feeding minnows ?

[gman2002]

just wondering if you guys keep your minnows alive for a period of time , say 2 -3 weeks or so do you drop anything in the bucket for food , or are they eating what i think they are !

[sjburnt]

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[MattNy]

ive kept them for 2 weeks without feeding them. just change the water every few days

[TurnUpTheFishing]

Ive too have kept minnows for over three weeks and never fed them. I usually keep them as cool as possible without freezing, change the water every few days and get the dead ones out asap.

what would you feed them anyways? little fish food flakes? cat food? bread?

[gman2002]

yea i was just wondering if it mattered, i've had this batch of minnows for 3 weeks , changed the water every few days and they seem fine

[Steve Foss]

Ditto what everyone else said. I have put several dozen minnows in a 20-gallon aquarium with the full filter setup, using it as a dumping tank between fishing trips. I just fed them regular flake fish food, the kind with the green and the red flakes. As I recall, they would eat one of the colors but spit out the other color. Can't remember which, though.

I kept minnows alive and healthy for months that way, and ended up saving a bit of money by not dumping my bait bucket on shore at the end of the day's fishing but dumping them in the aquarium instead.

[sodajerk]

I started with four sucker minnows and a half-scoop of crappie minnows and they've been alive for what will be 4 weeks this Saturday. I haven't fed them anything and the only dead ones have been ones that I've had on a hook and put back in the bucket.

I change the water when I go fishing on the weekends and store them in the basement during the week. I'm down to 5 crappie minnows and 2 suckers left. I'm very impressed with their toughness, and almost consider them pets after all this time.

[Shack]

I have kept a double scoop of crappies (minus what I have used) alive for 4 1/2 weeks now, I added a scoop of fatheads and rainbows 2 weeks ago now. I change the water every day I get home. I have noticed in the last week, I have been scooping more dead's out. The hardiest ones are the crappies. They are getting transparent now. I am to the point of tossing them out and starting fresh. I have not fed them anything. The local hardware store sells them cheap enough. But they do last with a bubbler and water change. It is nice to have them at a moments notice. The bait stores are not in the directions of the lakes around here.

[sodajerk]

 Originally Posted By: shackbash

I have kept a double scoop of crappies (minus what I have used) alive for 4 1/2 weeks now, I added a scoop of fatheads and rainbows 2 weeks ago now. I change the water every day I get home.

Do you live out of town and have a well or do you use city water? I live in town and I figure the chlorine in the city water will kill them, so I only change the water when I'm on the ice.

[gopher_nation]

 Originally Posted By: sodajerk

Do you live out of town and have a well or do you use city water? I live in town and I figure the chlorine in the city water will kill them, so I only change the water when I'm on the ice.

Changing at the lake probably isn't a good idea. Think of the signs to completely drain your boat when leaving a lake. Could introduce exotics. Unless you are at the same lake all the time.

Just fill an empty milk jug with tap water and let it sit for 24 hours the clorine will be gone. Get the water really cold before you dump it in and the minnows will be fine. Or just go somewhere that sells fish and get some declorinator a couple drop treats a gallon pretty quick, pretty cheap too.

[perch_destroyer]

I do the same, i got a 5 gallon tank below my tropical tank which i use for my minnows. I have a small whisper filtration system, bubbler and they live fine, I keep small suckers, crappies, and fat heads. The key to it is keeping it cold. I feed about every 3-4 days, but just a little bit. Again be aware of chlorinated h2o, that will definately kill ur fish, good luck, the Perch