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what to feed minnows

by biteison , Posted to Fishing Buddy on 01/16/2012 9:49 PM | "Quote" | "Quick Reply" |
biteison
Joined: 03/19/2002
Location: ND
I have trapped around 30 dozen 2-1/2" to 3"  long minnows this past weekend. Just wondering what to feed then to keep them healthy until the weather warms up and can get the boat out.
Re: what to feed minnows
by WalleyeTracker on 01/16/2012 10:02 PM | Reply #1 | "Quote" | "Quick Reply" |
WalleyeTracker
Joined: 12/08/2005
Location: ND
Regular fish food flakes always worked for me when keeping minnows long term.

Re: what to feed minnows
by tinker on 01/16/2012 10:07 PM | Reply #2 | "Quote" | "Quick Reply" |
tinker
Joined: 10/30/2006
Location: ND
dogfood
If you can read this, thank a teacher. If you can read this in english, thank a vet.
Re: what to feed minnows
by Allen on 01/16/2012 11:08 PM | Reply #3 | "Quote" | "Quick Reply" |
Allen
Joined: 01/09/2002
Location: ND
Yep. Any dry dogfood should do.o
“Sometimes I wonder whether the world is being run by smart people who are putting us on or by imbeciles who really mean it.” ~ Mark Twain
Re: what to feed minnows
by Geothermal on 01/16/2012 11:30 PM | Reply #4 | "Quote" | "Quick Reply" |
Geothermal
Joined: 07/14/2009
Location: ND
It doesn't take hardly any food for fish that small, and not much at a time . If you put more in than what they eat it will sink to the bottom of the tank and ruin the water quality.
Re: what to feed minnows
by Geothermal on 01/16/2012 11:37 PM | Reply #5 | "Quote" | "Quick Reply" |
Geothermal
Joined: 07/14/2009
Location: ND
Forgot to mention that it should be powder ,  Put a couple chunks in a ziplock bag and take the hammer to it .
Re: what to feed minnows
by multi-species-angler on 01/17/2012 01:47 AM | Reply #6 | "Quote" | "Quick Reply" |
multi-species-angler
Joined: 04/26/2009
Location: ND
Is the tank old and established, does it have a constant supply and overflow of new water? 30 dozen is alot of minnows to just dump into a freshly set up tank.  Be ready for some serious ammonia spikes, funky smells, and massive die offs until the tank is cycled.  might be better off adding a dozen or so to the tank for the first few weeks and then gradually work up to a 30 dozen bio load after the initial ammonia levels have fallen.  If you have common brand filters on the tank a quick way to "boost" the nitrogen cycle is to take your new clean filter cartriges in to a local pet store that sells fish and exchange them for some dirty ones.  The dirty cartriges will be covered in bacteria that eat and break down the amonia (fish poop) and will help establish good bacteria colonies in your bait tank.
There's no such thing as a "trash fish"

gallery  www.flickr.com/photos/paulschumann/sets/72157613556328972/
Re: what to feed minnows
by WellArmed on 01/17/2012 10:49 AM | Reply #7 | "Quote" | "Quick Reply" |
WellArmed
Joined: 03/09/2009
Location: ND
Be sure to keep them at the proper temp to allow for proper mineral absorption.   Dump in 1/4 cup of antifreeze or brandy.
Re: what to feed minnows
by gator_getter on 01/17/2012 10:51 AM | Reply #8 | "Quote" | "Quick Reply" |
gator_getter
Joined: 11/26/2002
Location: ND
biteison Said:
I have trapped around 30 dozen 2-1/2" to 3"  long minnows this past weekend. Just wondering what to feed then to keep them healthy until the weather warms up and can get the boat out.


Possession limit for legal live minnows is 150, unless you have a retail bait vendors license.
Re: what to feed minnows
by Horsager on 01/17/2012 11:09 AM | Reply #9 | "Quote" | "Quick Reply" |
Horsager
Joined: 08/12/2003
Location: ND
 
Geothermal Said:
Forgot to mention that it should be powder ,  Put a couple chunks in a ziplock bag and take the hammer to it .

Dad used to take an old blender and grind up dog food for the worms he'd catch in his back yard.  I suspect it'd work for minnows.

Food for thought.  (grin)
..............THIS SPACE FOR RENT..............
Re: what to feed minnows
by WellArmed on 01/17/2012 11:10 AM | Reply #10 | "Quote" | "Quick Reply" |
WellArmed
Joined: 03/09/2009
Location: ND
gator_getter Said:
biteison Said:
I have trapped around 30 dozen 2-1/2" to 3"  long minnows this past weekend. Just wondering what to feed then to keep them healthy until the weather warms up and can get the boat out.


Possession limit for legal live minnows is 150, unless you have a retail bait vendors license.
 
Thanks for the FYI.  What's next? 
 
"Speed Limit on ND Interstates is 75"

 
Re: what to feed minnows
by Horsager on 01/17/2012 11:11 AM | Reply #11 | "Quote" | "Quick Reply" |
Horsager
Joined: 08/12/2003
Location: ND
 
gator_getter Said:
biteison Said:
I have trapped around 30 dozen 2-1/2" to 3"  long minnows this past weekend. Just wondering what to feed then to keep them healthy until the weather warms up and can get the boat out.


Possession limit for legal live minnows is 150, unless you have a retail bait vendors license.
I'm reminded of working @ Scheels and sending new folks back to count the minnows during inventory day.  Good stuff!
..............THIS SPACE FOR RENT..............
Re: what to feed minnows
by DecoyVC on 01/17/2012 11:19 AM | Reply #12 | "Quote" | "Quick Reply" |
DecoyVC
Joined: 09/14/2005
Location: ND
I'm reminded of working @ Scheels and sending new folks back to count the minnows during inventory day.  Good stuff!

 Now that's funny. 


Re: what to feed minnows
by gator_getter on 01/17/2012 11:24 AM | Reply #13 | "Quote" | "Quick Reply" |
gator_getter
Joined: 11/26/2002
Location: ND

We laughed like crazy one day when the local game warden thought we had too many minnows in our bucket.   Then he says the limit on frogs was 24 also.   more rules to enforce.
Re: what to feed minnows
by multi-species-angler on 01/17/2012 11:31 AM | Reply #14 | "Quote" | "Quick Reply" |
multi-species-angler
Joined: 04/26/2009
Location: ND
last time a warden advised me of that, I reminded him that My wife has a liscense and my two kids also fish with the frogs, minnows and the creek chubs he told me I was over my limit on.
There's no such thing as a "trash fish"

gallery  www.flickr.com/photos/paulschumann/sets/72157613556328972/
Re: what to feed minnows
by Lycanthrope on 01/17/2012 12:34 PM | Reply #15 | "Quote" | "Quick Reply" |
Lycanthrope
Joined: 02/03/2004
Location: ND
The limit on frogs and sally's is a joke. Possession limit on minnows should be 500, minimum. Only reason they did that is to make people buy more vendor licenses.
Re: what to feed minnows
by Lycanthrope on 01/17/2012 12:35 PM | Reply #16 | "Quote" | "Quick Reply" |
Lycanthrope
Joined: 02/03/2004
Location: ND
Also dog food will cloud your water, better off buying cheap fish food, like that used for ponds, and crushing it or using goldfish flakes.
Re: what to feed minnows
by Captain Ahab on 01/17/2012 12:42 PM | Reply #17 | "Quote" | "Quick Reply" |
Captain Ahab
Joined: 12/01/2008
Location: ND
multi-species-angler Said:
last time a warden advised me of that, I reminded him that My wife has a liscense and my two kids also fish with the frogs, minnows and the creek chubs he told me I was over my limit on.
Yep, my wife and kids also have the ability to possess bait.  The limit on frogs is laughable at best.  When I was a kid, I was constantly over my limit.  I should have been locked up for the amount of frogs I caught.

"Diligence is the mother of good luck."
Benjamin Franklin
Re: what to feed minnows
by bobkat on 01/17/2012 12:48 PM | Reply #18 | "Quote" | "Quick Reply" |
bobkat
Joined: 12/16/2001
Location: ND
Dag food, even in small amounts clouds up the water.  I use tropical fish granules now, but the filter I have on my bait farm gets black in a hurry.    I've been usiing a big plastic Wal Mart storage container with aeration and a filter, but the minnows keep dying and the water keeps getting dark and grungy.    What am I doing wrong, multi? 

I'm wondering if there's something in the plastic container that is toxic to fish or something? 
Re: what to feed minnows
by walynut on 01/17/2012 1:24 PM | Reply #19 | "Quote" | "Quick Reply" |
walynut
Joined: 01/08/2003
Location: ND
bobkat Said:
Dag food, even in small amounts clouds up the water.  I use tropical fish granules now, but the filter I have on my bait farm gets black in a hurry.    I've been usiing a big plastic Wal Mart storage container with aeration and a filter, but the minnows keep dying and the water keeps getting dark and grungy.    What am I doing wrong, multi? 

I'm wondering if there's something in the plastic container that is toxic to fish or something? 

Black water has me a little confused. Did you prewash your filters before running them to knock off the loose charcoal? Plastic shouldn't do anything, they are making tanks out of plastic. Overfeeding??? Might be a problem, I feed about every 4-5 days. Water change, the MOST important part of any tank, switch out 50% of the water every other day for a week and see if that clears it up, beyond that I normally switch 50% out once a week. If you are using tap water, get a water conditioner from a local pet store, it will remove all the stuff fish dont like, like chlorine. If you have access to well water, use it fish love it. 
 

Good Luck and Good Fishin'

Eric T
Re: what to feed minnows
by gator_getter on 01/17/2012 1:25 PM | Reply #20 | "Quote" | "Quick Reply" |
gator_getter
Joined: 11/26/2002
Location: ND
I also wish we could use more of a variety for fishing with live bait such as suckers.   The excuse they always give me is they dont want to infest the clean waters, but in most of the state the waters run to the rivers anyways.  Our neighboring states sure dont have a problem using other minnows for live bait.
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Posted By: biteison
Posted On: 01/16/2012 9:49 PM
1993 Views, 27 Comments

Tags: minnows, feed, 2-1, dozen, past, trapped, weekend, boat, healthy, weather
More Tags: Human InterestWeather
Region: North Dakota

Categories: Fishing > Other Fishing
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