Keeping minnows alive

[WallyGator12000]

I have a question about keeping baitfish alive for more than a few days...I have purchased an aerator and live in a dorm room, we keep our bait in a 5 gallon bucket. But the water gets really dirty and cloudy after a few days, and I was wondering if anyone knew any good ideas on how to get the chlorine out of tap water (I think that is what kills the fish) so that we could use that instead of buying distilled water or using water from the lake that is too cold and kills a bunch of minnows from the shock. Also, which seem to live longer, suckers or shiners? We have gotten both, and the shiners seem to outlast the suckers, but both die relatively quickly. Any tips would be appreciated! Thanks!

[MNmikew]

You can get chlorine removal drops from most pet or aquarium stores. Fill a bucket with water, add a few drops and presto chlorine free water. I can keep minnows for a couple weeks this way. Make sure to change the water every couple days, change out about 3/4's of it at a time. The drops do nothing for the water quality, water changes do that.

Suckers are much hardier that shiners to keep. Shiners need a LOT of air and room to roam.

Make sure if your using minnows that are used to being indoors that you slowly add in cold water or ice to get them used the temp. difference.

[Guest]

I use a 150qt cooler with two aerators and fill about half full.I then add a product called aqua-safe which removes chlorine and any heavy metals found in tap water.bought a pet shop.When I buy minnows,I put the minnows in the cooler in the bag I bought them in and let them sit for about one hour to get used to cooler temp.After thet I dump minnows in and they last for a very long time.I feed them fish food every three-four days.Keep in the same tank,fatheads,crappie,shinners and suckers with all lasting for weeks without any problem. Also,every 7-10- days, I replace about half the water with fresh tap water and then add a few more drops.Its a little work,but always have minnows on hand and they seem to be very frisky,just some days they wont catch any fish.

[The Chemist]

Suckers should last longer. Keep down the # of minnows that you have in the bucket. Your best bet for changing the water is to have a 1 gallon pail to transfer the minnows to with a little under a gallon of the current water. rinse out your 5 gal pail and add about 3 gallons of water and add the drops and mix. Then pour the minnows/water in. Make sure that you watch the temp of the water you are transferring to so that it isn't too warm. Another thing that you can do is since we are now have snow adding a little to the top of your pail before you leave the lake and also you can add clean snow from around the dorm.

[WallyGator12000]

Thanks for the tips guys, I am going to run out to the pet shop today to buy some of those drops! I still have a roommmate who swears that he heard you can just leave the tap water sit for a few days and the chlorine will just dissapate...does anyone know if this is true?

[Moose-Hunter]

I personally don't believe it. Then again, I've always used the drops for water changes in my native fish tank. If you buy drops, also look for the kind that eliminate chlorimine (sp?) as well as chlorine. Both are bait killers.

[anyfishwilldo]

Ive got an old laundry tub in the basement. I think it holds 30 gal or so. I also have a well, so I dont have to worry about the drops, and that makes it a little easier to change the water. I change out a gallon or so every day or so, and don't run an areator. The best part about it is, it's all right with my wife. Also have wax worms in the fridge.

[FishnBear]

If you leave the water sit for a few days the chlorine will discipate out. I do it all the time with no problem

[JollyT]

Some cities use chloramines rather than chlorine as a water treatment. It's more powerful than chlorine, but if you use standard chlorine remover it leaves ammonia behind. This will kill the fish. If you were planning on keeping a constant supply on hand I would consider a small air powered sponge filter. Eventually you will get some bacteria growth in the filter to eat waste products from the fish. This will help eliminate the cloudy water, bad smell etc. Basicly you would be keeping an aquarium for your baitfish.

[PikeTipper]

I also heard leaving tap water sit for 24 hours will get the chlorine out of it. I tried it and my shiners didn't fair too well but they were pretty crowded to begin with. The fatheads made it just fine.

[freighttrain50]

all i do is change water at the lake a few times whenever i go out and then when i get home i leave them in the garage or the basement with an aerator in them and i never get dead ones. i've had minnows now since the beginning of the season. jsut keep them cool, they use a lot less oxygen when its cold because there metabolism slows down. as for them shiners, give them room and air and keep them cool. they should last a little longer. good luck!

Train

[Hookmaster]

I bought a dozen shiners (got 18) on Jan. 3. I've lost 2 to caught fish (yeah!) and only 3 from storage and 1 was a used one. I have changed the water 2 times with Minnetonka city water that set out for 36 to 48 hours after drawing. I keep them in the garage on an aquarium aerator and stone and move them to the basement when they start freezing.

[danny berg]

I just keep mine in the refrigerator, and change the water every other day, have only lost two shiners all season.

[tashit]

I do not use a very good method at all but it has worked. I have a scoop of crappies and scoop of fatheads (well what's left of them...probably 25 or so total) all in the same little styrofoam container. I keep them in my fridge and change the water every 3-5 days probably. If I use tap water I will put a drop of De-chlor (sp?) that I use for my fish tank that cost $1.69. For the most part it has worked. I have had 6-8 dead minnows but I haven't boughten any for at least a month. At the rate I'm going, I'll have to buy minnows 3 times tops all season unless I start catching some more fish. That's a whole $10 maybe? I would most likely use a different method if I had shiners.