keeping bait alive

[marcus]

I have a large amount of bait  leftover from this weekend and my buddy left me alot tonight i do not have the luxury of runnig out and getting an aerator   I have   between roseys fatheads emeralds and pike chubs at least 20 dozen minnows right now in 2 5 gallon buckets I plan on changing the water with fresh lake water every other day is this enough? or should i spread them between more buckets...ice fishing this year has taken a financial toll on me and any penny i can save will be helpful  any advice? another question this same friend bought a large amount of waxies and had a bad outing therefore i now have alot of waxies anything i can do to keep them alive? I have a hallway that is around 50 degrees is this a good temp?

[snot rocket]

marcus, with tat many bait in 2 buckets ; even with daily water changes , it is likely that they will be short lived. aside from good oxygenated water, you need to be concerned with the waste biproducts produced by that many fish ,especially ammonia, these levels will elevate quickly with that many fish and will kill them very quickly. you can get a 53 gallon rubbermaid container at home depot for under $20. this will at least lessen the concentration of ammonia and nitrates/nitrites. i would then do a partial water change every day and keep them as cold as possible. it is going to be tough to keep them for any length of time without an aerator and filtration system. there's hundreds of "right" ways to approach this issue. i'm sure you'll get alot of ideas from the folks here...
                                                            Snot Rocket

[marcus]

i have a plastic 55 gallon drum i could cut the top off i didnt think of the waste at all the only thing i though of was the oxygen makes sense i only need until the weekend then i will probably get an aerator  but i think the first thing is to move them into a larger tank i live near a lake and am a drywaller therefore i have many buckets and fresh water. I dont need quite this many minnows just ended up with them i am just hoping to keep a large majority of them alive for this week weekend trips saves alot of fishing time to not have to run to a baitshop before heading out

[snot rocket]

marcus , do you have well water or city/town water ? if you have well water that would work just as well as the lake water. i set up a 60 gallon tank in my basement next to sump pump. i siphon out water into sump hole and at the same time run a hose off of my water tank int the tank. let it siphon/ fill for about 15 minutes and it keeps the tank cold and fresh. even wit a small filter and 3 aerators i had problems until i made it quick and easy to do partial water changes. I would advise you get a filter before an aerator. as the water recycles into the tank it also aerates so you get a 2 fold action from a filter. I have alot of experience by trial and error with large fresh water and salt water tanks....alot of trial and error.

                                 Snot Rocket

               

[Scientist]

Your bait will definitely not last under those conditions. The fat heads you might be able to keep alive in the two five gallon buckets with water changes but the others will not last especially if you have 20 dozen. Keep the larger baitfish in a rubbermaid container larger than 28 gallons and perform water changes frequently, every day if there is a large amount of fish in there. What determines how often you change the water is the size of the bait, how many and the water temp. An aerator will increase the length of time between water changes but it does not eliminate the need to change the water. I don’t recommend a filter if you are trying to only keep them alive until the next trip. However if you want to keep them indefinitely then you might consider it. Until the filter is “established” with the proper bacteria to break down ammonia then you will still have to perform partial water changes. “Establishing” a filter takes about 1 month for run time with fish present in the water. After the filter is established it cannot be shut down other wise the beneficial bacteria will die off.
Your best success to keep them as long as possible is to keep the water temperature below 40. Below 40 the fish’s metabolism slows and they do not consume as much oxygen or produce waste. Try keeping them in a garage but make sure ice does not form on top of the water because it eliminates the natural gas exchange between the water and air. 

[marcus]

I was able to keep 90 % alive most dead were the larger bait and emeralds    I will be using and/or giving it away this weekend so it was succesful   next year i will be devising a way to keep bait alive for longer times it is nice to have bait when i need it and not have to run around for it.

[irishjigger]

What really helps if you can is to put a bunch a snow in the bucket also so as to actually have about 3-4" of slush on the top , this really chills down the water , and also slows down the metabollism of the bait , also this summer hit the garage sales and pick up an old fish tank and equipment. I usa the aerator from one and use it in a 15gal. tank Ive set up , it works great and is all you really need .

[digger953]

bought an old cooler at yard sale bought a electricair pump at walmart to keep bait when i need it to take out on ice i use an old themos water jug with battery operated air pump works great just use one battery instead of two keep other one in jacket so it stays warm

[anthonyebola]

Can you feed the shiners anything if you plan on keeping them in an oxygenated environment for a long period of time?

[digger953]

i throw in bits of bread or cat food 

[Mainehazmt]

feed them just as you would with an aquarium!   I feed mine regular gold fish flakes and pond flakes  check this out


http://www.iceshanty.com/ice_fishing/index.php?topic=58630.0

[jomama]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Take a look at this minnow tank I made can anyone see something I missed, any tips.




 
Thanks for Looking ........Joe 

[Mainehazmt]

make sure you have a cover for the suicidal ones!    with the filter inside   your only gonna get about 20 gal of water in it    put it on top!      besides that motor might not last long being constantly wet

[Scientist]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Take a look at this minnow tank I made can anyone see something I missed, any tips.
Thanks for Looking ........Joe 

The filter inside the drum is a fire hazard. The filter should be hanging on the outside edge of the drum. The motor should not get wet because it can short out and cause a fire. You can buy an extension (about $5) to the filter tube so it can reach the water from the edge of the tank

[jomama]

Thanks for the Info guys , the pump will be moved soon as I can get to it.......
Thanks again Joe

[Mainehazmt]

1/2" pvc pipe  makes for a great extention  and can be attached to the regular syphon tube