I've been working in the aquarium industry for nearly two decades. Just aerating water is no longer a good way of getting rid of chlorine. Most water purification plants have switched to using chloramine instead of chlorine. Chloramine is much more persistent and does require a chemical to remove it. You can get the stuff super cheaply at pet stores. Seachem's Prime is a great example of this. As a bonus, it will also bind up any ammonia in the water, making it non-toxic.
Thanks for the feedback. Another person commented about chloramine as well. I checked with my local water utility and surrounding utilities and they confirmed that they are not using chloramine at this time, but it is becoming more commonly used.
I've been working in the aquarium industry for 36 years and chloramine is harder to remove, but does not require anything more than extra time to remove it from water. 😊
Hands down the best 6 minutes on the internet for learning how to keep your minnows alive. Awesome content. Thank you! You've got a seminar of information packed into 6 minutes of easy to follow directions!
@@the_old_standard That's my style. The right video length is the amount of time to get the important information across. No need to line it with junk to hit a particular video length.
I started a Ruby Red minnow farm back in 2010 & 14 years later it’s still growing strong . Most of my friends & family come to see me if they need minnows , I have a great farm going so I don’t need to sell them to my friends & family I just give them away . I have filtration systems, cooling pads to keep the temperature just right so they can breed as needed , a good & strong food source , I keep the water clean & there’s plenty of hiding places for them to breed or hide . I have them on a dim light timer like the sun is coming up or going down , it comes on & gos off automatically . I use a medication for them that gives them a good slime covering & use fish antibiotics to keep them very healthy & Hardy . I have sucker fish that helps me keep the tanks clean & eats just about everything that’s left over & keeps algae off of everything so that’s a big help with keeping the tank clean . Small gravel helps with breeding also as well as clay pots for them to make homes in . I,m up to 6 , 200 gallon tanks & I don’t need much more than that & this all started from me & my cousin having leftover minnows & it just grew from there .
In Australia you need to keep your minnows in a cooler that's insulated because soon as the water heats up the fish will start to vomit, when that happens you don't have long to water change and get the temp down or they'll die. Good video with lots of helpful information.
Insulated coolers are definitely important if you're out fishing in the summer or in the direct sun. The water can reach lethal temperatures pretty quickly.
Very good information. If the water the minnows are in gets too warm, they will die quickly. I keep mine in between fishing trips in a container placed in a mini fridge with a small hole drilled through the top to pass the aerator line through and I keep it set at 55 degrees. I use a small cooler as a bait well with an empty Gatorade bottle filled with filtered water and frozen. Keep your minnows cool and they will last a lot longer
I just started farming creek chubs and have lost over 5 dozen....probably could have been less if I had watched this first. Great video thanks for making this.
Creek chubs are prone to darting around the container and slamming into the walls if they don't have a good hiding spot and plenty of room. They often damage the skin on their heads and develop infections.
"Stress" Flashing back to playing with them as a kid and kind of shifting my eyes around nervously remembering my grandfather having no idea why they kept dying.
I've been keeping my left over minnows in a black container with an bubbler and theyve been doing great with no casualties. In the past, I've put them in bright or see through containers...and they ended up dying from stress.
I love to fish and want to maintain my own bait supply. I am also a novice home brewer and the same thing that minnows need to be healthy and happy is pretty much the same thing to maintain a healthy ,unstressed yeast colony... incredible
I had about 50 to start, 2 weeks later had 3 left, thought that was pretty good...mind you I took several on 3 occasions to fish. Learned some things from this video, I could still have another dozen alive, cheers!
Well done. Almost the same as keeping our local bait shrimp alive. I made a Bio-filter+aerator for my 38 gal livewell. It kept 150 - 175 or so alive and happy for 3+ months. Fed'm dry cat food and changed the water every week.
I enjoy fishing but maybe it's just me. If I'm building safe spaces, feeding them and optimizing water for the fish they're pets at that point. I don't want them to die after taking care of them. I'll stick to fake baits.
Good info. I’ve read that the fatheads and most minnows are not expected to live much beyond 12 or 13 months. I’d think an 18 monther is near beyond his expiration date. I want to treat them well, but no attachments. I tend to keep them around for thier mosquito control abilities, though I think the temps in Southern California tend to be a bit high for them. mosquito fish and guppies tend to to tolerate warm better
Wow! Awesome information Nat! I don't know how much money myself and my friends have wasted throwing away dead minnows. We were thinking of buying a cheap clear glass aquarium but the opaque container is super cheap and a great idea. So many times my wife and I wanted to go fishing but the bait shop was closed or too far to drive, now we can have minnows on demand. Can I mix different sizes and types of minnows in the same container?
Yes, mixing them is OK, but keep in mind that large shiners or suckers could kill smaller minnows by darting violently around the container if they get spooked. Don't create any sudden intense changes in light levels and make sure there are plenty of hiding places.
I've had two minnows in a 4 gallon aquarium for about 8 months now. I have lots of plants and dark areas to hide. Lots of filtration, too. They seem to be doing well so far
@@Megarobotsquadron Cool. I had a paludarium a long time ago with minnows, a turtle, and a snake. The snake and turtle would hunt minnows together and then hang out on land under the heat lamp. That was a really neat setup to watch.
I have had an aquarium full of menos for a year now as pets, one of my most favorite aquariums I have, they are super interactive and simply just fun. Even trying to keep them as pets and as an experienced aquarium person I had 25% die within the first couple months. Change 25% of the water every 2 weeks. Use dechlorinator when doing water changes.
What my father and I did for summer and winter fishing is take a small container used to carry an drink in such as Gatorade. Take container fill with water and place counter in ice box until completely frozen. Place iced container in container with minnows. This will help keep minnows alive.
Yes, chilling the water lowers the metabolic rate of the minnows and lowers their need for oxygen. You do have to be careful about keeping their water at a drastically different temperature than the lake/river though. It can be a big shock to them and it can cause them to die shortly after they get into the lake.
Excellent video. I appreciate your sharing of the knowledge you have regarding proper minnow keeping. I have one rosy red minnow as a pet and he seems happy.
Very instructive...I mostly rely on my cat to stir the water with his paw, the ones that miss him and the turtles end up on the hook anyway either as live or dead bait. It seems to me that the worst thing is when you put them in tap water because of the chlorine, I have a barrel with rainwater in it, and in a favorite location I made a small pool that is occasionally visited by ducks, but it's all for sport.
Ammonium buildup is what kills the majority of bait in most cases. I do 100% water changes daily and make sure the replacement water is the same temperature as the water the minnows are in. I also keep them in a small bait bucket the fridge. Like everyone else said, keeping them cold is important
Yeah cold water slows down their metabolism which reduces their need to feed (less food waste buildup) and also slows down the decomposition of waste products that contaminate the water. Frequent water changes (at the same temperature) are very important when using a small volume of water.
Good info. I found it mostly interesting, but I've never been able to get minnows to eat food in my fish tank for a week. Always tried flakes. They always just starve to death. I would try this again, but luckily, I've learned how to fish w/o minnows. Thanks to jigging raps and blade baits for walleyes.
A lot of fish will hesitate to eat for at least several days after they go into a fishtank or container, but the quicker they relax, the more likely they will eat. If they are able to hide and feel safe, they will relax. A clear aquarium is a very stressful place for a fish - they see things (predators?) moving around and the light levels change dramatically all the time. It's pretty confusing and scary for a fish.
I owned a bait shop several years. Reason they die is people you buy them from keeps their water to cold so they don't die on them . Soon as water warms up it shocks them. And most dont put water in your bucket out of their tank and it shocks them second you purchase them .
I have minnows as pet fish. They recognize you when you come into the room. I use Britta water and fish flakes..but I don't need a filter. I change mine every third day
Great information. Another question is how to keep minnows alive in minnow bucket at dock. Even keeping in shade and dipping in and out for oxygen hasn't helped alot. Maybe they get stressed in bucket?
Keeping them in the shade is good. They can get stressed just from the vibrations of someone walking on the dock, which shakes the bucket. Minnows associate sudden, strong vibrations with a predator nearby. If there are constantly large vibrations that come and go, they will get stressed out. Water temperature, crowding, oxygen levels, and waste buildup can all have effects on minnows in a bucket too. Also remember that bait stores are frequently removing dead minnows from their tanks, and the ones you just bought for your bucket may already be sick or dying from stress, disease, etc.
@@FishingwithNat thanks for the reply...I have brought a bag of minnows to the bucket only to see several with "scum" on their sides. With the cost of minnows, they are precious. Thanks again.
@@MnNative That's likely the start of a fungal infection. The high stress of being in a crowded tank at the bait store can suppress their immune systems and make it easier for infections to spread between fish.
Is it better to keep minnows in water that’s sourced from their natural habitat (the water they were caught in) or to use fresh “tap” water that’s been treated as you describe for chlorine removal?
I would recommend tap water without chlorine (either by removing the chlorine or by using well water). Some states have laws against transporting lake or river water because of the microorganisms/diseases that could be in the water, so it's best to keep that to a minimum.
I have an aquarium in my basement that always has fatheads in it. Sometimes the snakes get one, but otherwise they mostly just hang out. They are very active and fun to watch. One tip throw in some hornwort. It's hard to kill and it will eat the excess ammonia and nitrates.
I've kept minnows in aquaria, including planted ones (with hornwort and other species) and they are fun to watch. This video is more about keeping them in a very simple setup for later use as bait, but a lot of minnows make good pets too.
@@FishingwithNat for sure. I use them as bait also, and for feeder fish sometimes. i just have lots of tanks so it makes sense for me. Even in a bucket I would still drop a plant in. Hornwort grows wild here so I just scoop some out of the lake. Might not be perfectly legal I suppose, but it's not a protected plant so it works for me.
@@merlin4real Oh yeah it's a super common plant all over the place (known as coontail in the wild). It tolerates low light and high nutrients really well. Does it drop a lot of leaves in the tank? It's always shed a ton of leaves when I use it in planted tanks.
@@FishingwithNat if it dies back at all it will drop bits yeah. Usually its either not getting enough light, maybe from poor lighting or just have to much so its shading part of itself out, or it is stuck on the bottom and can't float so the part that's stuck dies so the rest can escape. Sometimes people try to shove part of it into substrate so it looks like other aquarium plants and that will kill the buried bit. In a tank of minnows it's probably not short on nutrition.
@@merlin4real Cool. In the wild it's free-floating and anchored in the sediments but you're probably right on the lighting being the issue in an aquarium unless you have a nice HID light system.
Got mine in a 20 gallon fish tank. Had 26. A couple seemed not so well off. And ended up dying. They got some hidie holes, but by this I need more. QUESTION: What's the optimal temperature to keep the water at? Also, I have cats that love watching the lil swimmers and even with the cats by or on tank they've been coming up to eat. QUESTION: Are cichlid or koi pellets okay for them?
The optimal temp will depend on the species. Fathead minnows or mudminnows are happy in warmer water (60-75*F), shiners and suckers tend to prefer cooler water (40-60*F). It takes more work and energy to keep the water cool, but cooler temps will keep the fish's metabolism slower, which consumes less dissolved oxygen and produces less fish waste. Pellet foods are fine as long as the pellets are small enough for them to eat whole. If the pellets are too big and need to dissolve / break apart before the minnows can eat them, that will probably cause a lot of extra food waste and that could cause water chemistry problems.
Must have a true aquarium with charcoal filtering, proper aeration, very fresh water, the right food, rocks and fine gravel for habit, and objects to hide behind.
Not necessarily. Some people are just looking to keep minnows for a short time, so this method provides a simpler way to do that without a full aquarium setup.
I'll expand on a couple things. I've been heavily involved in the aquarium hobby for a long time, professionally and as a hobbyist, and there are a lot of crossovers here. When talking about pollution in the water, you have to take the nitrogen cycle into consideration. Fish produce waste. Uneaten food turns into waste. A dead fish is waste. That waste is organic, and when organics break down, ammonia is produced (there are also other byproducts, all of which are toxic to fish in varying degrees). Ammonia is highly toxic and is the number one killer of fish in a habitat that hasn't been properly set up in advance to receive fish. To combat this, you need to do one of these things, very frequent water changes, put them into a properly "cycled" (as in a bacteria population has been established in the environment to handle organic waste byproducts, not something you'll do in a temporary bait tank), or use some kind of product to bind those byproducts and make them temporarily inert (you still have to do water changes with these products). I've seen all sorts of these products marketed for bait tanks, but you can get something much cheaper meant for the aquarium side that does the same thing. Seachem Prime is a go to for most enthusiasts in the aquatics hobby. The stuff marketed for bait tanks does the same thing, but much more expensive because reasons. Another big thing is shock. Shock is when a fish goes from one water into another water that has different parameters than what it's used to. Shock can easily kill fish. This can be temperature, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, pH, and a number of other things. Even taking a fish from "bad" water and putting it directly into "good" water can shock and kill a fish. They need to be properly acclimated. Most are familiar with floating a bag for temperature acclimation, but there is also a process called drip acclimation where you slowly acclimate them to other parameters as well.
i have a minnow i found in the creek in a nice little underwater forest alone so my mans best be happy hes just chilling alone in there with plants and a light
If it was in flowing water or cool water, you'll want to try to replicate those conditions for the fish to thrive. It could be a darter or something that really prefers cool, flowing water. A lot of fishes from flowing water don't do well in an aquarium unless you add a large filter or something to provide some water current.
@@FishingwithNat yeah lol in retrospect I should have but it wasn't the lack of current that killed him it was when I tried to upgrade him to a bigger aquarium with some flow in it and a surface area he just fucking died and I'm not sure why
If your municipality uses chloramine in conjunction with chlorine (as mine does) , the chloramine will not dissipate over time... you will need to use aquarium grade dechlorination chemicals to remove it, as it will not off gas on its own.
You need to treat the water just like a home aquarium, the water must have so many drops per gallon to make the water acceptable for the minnows. You can buy the treatment at your local tropical fish store. Also they need air. Good fishing Los Angeles
That works too. This video was mostly meant for people who don't want to set up an aquarium but would instead like a simpler setup to keep minnows for a short time.
They actually make pretty good pets. We've kept several species of fish in aquariums that came from the bait store. It's a lot cheaper than the pet store!
I'm confused. You recommend that the minnows should be kept in an opaque container to keep it dark but then you say that a sudden change in light intensity will cause stress. Wouldn't removing the opaque top create a sudden change in light levels? Wouldn't a translucent container keep the light at a more consistent level?
The problem with a translucent or open container is that a sudden flick of the light switch in a dark room can be blinding and cause a lot of stress to the minnows. Having rocks or other objects to hide behind is appreciated by the minnows whenever a sudden change in light occurs. A lot of people try to keep minnows indoors in aquariums or other transparent containers, and the frequent on/off of indoor lights throughout the dark hours can really stress out the fish. An opaque container tends to be best because it minimizes the number of changes in light intensity. If you are going to open the lid, I wouldn't recommend doing that in direct sunlight or other situation where a gigantic change in light intensity will occur.
Just get some dechlorinator and slime coat preserver from the pet store. Capful in a five gallon bucket and they will live all summer. They make a pump/filter for a 5gallon bucket as well
I got 10 today and have them in a fish bowl just to look at. I need to make some changes as u pointed out but can I leave them in the see through fish bowl? Great vid 🐠
You can, but they might freak out with any sudden light changes or when you walk by. Make sure they have something to hide in/behind to get away from bright light or anything else that may spook them. Thanks for the comment.
@@FishingwithNat thanks for the reply, Ive put some plants inside today that I got from the pet store and a hiding rock, along with water drops etc. Ended up buying 6 more 🙄. It's lovely though watching them. It's relaxing.
One thing I will add - if you are keeping minnows - or any freshwater fish, for that matter - in your garage or any other place which might have elevated temperatures, replace some of the water with ice.
@@FishingwithNat Long time fishkeeper here. Have been through more hurricanes and the resultant weeks long power outages in the heat of Texas summers more times than I'd like to remember. That was the only way to keep my many tanks going while waiting for the power company to get electricity restored!
@@FishingwithNat Depending upon the storm, some was distributed by the National Guard and others were purchased from as far away as Tyler, TX and Bossier City, Louisiana. Gas was the limiting factor as after a hurricane not only do the prices go up but availability shrinks.
Cold water definitely helps when feasible. I keep minnows in the unheated garage in winter. Colder water reduces their oxygen needs and also reduces stress.
I've kept them in an aquarium because I had crayfish and figured they'd be an inexpensive fish to keep and if the crays ate them, who cares. They lasted a year till the aquarium crashed. I think that last filter cleaning was a bit too aggressive and bam, ammonia spikes. Get some cheap ass filter to stick in there so you can keep the nitrate cycle going. And get a cheapy little test strip kit so you can keep track of water condition like nitrates, nitrites, ammonia, etc.
Good thoughts. I kept the video pretty simple with the minimum amount of effort to keep minnows for a few weeks, since that's what most anglers will be looking to do. But if you want to keep minnows for longer than a few weeks, filtration, nitrogen cycling, etc. are important for a healthy, long-term setup.
I have a rosy red minnow and my filter creates a bit of aeration. She always hangs out in a back corner, sometimes coming out to eat or see the other fish, but she spends most of her time there. I put an unglazed ceramic pot in the corner so she could hide inside and now she’s hiding in the other corner instead or between the pot and tank glass. There is also a cave structure she hides in so idk why she refuses the pot. Does this sound like stressed behaviour to you? Thanks
That's interesting. How long has the rosy red been in the tank? Does the cave have a hole that would let a bit of light in? The pot could be too dark inside that the fish is uncomfortable with it.
You could easily keep 6-8 dozen in a tub that size, but you will want to have an air pump keeping it well oxygenated. Changing out 50% of the water a couple of times during the week would also be a good idea. Make sure the water temperature is similar before adding the new water.
Back in the day when I was a bait fisherman, I kept my minnows in a lunch cooler in the fridge. That's all the maintenance I did, other than removing the dead or retarded ones on the rare occasions they occurred. I don't discount any of Nat's recommendations, but I know that fish metabolism is regulated largely by water temperature, so the stress of death-row life is reduced.
Absolutely - lowering the temperature lowers stress and a lot of the other issues I talked about. It's not always an option to keep the water cool. If you can't because your container is too big or maybe your spouse says "heck no!" to putting your minnows in the fridge, there are other things you can do to reduce stress and other negative factors, which is what I focused on in the video. Thank you for the discussion - I appreciate it.
I just fill a tank with river water, then slap a filter on, with a few big rocks to make the current slower. Its kept minnows alive literally for years, least til I dropped mud puppies in there & they started eating all the minnows, lol
Sometimes that means that the oxygen level is low. The only source of oxygen (without an aerator or any plants/algae) is diffusion from the air above, so the highest oxygen level would be right at the surface. That's why the minnows are gulping right at the surface. There are lots of reasons that minnows might jump, but again it could be a desperate attempt to find better conditions.
Dissolved oxygen meters come in all sorts of models that can test various parameters and with various cable lengths (for reaching way down into a lake). The one in the video is from YSI - they make a lot of different models but yeah, they are pricey. I borrowed that one from a friend.
My minnows must be some type of special cause all i did was throw them in my tank for my fish to eat and the bigger ones have been in there for half a year now and they refuse to hide in any structure i have in the tank they love this one channel i have thats kinda high current from my pump
Yes, a little bit of sea salt can be helpful to a freshwater aquarium. This video focused on the easiest way (least amount of work) to keep minnows alive and how to minimize the most important stressors that tend to kill minnows. Thanks for the comment.
Swishing the water doesn't add a lot of oxygen. But shaking it will add a lot. You want to actually see tiny bubbles in the water immediately after shaking it. If you aren't seeing those, you aren't getting much oxygen added to the water.
Most common bait minnow species (fathead minnows, shiners, suckers) will be happy with pH between 6 and 8 and temps in the 60s. Cooler is generally better if possible. The hardness isn't too important - mudminnows like pretty soft water, but they do fine in hard water too. Other species are pretty flexible.
Say I buy minnows one day before my fishing trip, I do have an aerator, and an insulated bait bucket, is it necessary to keep the pump running constantly? I've never bought them a day early and am worried ill wake to a minnocaust. Thx
Depends on the number of minnows, temperature of the water, and volume of water. The oxygen supply is higher with a larger volume of water and with a lower temperature. More minnows will consume the oxygen faster. You could put the minnows into a much larger container for the day and then move them back to your bait bucket before the trip. Or you could just run the aerator the whole time in the bucket. Keep in mind that oxygen isn't the only issue to keep an eye on though (as outlined in this video).
I caught four black nose daces from my local stream 2 months ago. I have them in a 40 gal tank. everything that is in the tank except the plants, one rams horn snail, and a cap layer of pool filter sand come from the local area around the stream. They are doing absolutely great even though the wood I put in there started growing fungus and black beard algae. I want to see if I can breed them in the tank. Any suggestions?
Blacknose dace are super cool. I've had them in aquariums too. They spawn in shallow gravel riffles, so I think you'd have a really hard time replicating that sort of condition in an aquarium.
@@FishingwithNat I was thinking of getting a kids pool from DG and filling the bottom with local stones from the same creek and putting an over powered internal filter in for fast water movement if they don't spawn by next spring time. What do you think?
@@FishingwithNat ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-xDjXHP0uBAs.html here is a one minute video of them. Please forgive the algae on the tank, I was not planning on sharing this video so it is what it is.
@@tj2484 I think it sounds like a lot of work! Be careful about local regulations of hauling all that gravel out of a local stream too. You might be better off just catching a few more dace with a net if you want more?
If you are keeping them as pets, I would set up a normal aquarium with gravel, rocks/plants, and a filtration system. The basic method I showed is sufficient to keep them alive and healthy for a few weeks or months.
I own a bait shop and new to bait fish I have a fx6 filter fluval filter do you think I need a chiller for fish ? I mean it’s a 10 by 16 shed good ventilation inside.
Where are you located? Is the shed in the sun or shade? Some species handle warm water well if there is some circulation but others like shiners prefer cooler conditions (and circulation if possible)
@@StromquistOutdoors I agree. If you are housing a lot of minnows or doing this all year long, it's worth investing in a chiller system. This video was mostly aimed at people keeping a bucket's worth of leftover minnows for a few weeks or a month rather than a commercial operation.
When I was very young I used to keep my live shiners in styrofoam containers and they stayed alive for a long time. Cold water, out of the sun, and styrofoam. I don’t know why but it works.
They don't necessarily need cool water. Fathead minnows, shiners, and mudminnows can handle water at room temperature or above just fine if stress is kept to a minimum and oxygen levels are good. Cool water is a plus if possible and it does help to calm them, but it's not essential.
That will work, but you'll need to have a constant supply in order to do water changes, and different states have different regulations regarding transport of lake/river water in order to prevent the spread of fish diseases, parasites, etc. that could be in the water.
Very informative! I want to raise my own flatheads. I think spawing temp is 65ish. I just came upon a 150? gallon container, can you recommend a way to get and keep a stable water temp in winter. Or is it easier to get them to spawn in a small aquarium, then transfer them.?
If you're going to raise fathead minnows (you meant fathead, not flathead, right?), I'd recommend you set up an indoor aquarium. Otherwise, it will be too difficult to maintain spawning temperatures. Spawning is a stressful activity for a fish, so you don't want to add more stress with wide temperature fluctuations. Fatheads like to spawn on the underside of hard objects. You can get some hard plastic caves at a pet shop or just cut some 4 or 6-inch PVC pipe in half the long way and they will lay eggs on the ceiling of those.
I would recommend pouring it from as high as you can and going back and forth at least 6 times between buckets. The goal is to aerate the water as much as possible.
Lower water temperature is better for reducing stress, oxygen usage, bacterial consumption of oxygen, and other things, but it will require more effort and money on your part. Keeping water cool takes a lot of energy. Most bait minnows will be fine in room temperature water as long as you keep the oxygen level high and reduce their stress by providing safe places for them to hide.
Cooling the water lowers the metabolism of the minnows and reduces stress on them. It also holds more oxygen. Leeches are great bait around here for walleyes and perch.
2 bonus things that were shown in the video, but not mentioned. First is to let the new water come to the same temp as the old dirty water before transferring, and second is to NOT LET THE DOG DRINK FROM THE BUCKET! 😂😂
😆 Right on. Yes, any substantial difference in water temperature (whether warmer or colder) will give the fish an initial shock and may actually kill them outright if the temperature difference is large enough.
