dead minnows

I keep minnows alive in a 100 gallon tank. I usally use some stuff in a yellow bottle from Wal-mart to take the chlorine out of the water. Tetra or something its called. It is clear. It works really well but is kind of expensive. I bought some of that blue better bait minnow holding formula to try out. I try to measure it just like the bottle says but I have killed my minnows three times. I have never killed them with the Wal-Mart stuff. I noticed after I changed the water last and added the better bait the minnows were at the top. The next morning they were all dead. Any suggestions?

Stress Coat. Buy it at the local pet store that have fish. Best stuff I've ever used. It's a water conditioner and de-chlorinator. I've never had a lot of luck with the blue stuff at home.

The stuff I use is called Prime, you cant get it at walmart. Petco, Petsmart, or a local aquarium shop will have it. Its pricey but a small 100ml bottle will treat up to 1000 gallons of water, it detoxifies all chlorine, chloramine, ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate. Its all I use in my personal show tanks and breeder system.

I would love to have a big minnow tank.I guess that worms is all I'll ever get,lol.

Get a couple of rain barrels & run your downspouts into them. Rain water's always safe w/o additives. Likewise, lake water is safe. If you have a live well in your boat, fill it before pulling out & then drain into buckets, etc. When it's dry, I also fill a cooler at the lake & take as much safe water home as possible. Well water is also safe.

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Originally Posted by Corker

Get a couple of rain barrels & run your downspouts into them. Rain water's always safe w/o additives. Likewise, lake water is safe. If you have a live well in your boat, fill it before pulling out & then drain into buckets, etc. When it's dry, I also fill a cooler at the lake & take as much safe water home as possible. Well water is also safe.

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Rain water is good if you have a metal roof, if you have a shingled roof then the tar in the shingles can leach toxins into the water.

I have a shingled roof & haven't noticed a problem. Minnows seem to do OK in it.

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Originally Posted by CrappieClint

I keep minnows alive in a 100 gallon tank. I usally use some stuff in a yellow bottle from Wal-mart to take the chlorine out of the water. Tetra or something its called. It is clear. It works really well but is kind of expensive. I bought some of that blue better bait minnow holding formula to try out. I try to measure it just like the bottle says but I have killed my minnows three times. I have never killed them with the Wal-Mart stuff. I noticed after I changed the water last and added the better bait the minnows were at the top. The next morning they were all dead. Any suggestions?

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I have the same size tank. Put 3-4 table spoons of hydrogen peroxide in there to rid chorine...cheap. I rarely lose any minnows. Need to change water 2x's a week. Let water down to about 1/3 the way down your tank, then fill back up with a water hose. About every 1/3 it fills up, throw 1 tablespoon of Hydro Peroxide in as water it being added.

W

Go to WalMart and get a water filter for RVs. Takes out the chlorine and a lot of other chemicals. Mixing salt it what all the minnow farmers and transport trucks use on their minnows. It relieves stress, cleans them out and promotes slime coat regeneration. In my younger days I hauled minnows all over the eastern US. Hauled 125# of minnows in 100 gallon tanks. Used 2 cups of mixing salt to each tank. Never had a problem. It must be MIXING SALT. NOT table salt. Mixing salt is non-iodized. Table salt is iodized and will kill you minnows. Mixing salt is cheap insurance and you shouldn't need to use any other chemicals. A 50# bag of mixing salt is about $4 or $5 at you local farm co-op. Or you can get smaller amounts where ever home canning supplies are sold.

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Originally Posted by Corker

Get a couple of rain barrels & run your downspouts into them. Rain water's always safe w/o additives. Likewise, lake water is safe. If you have a live well in your boat, fill it before pulling out & then drain into buckets, etc. When it's dry, I also fill a cooler at the lake & take as much safe water home as possible. Well water is also safe.

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Thats why all the lakes are so low.Rofl

you could at least salt and freeze your minnows if they die. you at least have salted fish jerky to put on your hook when the minnows are scarce. works for me when there arent any minnows to be found and the perch are biting. sea salt works best but you can get by with just about any kind of salt. some people even use garlic salt for something a little different.

get a plastic 55 gal drum and collect rain water for your minnow tanks

Thumbs Up Good one!

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Originally Posted by jonboatfisher

Thats why all the lakes are so low.Rofl

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I would have thought that all the beer we recycle into the lake would have more than made up for the loss to live wells!! RoflRofl

Warm weather getting here stresses the minnows causing a much higher mortality. Keep good aeration and keep your water cool.

After you let them sit for a while google this type of salt that you can place inside to "toughin" them up. You might be adding to much and it will stuff up the gills

I fill up my livewell from the hose (city water) and 1 frozen milk jug and let the aerator run about 2hrs before I get the minnows the day before going. Then each time I go out(about 3 times a week) pump in some fresh water. in this warm weather, put in a frozen jug in the morning and then in the evening. Have kept minnows this way up to 4 weeks. Then sometimes it depends on the bait shop I get them from. My normal bait shop minnows will be just as lively as the day I get them. Then a couple other shops may last a week or so.

Check you state laws before hauling away lake water in your livewells. That is not legal everywhere.

I use to raise tropical fish. If you take regular tap water and put it in a container of some kind, I used old milk jugs, and let it set with the cap off for 2 days the chlorine comes out and you dont have to use any kind of water conditioner. So when you take the water out of your tank just replace it with the jugged water. It works fine. Once I get my minnows to the lake the first thing I do is pour out 1/4 of the water in the bucket and replace it with lake water. Do this about every ten minutes untill all water is replaced. This gets them use to the lake water and you will have livelier minnows on your hook. I keep all but about a dozen in the lake in a removable bucket and the others in a bucket in the boat. The more you keep in the boat in a bucket the more oxegen they will use up and they will die quicker. When I need more I just pull some out of the removable bucket. Most of the minnows stay alive this way. Have been out when it was over 100 deg and been able to keep my minnowqs alive this way.