How to Keep Minnows Fresh
Minnow are tiny fish that are often used as bait to catch much larger fish. In order to catch those larger fish, you must use live minnows. That means you need to learn how to keep your minnows fresh until you are ready to use them. This is not hard to do if you know what minnows need to survive. You can purchase your minnows from a bait and tackle store, or you can catch some yourself. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- 1 large styrofoam container
- Thermometer
- 1 gallon of distilled water
- 2 ice cube trays
- Hydrogen peroxide
- Fish food flakes
Instructions
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1
Fill your styrofoam container with the water where your minnows were caught. If you bought the minnows, you will want to use distilled water in your styrofoam container.
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2
Use a thermometer to check if the water temperature is between 45 and 55 degrees F. If it is, you can place your minnows in the container.
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3
Make ice cubes out of distilled water if the temperature is too high. Pop them in to the container to bring the temperature down. If the temperature is too low, just set the container out and the temperature in the room will slowly bring it up.
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4
Add two cap fulls of hydrogen peroxide to your styrofoam container. This cheap liquid will release oxygen that the minnows need to stay alive.
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5
Set your container in a basement to keep the temperature down. You should also keep the lid on the container so that the minnows don't jump out. They do better in the dark anyway. Add more ice cubes if the temperature goes above 55 degrees F.
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Add a few fish food flakes every two to three days in addition to the hydrogen peroxide. You don't want to feed the minnows too much so don't allow any flakes to remain in the tank after three to five minutes have passed.
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Change the water in the styrofoam container every three days. Make sure you use distilled water. Also make sure the water temperature is correct before transferring the fish into it, or they will go in to shock and die.
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Tips & Warnings
If you don't want to use hydrogen peroxide, you can purchase an aerator for your container. This will provide the minnows with the oxygen they need to survive.
Do not expose your minnows to sunlight. When you transport them to your fishing location, always keep the lid on the container.
