Engel bait cooler question

I recently bought an engel bait cooler since they are supposed to be so good. Well so far I've been only disappointed, I bought minnows last night at 5:30 and went to the lake, fished till 8:30 came home and placed the cooler in my house so they are not in the heat, left the bubbler running all night and this morning all minnows are dead. This is the 3rd time now my minnows haven't lasted 24 hrs. Only had the cooler one week now and not happy with it, anyone else have this problem or know why my minnows keep dying?

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How many minners???? I use the 30 qt and don't have any problems most of the time. Changing the water is key too, cheap aquarium pump when at home works better than the bubbler too. Keeping minners is mostly about O2 and clean water, keeping the water about 10 degrees cooler than the outside temp helps too. Most of the time sitting in the shade with air going to them will do that tho.
For the most part when I loose a bunch it's because of water, most of the water from the bait shops needs changing so I always freshen it up when I get home.

I got the 19 and at most had 3 dozen minnows in there. How do you freshen the water up when you get home Rees guide?

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I use Bait Saver, its the blue stuff they put in the water at the bait shop. Anything to take the bad stuff out of the water, can use the stuff at walmart for fish tanks. In your case take a clean 5 gallon bucket, put the treatment in and fill the bucket. Let it sit and an hour or so and move the bait to the bucket. Pour the water out of the Engel, rinse and then pour the fresh water and minners back in the Engel.

I own both a 13 and a 19 quart and don't have any issues with keeping them alive. With my 13, I purchased 4 dozen big emerald shiners during a walleye tournament. Bought them on Thursday and left the 13 in the back of my truck during the evening. They were still alive on Sunday.

Last week, in the 90 plus degree heat, I purchased 5 dozen minnows and put them in my 19 qrt. At the end of the day, I had two dead minnows and I think they were DOA to begin with.

It may help you to add some ice cubes to your water when storing them at home. We usually use a fish tank bubbler at home just to ensure the batteries don't run out in the middle of the night.

I suggest cleaning your minnow net (that fits in the box) as well as the box itself. For me, when I empty my minnows, I pull the net and hang it on the side to air dry. I also allow my box to air dry. I do NOT leave the lid closed or a wet net inside of the box. This "might" be a culprit.

I have a 13 quart , never had any problems keeping them alive, leave the pump running, most of the time I put a frozen water bottle in hen I get home to keep the water cooler

Replace the pump with a Frabill Aqua Life with the large diffuser.

What Ras Said!!! Them minners need oxygen like us... Best thing you can do is throw away the bait pump that came
with it... Get you 12v one...

Yep, I used to loose lot of minners over night when I stored the minners in my beer fridge when I had the lid closed, maybe build up the air pressure to much but when I stored them in the same fridge with the lid opened I didn't loose hardly any.

Like others have said lots of times the water at the bait shops isn't too good. It will USUALLY last the day but then when I get home I dump it out and fill the cooler back up with Garden hose and put I splash of aqua safe in it. Throw away the pump that goes with it and get you a 12v as said above. Happy minners.


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as others have said change the water out

my pump works great but when I get home I put a mr bubbles 110 volt pump in them but then I leave the lid open, the mister bubbles put out a lot of air and sometimes with dirty water ( water that should have been changed out ) the whole box will fill with small pea sized bubbles and minners will die off

Every one that is throwing there pump away that comes with the Engel send it to me at 470 browning rd auburn ky 42206 .
Get you a new air stone/ diffuser that puts out lots of tiny bubbles then the most of your problems will be over as long as you change the water . Marine meatals makes several different ones.

Yes the pumps that come with it is one of the better ones I have ever used. Runs several days without changing the batteries. Yes, when not on the lake use an aquarium pump.

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Originally Posted by bowhunter012463

Yes the pumps that come with it is one of the better ones I have ever used. Runs several days without changing the batteries. Yes, when not on the lake use an aquarium pump.

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It's a real good idea to NOT use 'city' water! Be careful about using 'store bought' ice, too. Most water from municipal sources is loaded with chlorine which works fine to prevent cavities, but minnows don't do well when swimming in it...

i have 13qt put 8 doz in it last summer in 90 degree heat. bought em at 6pm turned on bubbler that came with it and let her eat all night. i put several frozen water bottles in it over the course of a couple hrs and got the temp down quite a bit. left em over night said heck with it see what happens. got to the lake 6am and only one floater.

We have put a pound in a 13QT and fished all day. Before leaving the lake dumps your minnows in a net dump out the water refill the cooler with lake water put the minnows back, turn on the pump and we have kept as many as 3/4 pound alive all night and ready to go in the morning.

Thanks for the advice guys, I'm thinking my air line is getting kinked and is causing the main problem for me. Been keeping a close eye on it and my minnows are staying alive a lot better now.

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