Keeping Monnows with city water

[TwainGang]

MINNOWS, I mean. Walking through BPS today and picked up some stuff called "Better Bait"- Minnow Holding Formula. Has anyone used this? I routinely buy a bunch of minnows and hold them in an aerated, insulated bucket for a couple days, but sometimes I want to up/refresh the water. City water is known to kill minnows quickly, and this stuff supposedly "Conditions water, removes chlorine, Keeps bait frisky and Lowers bit losses". Does this actually stuff make city water safe so I can use it for minnows? Dosage is 1/4 teaspoon dry product/bait bucket.

[vic n]

I think the main thing that kills them is the chlorine in city water. If you set a gallon or so of tap water in a jug or pail with no lid, the chlorine should dissipate within 24 hrs.

[Lil Baby]

I would buy like a dozen minnows and test it out, and some places has more chlorine than others. I use better bait most of the time especially in warmer months. I do notice the minnows are more frisky and the slime coat is better. A little goes a long way for sure. If your water has to much chlorine you can use distilled water I think.

[south point]

Better bait helps keep alive and frisky, it works great at what it is supposed to do. I used it for a long time on minnows and blue gills that I keep for flathead bait. I am on city water,too, so I need something to remove chlorine. One day I was at Walmart and noticed there are several water conditioners around the aquariums, and they claim to remove chlorine, improve slime coat and at half the cost of better bait. so I tried "Aqua safe" and to this day I haven't gone back. Not saying I don't lose some bait,but it works good for me!

[TwainGang]

Thanks for the input. This stuff for sure isn't cheap, ($16-18 for a 10 oz bottle) but for the little I would use, I'm sure it will last the rest of my lifetime. I'll have to do a little scientific study and see what happens the next time I get minnows. If it makes them healthier in the water I buy them in, that will also be good. I know I bought some minnows in a shop in St. Joe (which has since closed) where I literally couldn't see the minnows through the filthy water.

[doggone]

Some people use to put out rain barrels to collect water for different uses.Usually put it under a shortened downspout on a garage or something around back. Man that's old school ain't it? Have never used any of the product but I have no doubt the science is sound.

[jigfisherx]

Same rules as keeping
Aquariums. If you keep fish long term chlorine is an issue but the longer you try to keep them the more you have to deal with the waste the fish produce. You can change out 10% of the water volume and replace with water out of the tap. More than that needs treatment. You can also use products used for water gardens. Water temp is important as well.

[Cray]

Here is a suggestion. And I use it all the time. Get you a 5gal bucket fill it with water, add your treatment and run your bubbler in it for a hour or so to give it time to work and the most important thing is let it get to same temp as water minnows are in. Drastic temp change will kill them quicker than anything.

[south point]

I defiantly treat my bait tanks like an aquarium. When doing a partial water change in the summer, I use the water from a dehumidifier I keep in my basement. Nice and cold and pure. I have found that ammonia is the real killer once you get the chlorine taken care of. Products like "foam off" help dissipate ammonia and chlorine as well. Also an air stone that produces smaller bubbles is best. Bubbles oxygenate water by surface area. The more surface area the better so the smaller the bubble the better. Larger, higher quality oxygen stones are pretty cheap, So keep them fresh.

[Clownfish]

I have and old Coleman cooler on the back porch that I keep leftover minnows in. I've used Better Bait for years with good luck, throw a small air stone in the bottom and your good to go. This stuff does seem like it perks them up a little bit, sometimes I will throw some goldfish food in the night before and this fires them up also.