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On average how many 2" crappie minners are in a pound? Here in Ohio we buy them by the dozen and I have a fella willing to sell me minners by the pound. I also need to know the best way to keep minners alive for a few weeks. I have 40 gal. tank/filter systems, do you think that might work...and what do you feed them, if anything? Thanks for the help.
For sure the tank set up will work I have been keeping around a 1/2 lb in a 5 gallon bucket now for a week with minimal loss I havent fed them anything but you can get from a tackle dealer a minnow feeding block that can be broken to feed the amount that you have I am thinking of doing the same thing that you are at 15 dollars a lb pretty expensive but so is anything that is fun to do
about 240 minners to a pound. 40 gal tank will work. i feed mine a pinch of gold fish flakes once a day .john
The main thing is to keep them cool. I use 2 liter coke bottles. I put in a frozen one everyday.
On the wholesale market they refer to them as sizes (or use to). Which means 4 ,5 and 6 are crappie size and each size represents how many pounds it takes to make 1000 minnows (golden shiners). So size 5 minnows will take 5 pounds to make 1000 minnows. Keeping the minnows cool is a must as posted earlier. Once the minnows are harvested the farm and dealer do not feed them, because the feed and manure dirty the water and can cause oxygen problems in the water. I have seen minnows last a several weeks without food. The longer you hold them the more they will die. They sell Better bait (Memphis Net and Twine, Anderson fish farm), which contains chemicals that help the minnows and it keeps them looking dark. If you can ask about how much salt to add to the tank, ask. The salt prevents a common disease called ick (for short) and the salt hardens the scales on the minnows which makes the hooks not tear out as easy.
TT
Usally 12-15 dozen per pound where im from
ive been buying them by the pound for several years now..i have a 40 gallon fiberglass minnow vat that i have set up under a lean too off the back of one of my sheds..i usually put about 30 galoons of well water in it..i use a koi pond pump and a dual line fish tank air pump..i get the O2 granuals the dealers use and treat the water 2 days before i put 10 lbs of minnows in the vat..the ones i use i get 14-18 dozen per lb..i made a top from hardware cloth to keep stuff out of the water..the trick is..NEVER feed them..as i learned from my local minnow farm..the minnows waste is high in ammonia..filtering will not remove the ammonia..they will live 3 weeks with minimal loss if you keep the water cool and dont feed them..if you use alot of minnows its the only way to go..heck i use 20 minnows each time i bait a round of poles..it aint hard to use 2lb a day..he also tells me that if you keep mature minnows in darkness for 72 hours they will breed..they have these thick black tarps they roll out over the ponds and keep them in darkness..then i reckon so many weeks later they sein out the adults..thought about setting up a 50 gallon fish tank and try it with 1/2 lb or so...
I asked the same question at Reelfoot the other day. I was told 1/4 lb. of minnows has 9 doz.
I believe your the most correct on answer'n the question. Bait dealers here get 12.00 per lb , but wholesale from growers it's about 4.00. But we have to buy a min of 6 lbs. We perfer atleast a #6 sized minnow . Minnows will last longer without changing the water if you '' DO NOT FEED THEM''. Otherwise you will need to change water to remove wastes and ''ammonia''.Quote:
Originally Posted by Timmy Tom
A good tank can be built from an old deep freezer or bath tub. These can be picked up for free most of the time. Put them in shaded area. Fill with clean water that is free from chlorine. If tap water is used add chemicals to remove chlorine and let set awhile before adding baitfish. You will need a pump or aireator to oxygenate if large amouts of minnows are kept. In warm weather adding a small amout of ice each day helps as they will live better. The bacteria and such grow more in warm water and fish use up more oxygen in warmer temps.
Unless you can get a bargin price your better off buying only what you need each trip. But any left over minnows do fine in an old bath tub for a later trip. As long as they are cool and uncrowded ,a small batch of minnoes can survive for weeks.:cool: