Question-Minnows Dieing

Have a new engels bait cooler. I have tried to keep minnow ovr night in it three times. First time all minnows died in less than 24 hrs. Thought maybe it was diseased minnows. Used it again and most died again in less than a day. Washed it out good with soap and water, rinsed and let dry for several days. Used again and same result. I'm using an aquarium aerator and frozen water bottle to keep cool. Have kept the bait box sealed while minnows were n it. Is there something that will disinfect this thing? Will try changing the tube and stone. Any help appreciated. Thanks

You probably need to keep them in a larger cooler or container. It sounds like you are doing everything else right, however, the minnows will produce ammonia as they urinate in the water. The hotter the weather, the more active the minnows thus the more ammonia they produce. A larger container will dilute the ammonia for a longer period of time but eventually the water will have to be changed as well.

That's good info Speck, I never knew that. Someone told me not to use tap water it has chloride in it , Is this true?

My cooler is the 19 qt. I had about 50 minnows in it each time and the original tank water since I had them for less than a day.

What size Engel is it, haven't fooled with any in a couple of months but if its one of the smaller ones you can hang it up. Got to use some water treatment too if using tap water. I don't normally get my water from the bait shop either, try to have mine fixed before I get there.

It's the 19 qt Rees, but only had about 50 minnows in it.

I use a 48 qt cooler with a 110 volt aerator that I use at the camp. I put 15 dozen minnows in it and never have any trouble. Sometimes I have 2 or 3 dozen left over after 4 or 5 days. I use tap water with a granular chemical I add to it to take the chlorine out. Got it at BPS. I make up the water in the cooler and pour the minnows I got from the bait shop, water and all, into the cooler. After a couple of days, if the water is getting cloudy, or I can smell ammonia, I change about half the water out.

Thanks to all. Looks like what's left is to fix my own water and make sure it doesn't get cloudy. It definitely was cloudy before.

I got well water. 1 pound per 48 quart. Change water daily. Keep in shade. When I take em to lake I give em fresh water. I use a 5 gallon bucket with a foam insert. If they start croaking those are going on the hook first.

You might also try un latching the lid and put something small under the lid to let it vent a little better. Pumping all that air in with larger air pump seems to create more of a gas from the ammonia when sealed up. Maybe venting will let more of it escape with a larger vent area. Keep water cool with those frozen bottles, that helps keeping them less active.

Buy some blue stuff to put in water. I have a. 30qt engel and no problems

Bait saver you can buy it at bass pro, we used it in our minnow tanks at the shop it will help keep the ammonia down and keep your minnows alive. You still will have to change the water out every couple of days.

This could all be solved real easy if I would just catch some fish then I wouldn't have so dang many minners left. Thanks again to all.

How much water are you filling it with.Them minnows need some air space at the top. I don't fill mine all the way up.Propping the lid like cray said will probably help.

You have to be really careful using soap when you wash a minnow bucket or live well. I used to have aquariums and using soap was a big no no.

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Originally Posted by torch

Buy some blue stuff to put in water. I have a. 30qt engel and no problems

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Just make sure it ain't the same "blue stuff" you put in your toilet tank. Lol

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Originally Posted by ScottV

You have to be really careful using soap when you wash a minnow bucket or live well. I used to have aquariums and using soap was a big no no.

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Scrub well using baking soda....then rinse well and let dry

I use tap water in my coolers with both bubblers and oxygen. I use the light blue RV water filters from Walmart to take the chemicals out of the tap water. Works great for me. No blue stuff or water treatment needed and the filters last for years just filling minnow tanks. I use the RV filters to fill my 150 gallon tank also, and it will keep about 10 pounds of minnows just fine if you change about half the water every week in cool weather or every 3-4 days when it's warm. I use a battery box with 1" holes drilled along the bottom with hollow fill material stuffed in the box and a recirq pump to filter the water.