water in bait bucket

[marcus]

I spilled a bucket of water i planned on putting my minnows in. This was lake water . I now have 20 $ worth of pike chubs in a single 4 gallon bucket 2 1/2 dozen chubs 5-8" . I am using it in the morning I was wondering about using tap water overnight is this ok ? I will be able to get lake water at 6 am so it wont be too long. I cant leave my house I am with my kids for the night so I dont have many options . would it be better to use tap water or let them all swim in the one small bucket?

[Buck762]

I would only use distilled water!!  Keep all the bait in the bucket, just put snow from outside in the bucket to add oxygen, or take a cup, scoop some water out of the bucket, then pour it back in, introducing fresh oxygen.

[perchkid]

they should be fine....if you have a aerator that will help even more!!

[marcus]

thanks for the responses i am not usually that concerned but my cat already got 1 1/2 dozen mediums so it didnt hurt as much but still sucks to lose any     I will probably use snow to make some water but I know it takes alot of snow to make any real amount of water

[PCB]

Next time you get to a WalMart or any tropical fish store.  Pick up a bottle of AquaSafe.  It comes in a yellow bottle and will run you about $5-7.  It has chemicals in it to bond with any Chlorine in the tap water.  It only takes a small amount for bucket full of water.  Ive used it with great success when in a bind.  There is also another chemical produced by the same manufacturer (cant remember the name) that I use when the bait is crowded or I will be keeping it in a bucket for a few days.  It also comes in a yellow bottle and is used to reduce the nitrates in the water.  It will keep em alive for a lot longer time period and fewer water changes.

[miket.]

you should be fine if you choose to keep them were they are, just take another bucket and empty the bait into it then back to the other one a couple of times and it should replenish the oxygen till the morning.