Thread: Minnow tanks

I buy by the pound but I'm only able to keep them alive during the Fall/Winter/Spring when the water temps are cooler. That's because I just use a big wooden-frame box that has screen mesh on all sides. I just leave the box in the slip at our dock, tied to one of the poles. I need to replace some of the screen on the lid though --- I've either got a raccoon or a crane sitting on the top of the box and trying to get to the minnows, so they have ripped the screen material off part of the lid.

My aunt and uncle had a bait shop, and hauled bait commercially for many years. I was always working there. There are a lot of factors. As Toon said, Fall/Winter/Spring are pretty easy. During thunderstorms, sometimes they will ball up in a corner and reduce oxygen, thus die. In concrete burial vaults, I have taken a 5 gal bucket and poured water every so often to oxygenate that area. Jungle Life is a blue treatment bait shops use that will help in general. We would put a cup of salt in a tank about 250 gal. if the minnows had lost scales due to hauling. Summer is just tough. Keeping the water cool, as large a ratio of water to bait as you can, some jungle life, and oxygenated(commercial 110 v aerator, high volume fish tank aerator, recirculating pump) is as good as you can do. You can keep them inside will help with temp or insulate one for a cool tank. I will take a high volume double output fish tank aerator with 2-8" bubble bars, a five gallon bucket, and put them inside will work pretty good most of the time. Keep around some declorinator and change the water when it starts to get cloudy. For a cheap fix for larger amounts of bait, we bought two round large plastic tubs at walmart, a recirculating pump for a boat, thin plywood, window and door spray foam, and some of air filter material that you cut to fit. Spray foamed the inside of one tank and slid the other into it for insulation. Then we siliconed a 4" piece of pvc with holes drilled in the top 1/2 to the center of the tank on end. Put the recirculating pump in the pipe and put the filter on top to keep out minnows or shad slime. The discharge we bring up inside the 4" and through a slot and attach a 45 and a 10" piece of 3/4" pvc with holes directed down. This jets the pumped water into the tank aerating it. Screw the plywood on top with a hinged door for access. Works well. For out on the water we will ice down our minnows early and that helps a lot. Hope that helps.

Originally Posted by OK Toon

I buy by the pound but I'm only able to keep them alive during the Fall/Winter/Spring when the water temps are cooler. That's because I just use a big wooden-frame box that has screen mesh on all sides. I just leave the box in the slip at our dock, tied to one of the poles. I need to replace some of the screen on the lid though --- I've either got a raccoon or a crane sitting on the top of the box and trying to get to the minnows, so they have ripped the screen material off part of the lid.

Know where I'm going for minners!😛

I use a 100 gal plastic stock tank, big dual aquarium filter, 2 double outlet aquarium air pumps tied together into one line out of each pump into 6 in stones. Use finer shiner treatment. Change water when cloudy. Can keep 5-6 pounds when below about 78 anything over that I drop back to about 2-3 lbs. Mine is in my shop which is cooler than the out side. I lose some but it is still worth it to just load minnows in boat and go fishing.

Originally Posted by crappiepappa

Know where I'm going for minners!

And after I fix the screen, I'll be adding a pad lock. Thanks for the idea Pappa.