areators for minnows...

[Larry-Southern Indiana]

What do you guys think is the best ones for keeping minnows alive? I've burned up another already this year. Mino mizzer or something like that. When I do go fishing mine is on constantly.

Looking for one that will last more than one season. I usually buy one half pound on minnows at a time so I need a good one. Cost doesn't matter unless it's full of gold or silver parts.

Moose....Try my new email and see if you can get through. I've got a good report about crappie at patoka from this past weekend. 20' to 26' ft.

[email protected]

[Jerry Blake]

Hey Larry,

I use an aerator that's just a bilge pump motor with a special base that has a piece of tubing coming from the outside of the bait tank (I use a big ice chest) that draws in air and mixes it into the water as it circulates the water in the livewell. Its made by Keep Alive and called an Oxygen Infuser. Here’s a link - Keep Alive

Its on a timer (bought separately) that runs it for 30 seconds at a time and you can adjust the time between runs - I usually have it run every 2 to 5 minutes depending on how hot the weather is and how many minnows I have.

It runs this way 24/7 year around and the first one I had lasted over two years. When it went bad I just replaced the motor with a bilge pump motor that was a lot cheaper than buying the whole thing with the special base.

I keep minnows for weeks at a time and loose very few. I replace the water with 58-degree well water twice a day except in the winter when once a day is enough. In hot weather I add ice or ice water to the tank if I’m out all day.

Hope this helps,

[Barnacle Bill]

Larry, I use a champane type minnow bucket. On these hot days I drink a lot of water, so I freeze water in 16 oz bottles to take with me. I just take several extra and put one in the bucket every few hours. It keeps them live all day. To keep them alive a home, check out the thread "Minnow tank" under the North Carolina section. They really have some good ideas.

[Moose1am]

Larry, I use a champane type minnow bucket. On these hot days I drink a lot of water, so I freeze water in 16 oz bottles to take with me. I just take several extra and put one in the bucket every few hours. It keeps them live all day. To keep them alive a home, check out the thread "Minnow tank" under the North Carolina section. They really have some good ideas.

[fishinboat]

i built mine with a 30 quart cooler, a 360gal. per minute bilge pump and some half inch pvc pipe. i mounted my pump with plumping wrap in the form of hooks to hold this apparatus pipe and all to the lip of my cooler. i fit a 3 inch id hose for suction to the pump. on the out let side a attached my half inch pvc with 3/16 holes drilled throughout. before this i put a flushout t with a shutoff bib. of course i plugged the end of the pipe with a 1/2 cap. this works well for minnows as well as as many as 30 crappie for an hour or so. total cost- about 15.00. want any details holler at me.

[skiptomylu]

I really like the 20 Gal. Live Well From Marine Metal Products..."Bait Saver Aerator System". You can get them at Cabela's or Bass Pro, but to save some bucks you can call them ask for Roger. He will sell you a bucket and lid returned, but still new, also you can buy one of their rebuilt aerators. This will cost bout half what you pay at a retail outlet. I have not tried it but I think you could maybe even put a pound of minnows in this as long as you put a little ice in as you go along during the hot months. I have had a half pound in mine for several days and they did just fine without even changing the water.

Another product that I am sold on is Aqua Innovations Pure Oxygen Aerator
also available at Cabela's or Bass Pro. Now this is serious oxygen making product and probably one of the best on the market. You would probably want the larger one and still need your container, but I am convinced nothing will out do a true oxygen generator. Bubble aerators are not in the same league at all! This is the one I wish I had and may still get the small one for my 10 gal. rig.

[Shellback]

What do you guys use to keep them at home, that is if you do? Is a regular aquarium filter good, on do you need something else. I'd like the ability to keep a few dozen on hand for when the bait shops are closed and I'm taking a spur of the moment fishing trip.

[skiptomylu]

What do you guys use to keep them at home, that is if you do? Is a regular aquarium filter good, on do you need something else. I'd like the ability to keep a few dozen on hand for when the bait shops are closed and I'm taking a spur of the moment fishing trip.

Depending on how long you want to keep them the same products I posted about before will do the job. Every once in a while put a little ice in the water to keep them cool if it's hot outside. If you want to keep them for more than 3 days you may want to consider taking some old water out and putting in some fresh.

You can use a AC/DC converter to run the same products at home that you would use in your boat.

[Moose1am]

I have kept several dozen chubs or shinners alive for weeks with my small 10 gallon aquarium. I have been keeping minnows in this aquarium for about a year now. I started keeping minnows last Oct 2003 when I started keeping several Crappie in my 20 galllon aquarium

You must treat and filter the water and do water changes often.

Now I loose some minnows but most will stay alive.

I keep these two aquariums in one of my spare bedrooms.

Both have power filters that suck up water and run the water though a charcoal filter and then back into the aquarium. Also I have undergravel filters that I use with a power aerator that draws water up from under the gravel via a 1" OD plastic tube. Air is injected into the water stream vis the venturi effect. This moves the water and creates some current in the small aquarium.

I treat the water before I add water to the aquarium. I use pH 7.0 Buffer powder one capful to ten gallons of water.

I use a gravel filter to clean the gravel and to remove about 1/2 of the water in the aquarium each week or so.

during the winter I have a 100 watt heater in the 20 gallon aquarium and a smaller heater in the 10 gallon aquarium.

Once in a while I empty everthing out of the aquariums and take the gravel outside for a thorough cleaning. I clean out the aquarium real good and then put it back together. I keep the fish in a cooler for the time that it takes to clean the aquarium. I have had one black crappie for almost a year now.

What do you guys use to keep them at home, that is if you do? Is a regular aquarium filter good, on do you need something else. I'd like the ability to keep a few dozen on hand for when the bait shops are closed and I'm taking a spur of the moment fishing trip.