Thread: Minnows by the pound in Briant,Benton Ar.

I use a 55 gallon blue plastic barrel, cut the top out of it and installed a ball valve drain in the bottom for water changing. I have a dual outlet aerator I bought from Walmart that runs on 110 volt. I bought two weighted air stones from Academy Sports, the weight keeps them on the bottom. I also run a 75 gallon external 3 stage bio canister filter as well. I got the barrel for free and with the other accessorizes this setup ran me roughly $80.00, the canister filter was $48 free shipping, no tax. As far as minnows I started off using it to store leftover minnows I didn't use up in a single trip. I ordered 4 pounds from Anderson Minnow Farm in Lonoke and had them shipped overnight about 6 weeks ago, bout time to make another order. I would call Andersons and see what there minimum is, if they have one. It looks like your less then an hour from them. You can send them a message to here is the link to their site Anderson Minnows If your only going to keep 2 or 3 pounds the filter probably isn't necessary, you could do a 50% water change every 3 days. I keep up to 5 pounds with my setup and changed the water about every 7 - 10 days.

I will give them a call,thank you. 2 or 3 pounds will last me a long time found there web site. they have rosie reds,black salties,gold fish,and another I cant rember the name right off.could not find price.but will find that out when I call them.can a person mix minnows together and will they get along together.would like to have some of each.Got to get started constructing the minnow tank....are there any thing I need to add to there water so they wont die off.

Originally Posted by helpme

are there any thing I need to add to there water so they wont die off.

If your on municipal water it wouldn't hurt to use a charcoal filtration system to get rid of the chemicals (chlorine, fluoride, etc.) when filling your tank. I use an RV water filter you can get at Walmart, it hooks up to a standard 3/4" water hose end. Also, you will want to get some Better-Bait additive, I think the minnow farm sells it there. Here is what it looks like this will condition the water and help rid it of any leftover chemicals the filter misses. I have heard some folks foregoing the filter and just using the Better-Bait by itself with city water. Also, not sure about mixing minnows. I would ask the folks at the farm, they should be able to tell you better then me. They probably can give you tips as well on what to do to your water, keeping it cool / cold is a big factor as well.

Originally Posted by helpme

they have rosie reds,black salties,gold fish,and another I cant rember the name right off.

Golden Shiners is what I use, and is the standard species of "minnows" at most bait shops.

Originally Posted by Snubby

Golden Shiners is what I use, and is the standard species of "minnows" at most bait shops.

Do you clean the tank also? if so with what, and how often?

Originally Posted by yobuck

Do you clean the tank also? if so with what, and how often?

Not very often, last time I cleaned my tank was on November 7th before I got my shipment in. I'm down to a few dozen and will clean it before I add another 4 or 5 pounds. The bio filter helps out a good bit keeping the tank and water clean. In order to do regular cleanings you would need another tank to put that many minnows in while cleaning the other. I usually just use water and a good scrub brush, rinse, scrub, rinse and repeat 2 or 3 times and dry it with a clean white towel and look for residue.

For hard scale build up I've read you can use vinegar (1/2 a cup to a half a gallon of water). You can use salt as well. I'm fairly new to the minnow keeping, but mine stay pretty healthy. If you choose to feed them make sure you do a water change within a few hours after feeding, they can really mess your water up. Good thing about minnows are they are pretty hardy fish, not like keeping exotic fish or nothing.

The biggest killer of minnows is sudden temperature change and handling them in my experience. I always have more dead loss after a take a bunch fishing and come back and put the remainders back in. Not any big loss, but a few more than my standard one or two a day.

I noticed your in Florida, my biggest concern would be finding a way to keep your water temperature cold or relatively cool. I keep my tank in a heated shop at 60 degrees, really would prefer to keep it colder but we have to work back there. The biggest loss I ever had was once on a very cold day I turned the heat up to about 75 and left overnight and forgot about turning it back down, I lost a couple of dozen that night.

[QUOTE=Snubby;3747196]Not very often, last time I cleaned my tank was on November 7th before I got my shipment in. I'm down to a few dozen and will clean it before I add another 4 or 5 pounds. The bio filter helps out a good bit keeping the tank and water clean. In order to do regular cleanings you would need another tank to put that many minnows in while cleaning the other. I usually just use water and a good scrub brush, rinse, scrub, rinse and repeat 2 or 3 times and dry it with a clean white towel and look for residue.

Well I have had discussion with the bait shop owner where I buy my bait about this also.
His advise is pretty much in line with what you are doing. He recommended me having 2 coolers, rather than an uninsulated tank, and use plastic bottles of frozen water to keep temp lower. But I don't fish much during the very hot months anyway. He uses an old refridgerator compressor to keep the temp under control. Second cooler would be to transfer them when cleaning the other and stabilizing the new water. I could also move them inside during the warmer weather and since im a widow, who would care?
He also stressed the importance of (not) dumping the water holding the left over minnows back into the tank.
Just put the minnows back and dump the water in the minnow container on the ground.
Id still buy minnows from him, about a pound or so at a time and just keep them home for conveniance and saving the left overs. Less than 1/4 pound is about what I use on an average trip and thats only 4 bucks. So it's not worth the effort from the cost standpoint, just the convenience factor.

The reason Im doing this is a doz.minnows on average is about 2.50 a doz.that comes to about .23 cents per minnow.and A pound of minnows has on average of 300 minnows.Im guessing about 10.00 dollars for a pound (could be a little more or less)so if you do a lot of fishing at .23 cents per minnow times one pound comes to about 69.00 dollars. 300 times .033 cents per minnow thats quite a savings im thinking.thats why im doing it.

But my Social Security check dictates on even how much I spend on fish bait also. Thank you guys on telling me how to put together a minnow tank,and may be Ill learn something