a few less now. Where are you fishing?