# How to Keep Your Minnows Alive Longer



## Tall Tales

Hey guys, 

I thought I should post this here as this is one of the most common questions we get in the shop, day in and day out. It's from one of the blogs that I wrote and summarizes all of the methods you can use to keep your minnows alive longer. Hope it helps! 

One of the most common questions we get at the shop is “How do I keep my minnows alive longer?”

To best address minnows, it varies by the time of the year, but let’s first cover the basics, and then we will move to the most common mistakes, and finally, best practices. 

*Fathead “Tuffy” Minnows*

The temperature of our minnow tanks is chilled to 50 degrees consistently. This tends to be the ideal temperature for longevity of the minnows. _The colder water also holds more oxygen. _

-Our species of minnows tend to spawn about 6-7 times from spring to fall. 

-The larger fathead minnows tend to be more temperature sensitive than the smaller minnows as they are closer to sexual maturity. _When the water temperature reaches 55 degrees, the larger minnows will attempt to spawn and typically will die as a result from the spawning process. _

*Common mistakes:*

-Using a “Flow Troll” or Metal Two Tier Minnow Bucket

*-The biggest mistake that is made that drive the life of the minnows down, is to throw them in the lake water. * The water temperature of almost all lakes in shallow water is well over 65 degrees at the surface by early May (especially if fishing from shore). Whereas this may work well in October, February, and maybe March, by April in most places you are doing more harm than good by putting them in the water, and by May, it’s a death sentence for most minnows. This means you are reducing the amount of oxygen significantly by increasing the water temperature in the bucket. On top of that_, you are immediately forcing the minnows to adjust to temperature and varying levels of oxygen, ammonia, and other parameters that vary from the water that was in your bucket. _



The reason we suggest against the Flow Troll style buckets is they typically hold less water and also leave quite the mess if you are traveling with it in the car. The only benefit to using them would to be if you were using them in the colder months. The metal buckets do not have the mess, but heat up exponentially faster than even a basic plastic bucket, and are truthfully designed to be placed in the water. This creates another issue in that you don't want to change out the water the fish are in as you are not acclimating them to a new water source, they are just being dropped in. This typically leads to immediate "shedding" of the slime coat that leads to instant death (short term) or disease (long term). 









“FlowTroll” style bucket








Metal Two Piece Minnow Bucket
-Using a non-insulated bucket (Metal, Clear Plastic)

-The next biggest mistake that is made with minnow care is by using the wrong type of bucket. A non-insulated bucket will not hold the colder water nearly as long as the styrofoam or styrofoam lined buckets. On top of that, most metal or clear plastic buckets often magnify the heat and warm up the water inside considerably faster, leading to less oxygen and higher water temperatures. 

-Forcing too many minnows into smaller buckets

-Most of the smaller 4qt buckets are designed around holding 5 dozen minnows or less with the gallon buckets designed to hold 8 dozen at maximum capacity. Keep in mind that capacity is reduced significantly without an aerator and warmer water.

-Changing the water (See above)

-Minnows can be held in a buckets for as long as a month as long as the water is kept cold and you keep air in the water. If you feel its absolutely necessary to change the water, do it gradually. Try to match the temperature of the water to the best of your ability and then gradually recool it or use a frozen bottle of water to hold the temperature more consistently. 

*Best Practices:*

*–*Use an Aerator

-Aerators are small boxes that are used to pump oxygen into the water, increasing the oxygen level in the water, thus keeping your minnows alive longer. As long as the water is kept cold, minnows can be kept alive. Keep in mind when you buy an aerator, you want to buy the best one you can afford. By buying a better aerator, you will get better battery life in the batteries you are using. It’s must cheaper to spend more initially on the aerator than to keep buying more batteries over time. Also, check to see if your aerator can run on only one battery when your minnow capacity is low, this will help save you money on batteries as well. 

-Use insulated buckets

-Insulated buckets hold a more consistent temperature and will make your bait live longer and hold better than non insulated buckets. They also help prevent the “bucket warm ups” that you experience with metal and non insulated buckets.









A Frabill Insulated Bucket (Model 4822)

*-Keep them COLD!*

*–THE MOST IMPORTANT THING YOU CAN DO FOR YOUR MINNOWS IS TO KEEP THEM COLD. *The most cost effective way to do this is to freeze bottles of water the night before you fish. Put a bottle in when you pick up your bait and then when the bottle is completely thawed, replace it with a frozen one, and repeat. If you have minnows left at the end of the day, keep them in the basement or somewhere cool, and do your best to keep them cold. If you decide to use regular ice, go slow. Add a handful every 10-15 minutes until you reach the desired temperature. 50-55 degree water is typically not freezing, but will feel uncomfortable to leave your hand in it for a few minutes. If you cannot ice them, keep them in the shade or in a cooler or anywhere away from the sun.

If you follow these tips, your minnows will stay alive much longer and it will help you save money over the course of your fishing season!


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## Lewzer

I use the flow troll but place that inside a 5 gal bucket with Nimi water to transport.

I also add a small amount of methylene blue to help with the slime coat.

Once at the lake I throw my flow troll in the lake water and keep a small amount of minnows in a couple inches of water in the 5 gal bucket. When I need to move place it back in the 5 gal bucket and then put back in the lake once I arrive at my next spot. If slowly trolling I leave the flow troll in the water.


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## bountyhunter

great post. I,ve been using frozen water bottles for years. put a couple extra in my lunch box.


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## Lewzer

By the way, people ask where to get methylene blue. You can get it at pet fish stores or buy online. I have the powder. This one below would be enough to last a 25 year old a lifetime.

https://www.google.com/search?q=met...AXoECBAQAw&biw=1680&bih=858#spf=1580217351077

*Methylene Blue, Powder, Laboratory Grade, 25 g*
$16.00 Carolina Biological

This is why your water is blue when you buy emerald shiners for perching at Lake Erie.


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## mr max

Adding a little amount of 3% hydrogen peroxide seems to work.Temperature is a critical factor you don't want fluctuating temperatures cold to warm you want to maintain a cool temp.


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## Specwar

I buy my in bags from Eddies Bait at Nimi and store them in my beer fridge. Have kept them for up to 4 days that way.


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## Upland

Specwar said:


> I buy my in bags from Eddies Bait at Nimi and store them in my beer fridge. Have kept them for up to 4 days that way.


Store them in a beer fridge two things wrong with that First of all I would be afraid that they would drink some of my beer second of all where would you find the room for minnows with all that beer in there


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## TimberTall

Drop a couple ice cubes in every 20-30 minutes....


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## TimberTall

Drop a couple ice cubes in every 20-30 minutes....


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## Southernsaug

ok I am almost afraid to post this but I will start with a *WARNING-DO NOT USE TABLE SALT* 

With methaline blue you can add some non-iodized salt or pickling salt. In a standard minnow bucket 1 light teaspoon would be enough. It works just like a saline IV you get in the hosiptal, it's a systemic regulator to reduce stress. You can use it without the methaline blue too.


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## codger

I always try to give away any left over minnows when I'm done fishing. On one trip though, nobody at the ramp wanted them so I decided to try to save them. I set up a 10 gal aquarium in my basement and filled it with rain water from on of my rain barrels. Started with about 20 minnows. Had 3 of them die before I went fishing again 4 days later. Never got on the bite and brought 9 of them back home. Long story short, one minnow lived almost 6 weeks. This year maybe I'll try adding meth, er, I mean, methaline blue to the water.

Never heard or thought of adding salt. I'll try that also. Thanks Ss.


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## rzrmitch

Thanks


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## jjanda

I add a little G-juice livewell treatment to the minnow bucket when I get minnows. It definitely helps keep em more lively.

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## c. j. stone

All great suggestions! But, I never use minnows(for crappie!)-too slow, expensive, and they die too easily) but will outcatch anyone in the same boat that wants to make a(small) wager. I use “special”, home-crafted, maribou jigs that have been perfected/evolved over maybe 50 years! If you have a “hotspot” and a decent boat!(and want to get “schooled”), PM me and I’ll bring some extra jigs for you to use(after) you pay me my money! Just kidding(sort of) but the last minnows I bought were years ago from a wholesaler for $7/# to dump in my pond as feeders.


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