Thread: Keeping Fish Alive In Hot Weather

Originally Posted by BAMA S

John we learned a lot last May in the crappie masters. Our two biggest died. First fill your live well from deeper part of lake for cleanest water. Treat it with your choice of additive. Keep it aerated but do not introduce fresh water. Use a cooler to keep ice in and throw a handful in periodically. The ice adds oxygen to the water where the frozen water bottles do not. But still lowers temps.

Thanks Lee, not introducing new water makes sense.

Make sure your ice is NOT made with chlorinated water. If it is, you must treat the water in the live well with something that neutralized chlorine.


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What temperature should you try to maintain? Seems like I have read somewhere that it would be around 70 for minnows..what temp. For fish?..

Our plans are to use a 30 gallon cooler with treated water and have air pumping to it, 8 or 9 keepers in it is all.

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Interesting subject, I was aware of the air bladder situation and that it causes them to float. The clip on weights is something I never heard of, course I normally don't strive to keep them alive. I understand with tourney guys it would be important. Fish in my small live-well don't make it long in the summer heat. That is a big cooler and a good idea, wonder if you make divider slots with holes in them a tad bigger than the width of a normal fish and place them in there upright would it keep them sucking enough fresh oxygen? In a cooler that size you could have a lot of dividers and slots. Dunno, just an idea, also saw a show where guys were catching deep crappie up north somewhere. They would take and slap them on the sides on the top of the water, said it released the air from the bladders. Of course they were throwing these fish back, but they didn't show any floaters after they slapped them down good. The needle thing sounds risky in that situation, anyway good luck!

Lots of good comments. I think keeping the water cool is the most important. When u add water your defeating the purpose. Just fill your cooler up, put 8 lbs of ice in a bag or a couple frozen milk jugs in it. Turn your oxygen or bubler on, and leave it alone. I've had some stressed fish that a put a clip on and I think it helped. Keeping them submerged and breathing out of both gills rather than only one gill while floating will buy you more time

So.....did we decide it is better to run treated tap water, or lake water, both with oxygen, and ice added???

Get a potable aerator with a long hose put aerator in icechest above ice and bubbler in live well instead of pumping hot outside air you will be putting cold air in the water, this works best if fish are a cooler.