keeping minnows

[wyoicenut]

anybody have good way to keep minnows alive for any length of time? my minnows have been dying off and not sure why, i have them in 5' steel stock tank with dual aerators and a pump to recirculate and filter the water. they were doing good but lately everyday there is about a dozen or so dead ones i scoop out. any thoughts would be great

[Wyofarmer]

Change your water. Sometimes the amonia levels get too high even when the water looks clean.

[wyoicenut]

i'll try it. forgot to mention that shiners were the first ones to die off, but i have heard that they are hard to keep, also the water in the tank is three weeks old.

[maineduckhunter]

Are you using well water or town water? If you are using town water you have to get a Neutralizer for it. I think you can get it at any fish store or walmart.

[maineduckhunter]

I also try to change my water weekly, but I usually don't have much of a problem. Keeping them cool also helps!!

[wyoicenut]

using well water. haven't had this problem before. but maybe water is too dirty, the water stays pretty cool the tank is in a garage with no heat and not much for insulation. i used to keep them in an old ice cream freezer but it went to leaking.

[fish/hunt4ever]

the best way I have found is find a ditch that runs year around, preferably on private land, and set a dryer drum in the water make a top for it and then you do not have to worry about the oxygen levels and the minnows stay in cooler water and are a lot livelier when you hit the lake.  But i know this does not help to many out there, the only problem is keeping the sediment from settling out, so i have to go and clean the muck out of the bottom every couple of weeks, but when putting more minnows in I just pull it up and clean the bottom and throw some dog food in and then keep trapping.  But i do have a old freezer and tote that i use at the house in the summer to keep minnows, but they keep better in the running water. 

[Bigassbassman]

Try this stuff:

The NovAqua water conditioner will treat the water initially, then you can use the AmQuel weekly to remove excess ammonia.  Change a portion of the water weekly (try 50%) and add the AmQuel when you do so.  Also, make sure your temps are in a good range, too.  Shiners need it cold.

[wyoicenut]

thanks, i'll look for it and change my water. better get my traps back in also before it freezes.

[jopes]

depending on how many minnows you have in the water dictates how often you need to change some of the water out.  I go with the aquarium method and take 25% out and refill.  If you have 1000 minnows in that small 5 ft tank then it is over loaded, and water changes need to be done alot more frequently. 

[Bigassbassman]

depending on how many minnows you have in the water dictates how often you need to change some of the water out.  I go with the aquarium method and take 25% out and refill.  If you have 1000 minnows in that small 5 ft tank then it is over loaded, and water changes need to be done alot more frequently.

X2 -- good advice.  The number of fish per gallon is very important.

I generally use the 1 inch of fish per gallon of water.  Keeps the numbers down around a reasonable amount so that changing 25-50% of the water weekly will be sufficient.  If you have more fish per gallon, you'll need to change the water more often.   

[Kinkyline]

   The 50% h2o change is usually great but go out and get yourself a ph kit from a fish pet store and check the water to make sure it's balanced. A 7 is desireable for the water quality. Good luck....oh and pulll all the crud you can off the tank bottom.

[AJL]

Any spots on the minnows?  White or black?  Could be ick if so
I trapped some that had ick. They infected the rest of my tank.
Just a thought

[wyoicenut]

no spots. i did change out half the water last night and this morning i only had 1 dead. guess i'll have to watch this closer. thanks for the input

[jopes]

For aquiriums they recommend a 25%it water change ao i dont know if i would go much more inless you have alot of minnows in it

[OUTHNTN]

I have a similar setup... 100gallon stock tank with a filter system.  I rarely lose minnows until I start stocking up on 8-16" suckers.  They seem to produce a lot more ammonia, so I just change the filters every other week and the water every 4 weeks.  If you only keep a couple hundred and add the filter system, in my experience rarely will u lose minnows.  Maybe a few a week at most.  I haven't changed my water since I winterized my sprinkler system in early October and have only changed the filters once, yet I haven't lost one minnow yet.  Haven't changed the water either!  The filter seems to do its job until you get too many minnows in there.  More minnows=more frequent water/filter changes. Good luck- OH

[Seedtree]

I've had good success over the years with a product called Prime.  You add a small amount to the water and it neutralizes ammonia buildup and helps protect the minnow's slime coat. 

I keep minnows for months during the hardwater season and early softwater season.  So feeding the minnows is also important, as any living critter will starve w/o food for weeks on end.  I've had good luck with goldfish food from Walmart.  Feeding minnows also means you need to change your water and clean your filter more often. 

There is a subboard on this site that has lots of good info on keeping minnows.  Also some very knowledgable posters on there.

[WYIfish]

When I was a kid, my grandpa kept  the minnows all winter.  He put the minnows in a dryer drum with a lid, and hung it with a cable below the ice.  He kept about three dozen at a time and replentished  when the numbers got low. We kept 6"-12" sucker minnows for pike and walleye. We never fed them and never cleaned the drum.  Seems there was enough water borne food to eat, and enough current in the resevoir  to clean out the waste.
 
Keeping minnows in a styrofoam bucket will keep them alive longer in the day time too. I do not know why, maybe someone could explain that one.

In a pinch, putting the bucket of minnows in the tub and letting the water run at a trickle. will keep them alive for a few nights.

Fishing the gorge, live minnows are against the rules.  I suppose all you guys with the dead minnows could bring them down and sell them to us.