Bait Life Span

[Slabosorous]

I know it's way too early to be thinking about this... okay, it's never too early 

I can never catch bait in the fall it seems, but I've got a spot that is producing now. Nice shiners, 4-6 inch, fat, lively, goldens. Perfect for those big bass.

So I got to thinking... I can catch 30 of these in an hour, and more and more depending on how long I stay. And these would be nice bait. So, it would be nice if I would be able to keep a full tank of these until next winter.

So a few questions for you more experienced guys...

1.) Can this be done? Can shiners be kept alive for 6 months in my basement.

2.) Would I need a huge tank for this? I've kept a few dozen in my 20 gallon tank before, but I can make a new tank from a 55 gallon drum.

3.) Would the shiners grow too much? They are a good size now, but I don't need any 9 inch shiners. 4 or 5 is good.

Thanks in advance

[legend]

i assume so....but don't really know. however i wish i had your problem !!

[primepin65]

Ask a local bait shop if they would be interested in trading for them(if allowed in your state). You give the shop the "free" bait now and get free, fresh bait in return in the winter. You won't have to store it all summer, they make a little extra money from it now, and you don't have to worry about buying bait during the season.

[Mainehazmt]

Believe it or not  I have 2 golden shiners in a regular old fish tank in the living room and they are 2 1/2 years old now. I never expected it

[rdhammah]

primepin65 - that's a great idea, but in some states the bait shops MUST get them from certified wholesalers for the prevention of spreading diseases and parasites. be sure to check with your state regulations. I, too, have kept shiners from the past season to the next. problem is, by that time, I have come to view them as pets and not bait. 
slab - don't worry about the growth rate. in a confined area with limited food supply, they won't grow noticeably.

[DR.SPECKLER]

I have kept a lot of baitfish for up to 4 months before I  start getting some die offs.i failed bad with my first bait tank.i filled a 40 gallon drum put in a bubbler and filter. filled it with chubs/shiners and thought I was good to go.nope I didn't know I had to start up good bacteria that breaks down the fish waste.my baitfish fish lived about a week and they all died and learned that the water had a ammonia spike from the fish waste.if you decide to start a tank google fishless cycling a fish tank.i did this method which consisted of putting ammonia in the tank and waiting for the good bacteria to turn the ammonia to nitrite and then to somewhat harmless to fish nitrate.which I keep at a low range with 30 percent water changes weekly.pretty much setting up a aquarium.keep water really cool,barely feed them because they can produce to much waste that the bacteria cant break it down fast enough and the baitfish will die.any how I have had shiners/bullheads/sunfish/creek chubs alive for long time in my garage but a basement would be good for keeping the water cooler.i had to put frozen gallon jugs in my tank .im not using the tank right now because my pond is holding some water this year.its some work to keep bait alive long term.i also thought putting crayfish in to clean up the dead baitfish was a good idea to but at night those dang crayfish would eat quite a few fish live or dead.haha.a good water test kit that test for ammonia/nitrite and nitrate is helpful on monitoring the water and keep the baitfish alive and healthy.