I use a an old igloo cooler i got for ten bucks off of craigslist done some plumming for easy water drain/change been keeping minnows for 2 months now. I change the water once a week. marine metals 110 air bubbles. Attachment 119968Attachment 119969
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I use a an old igloo cooler i got for ten bucks off of craigslist done some plumming for easy water drain/change been keeping minnows for 2 months now. I change the water once a week. marine metals 110 air bubbles. Attachment 119968Attachment 119969
Are you having to do anything special to you water??? What do they live on???????????thanks
I have kept a quart of rosie reds in a 300 gal tank since Thanksgiving and feed them goldfish flakes once a day. I change the water every month and a half with well water and they are doing fine.
i treat the water with start right then add a couple spoons of better bait, i change the water once a week no mater what if i had a filter system i wouldnt have to do it as often, minnows loose there scales then they move the water over there gills, and the scales end up cutting there gills, thus killing them i feed a little tropical fish flake every two weeks.
nice set up.. I use a large tote. Pump water out of tote through a cooler filled withe filter material back into the tank through a spray bar. Change half water once a month and use better bait once every two weeks. Will try to post some pics later.
I wouldn't recommend feeding minnows. This creates the likelihood of more ammonia in the water. Unclean water is the #1 reason for minnows dying.
I keep river shinners alive for weeks at a time and ammonia is the greatest danger. I change water once a week with creek water but I filter the water with a carbon carcol filter to eliminate the pee ophs i mean amnonia in water. works on the heathier minnows also. shad you have to keep in circular tub. they will dart themselfs to deathQuote:
Originally Posted by waxnslabs
I have a couple round water coolers (gator-Ade/PowerAde side line size) that I want to make into bait wells/minnow keepers. Any suggestions? I have a large iron syrup pot full of rain water as a water source. Suggestions/tips appreciated. Thanks
I'd go to Wal-Mart and get the biggest filter they have for aquariums. This is all the bait shop near me uses. It is a bit expensive it seems to set up all this but with the price of gas how much do we spend going to town to get bait all the time.... I'm setting up a tank this spring if I use much live bait. I experimented last fall and had up to 3 dozen large sized goldfish like they use for flathead bait 2-4". None ever died, but they dirtied the water up quickly. As long as I was running the aearator and big filter everything lived fine in just a ten gallon aquarium changing the water weekly. But they did dirty up the water. In the big cattle tanks you can use two of the big filters wal mart sells and keep as many as you'd like I'd say and use the aquarium stuff to keep the filters working right and the water even stays clear, this is what the bait shop does. Don't buy the small cheap filters though they are junk, buy the big ones. And a 10 dollar 110 volt aerator from the pet section at wal mart.
what about in the summer, how do you keep them cool?
Some people will get an old deep freeze and use that, that's what the local bait shop does. My buddy just puts them in a round water trough tub like mentioned above in a shed on concrete floor outside with aquarium air pump and he doesn't have much trouble keeping them. But he has to change the water every week or so because he hasn't got a filter. I had them in an air conditioned basement. Fatheads will keep very easily and are very tough... that's what you would want for summer probably. If you get a filter from Wal-Mart it will keep the ammonia from building up they have a carbon filter in them.... It seems high to rig up, but if you figure every time you drive to get minnows and the gas you burn it would probably actually save money, and be really convenient. I haven't done it yet on a very big scale yet myself, but from what I learned putting different amounts of minnows and large gold fish in the 10 gallon aquarium, your best bet is to get a big horse trough and a couple of the biggest water filters and some of that blue stuff to put in the water if you want to keep a lot like pounds. The more water the better and the biggest filters. Fatheads for summer, they stay alive much better in the warm water.