Hungry Hungry minnows

[wiggly812]

With the recent (hopefully short lived) warm up, I have a few dozen minnows on hand that i would like to keep swimming until the next time I get out.  I have them in a large cooler with an aerator, so they are ok that way.  BUT, any suggestions on what I should feed them to keep them fat?

[hard water jim]

Bag of potato chips and some cupcakes at bedtime. I have used bread crumbs or fish food in the past. Don't know how well it worked but they seemed to survive and stay healthy.

[clayboy]

If it's creek bait they don't need anything or even fatheads. Now shiners maybe a little goldfish food

[EssoxHunter]

I was wondering the same...hit creek chubs, dace, fatheads, shiners, suckers, all 1/2"-3", about 100 in a 20gallon aquarium...they have been getting fish flakes, but they've been looking skinny. I started smashing dog food to a powder...everything in the seems to eat it...need to seign today one last time before creeks lock up

[1moslab]

Keep water cold don't feed them

[EssoxHunter]

Why not? Was thinkin that's why the store bought minnows have been dying off slowly...

[800stealth]

Keep water cold don't feed them

X2, I keep shiners in a bait tank all season... keep the water in the 30's change half of it weekly and no food, always have lively bait and very low mortality.
Food = waste = ammonia = dead shiners

[EssoxHunter]

Hmmm...I see, makes sense. Ok guys

[wiggly812]

thanks guys... it all makes sense

[Chris338378]

Does anyone know what that blue stuff is that a lot of bait shops put in their tanks?

[EssoxHunter]

Shiner saver

[800stealth]

There's a few options for tank additives... They're all very similar, whatever your local pet shop carries should be fine. I think the stuff I have is called "stress coat" but I only add if I see multiple sick fish which is rare.

[Jason1817]

The most important thing is to keep them cold....the colder the better

[butcher]

Since we are on the topic of keeping minnows alive, I have a related question.  I am doing a trip with a bunch of people next week and will need to get about 5 dozen minnows.  When I did this last year, I bought them the day before and placed an aerator in the bucket.  Within a couple of hours, I'd guess that at least 15-20 were dead.  The following morning it was probably half. 

Anyone have any idea what happened or have suggestions to help keep that many minnows alive for a day or two? 

[fishermantim]

If you decide to feed them, you will be changing the water more often and changing more than half at a shot because of the waste product from the fish and any uneaten food that starts to spoil.

Cold water is the key, but also not to overcrowd them.

5 dozen were in how big of a container?
I can keep 3 dozen in a 5 gal bucket, but for long term storage I use 2 aquarium filters (rated for 10+ gal tanks).
If the water isn't filtered, the ammonia buildup WILL start to kill, and once it starts it snowballs as the dead fish will taint the water even more.

[butcher]

Thanks for the reply fishermantim - I had the minnows in a five gallon bucket.  I used an aerator but not a filter.  Didn't think I needed a filter for less than a day... I did not feed the minnows so I wasn't too worried about the ammonia issue.  Guess I was wrong.  If I am going to get 5+ dozen minnows, should I split them into multiple buckets?

[Jason1817]

I've built a bait tank out of an old chest freezer with a temp controller....Basicall y the freezer plugs into the temp controller it (controller) turns the freezer on and off to keep the temp you have set...I set it for 36 degrees....The colder the water the more dissolved oxygen available to the minnows supplied by your air stone... and the buildup of ammonia is slowed drastically. If you wanna keep 5-6 dozen minnows alive for a few days in a half full.. 5 gallon bucket you will need to change the water frequently...too much of a temp difference during water change will kill all your minnows....I use an Engel Live Bait Cooler 30 Quart with an aerator on longer weekend trips...It works great and keeps the minnow water from splashing all over my vehicle....I am no expert but i sure have tried a million different things and this has been the most successful for me....

[800stealth]

Since we are on the topic of keeping minnows alive, I have a related question.  I am doing a trip with a bunch of people next week and will need to get about 5 dozen minnows.  When I did this last year, I bought them the day before and placed an aerator in the bucket.  Within a couple of hours, I'd guess that at least 15-20 were dead.  The following morning it was probably half. 

Anyone have any idea what happened or have suggestions to help keep that many minnows alive for a day or two? 

Death within hours is a shock problem... If I had to guess, your bait shop didn't fill your bucket from the shiner tank, they probably filled your bucket with tap water then threw the shiners in and the water in the bucket was a different temp or PH level than the tank water which they came from... If and when I buy bait I watch and make sure they fill my bucket from the shiner tank... If they're unwilling to do that find a new bait shop. Also remove any dead immediately so they don't poison the others.

[charlijones]

"Does anyone know what that blue stuff is that a lot of bait shops put in their tanks?"

It's an additive that adds more oxygen to the water

[captain54]

You can feed bait in an aquarium or homemade tank,but filtration is a must. The more minnows and the more you feed them the more excrement you had,that leads to high level of nitrates and some minnows will die if not all. As to the sudden death of minnows over night, contaminated bucket,cloudy high nitrate water from the bait shop,tap water,not enough oxygen for the amount of minnows in the bucket. I seine a variety of creek minnows,from daces,horny creek chubs,fall fish,small suckers and even some shiners. I keep them in a 55 gallon plastic barrel, aerated and a filtration system from my 55 gallon aquarium. I still change about a 1/3 of the water weekly. I'll lose more clubs jumping out than die from something else. I've got it covered with a mesh screen but there's a small less than 2" opening by the filter. My lose is minimal maybe 5-6 all winter.

[butcher]

Thanks very much guys.  I think this gives me a good start for next week.

FYI - I think the blue additive is called stress coat.  You can buy it at any pet store.  A couple of drops in the water will keep the fish calm during the transition and keep them from dying.

[Ice Scratcher]

Keep cold and dark, if they can't see, they won't swim around as much and won't use as much energy..

More fish in a bucket, more often you need to change the water..

Always have another filled bucket ready to go, and keep it in the same place as your minnows.. Letting the bucket sit for 24 hours will allow chlorine to dissipate, and it will be the same temperature so it won't shock your fish...

I have well water, and do a 95% change, no bubbles. My bait keeps until I put it on a hook...

If you have a lot of shiners, splitting them up in different buckets would make all the difference..

No food needed...

<°)))>{

[1moslab]

its called bait saver.stresscoat is clear.if you are using tap water you must condition it before adding any or the chlorine or chloromine will burn their gills and kill them.i use stress coat to treat my water ,my water has chloromine in it so leaving a bucket sit out dosnt work it wont leach out like chlorine.butcher I don't know what size bait you had but I have had that many crappie minnows in a fiver just got too change the water enough.but at home I would just use another bucket.more water means less water changes.i don't know if I spelled chloromine right.temp change too much too fast can also kill them.just stick you hand in the water for 10 sec in the old and new water.you can feel if its off some.

[butcher]

Thank you all very much for the detailed responses.  I am aware that tap water can't be used for fish so that wasn't an issue nor did I change the water between the time I left the bait store and two hours later.  I don't remember if the water came from the tank at the bait store but I'm assuming it must have.  I can't imagine any bait store tossing minnows into tap or unfiltered water... I did aerate the water in the bucket when I got home but I did not use a filter because I didn't think it was necessary for just a 24 hour period or so.  I believe I cleaned out the bucket with water before I used it so I don't think it was contaminated.

I'm guessing the issue was either shock or possibly overcrowding.  I'll try to keep the bait in smaller concentrations this time.  Maybe that will help. 

[ice-phanatic]

Thank you all very much for the detailed responses.  I am aware that tap water can't be used for fish so that wasn't an issue nor did I change the water between the time I left the bait store and two hours later.  I don't remember if the water came from the tank at the bait store but I'm assuming it must have.  I can't imagine any bait store tossing minnows into tap or unfiltered water... I did aerate the water in the bucket when I got home but I did not use a filter because I didn't think it was necessary for just a 24 hour period or so.  I believe I cleaned out the bucket with water before I used it so I don't think it was contaminated.

I'm guessing the issue was either shock or possibly overcrowding.  I'll try to keep the bait in smaller concentrations this time.  Maybe that will help. 

I use a full size cooler. A 5 gallon bucket is too small, not enough water. I fill the cooler with 8-10 gallons of water. More water is more oxygen.

I keep a high volume electric aerater on them. I do not filter the water. Instead, say if I come back from fishing, I will put fresh water in the cooler before adding the minnows from my bait bucket.

I get good results....Lots of minnows that last a long time. Oh and another thing....keep the water very cold (38-42 deg F) at all times.

[NEZ]

Does anyone know what that blue stuff is that a lot of bait shops put in their tanks?

For my bait, I mix "Please release me" and "Bait Keeper" 50:50.  Bait lasts a long time with this.