# Feeding Minnows?



## Redruckus

i am trying to vary my piranhas diet they were mainly on lean meat like beef toung, but i always have extra minnows left over from when i go fishing i ended up just giving them away, but now i have set them up in a 5gal bucket with an air stone and a diy filter, small water pump and a water botle with some carbon pad cut up and some white pad cut up put inside. after a day the water cleared up nicely. it was a few days i didnt have the filter and it got a bit cloudy. all the minnows seemed to be free of any visable sickness. I put a few in the tank and they ate them right away. is this a good set up for keeping feeder minnows so I have a constant suply of live fish for feeding. i was thinking on the plus side i could gut load the minnows with brine shrimp for colour enhancement...thoughts? ideas? (if it counts for anything they are redfin sucker minnows4-7" and small chubs2-3")


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## BRUNER247

I feed minnows pretty much once a week.I buy 4dozen. Feed 1/2 on day I get em,& store the other 1/2 in a ten gallon for the next week.


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## Sacrifice

I've often thought about this as well, but the holding tanks that I see this guys in don't seem very clean.


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## SandNukka15

I have also considered this. then what is a good way to quaruntine thesefish to make sure they are disease free?


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## Guest

Buy some seafood mix from any local super markets. Feeding p's mainly on mammal meat isn't a good idea as their digestive system isn't made for dealing with it.
If you want to enhance their colours raw shrimp does wonders, also you can buy a supplements. I use SeaChem Nourish and Tetrabits Complete, basically just soak the shrimp in nourish then stuff the Tetrabits complete in. Also any products designed for enhancing colours in discuss fish is good as they mainly bring out reds and yellows.
As far as keeping minnows, I just buy feeders from a LFS I know well that breeds them to feed his arowana's at home so I don't really need to worry about quarantining parasites and stuff.



SandNukka15 said:


> I have also considered this. then what is a good way to quaruntine thesefish to make sure they are disease free?


There is really no way of telling, just quarantining them and waiting a month observing them and feeding them quality foods.
It's said that all this isn't necessary as in the wild P's often go after sick and dying prey so they build up a better immune system. But with them being kept in an aquarium they are no where as hardy as P's in the wild.


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## Redruckus

> I've often thought about this as well, but the holding tanks that I see this guys in don't seem very clean.


i took them out of the water they wer in at the store and looked at them good in the net then put them in a 5gal bucket half full (a few jumped out so i lowerd the water) the water in the bucket is fairly clean for minnows at least.



> It's said that all this isn't necessary as in the wild P's often go after sick and dying prey so they build up a better immune system


the minnows dont live very long in the tank either the fish get them or they die from temp shock.... i also live 2 hours from an lfs that sells any kind of feeders and i have 10 or so minnows left when im done fishing so i use them for feed.

i need to pick up some brine shrimp eggs so i can hatch and grow to feed to the minnows to gut load them


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## BRUNER247

Drip the minnows if your having problems with them dying in your tank.


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## Guest

BRUNER247 said:


> Drip the minnows if your having problems with them dying in your tank.


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## Redruckus

the tank i am refering to is the piranha tank so they kinda spaz out till the fish eat them witch is usualy right away..the bucket i keep them in i just put them in and its fine no heater but the filter/air i mentioned in the OP


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## banshee42096

the last 2 bait shops i went to for minnows when ice fishing made sure i had my recipt because they are mandated to be free of diasese so were not messing up our lakes/pond ect.so i would figure that they should be free from any problems by law.at least in michigan im not sure about other states.


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## Redruckus

i live in ontario the minnows seemed very healthy i looked very close at each one in the net they didnt seem to have any visible illnesses and the ones i havent fed are still alive


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## BRUNER247

banshee42096 said:


> the last 2 bait shops i went to for minnows when ice fishing made sure i had my recipt because they are mandated to be free of diasese so were not messing up our lakes/pond ect.so i would figure that they should be free from any problems by law.at least in michigan im not sure about other states.


Missouri is the same way. Plus they stock goldfish also. Most if not all states probably mandates healthy bait fish.


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## Redruckus

ya gold fish are illegal to use as bait in canada actualy using any game fish as bait is...carp are concidered game fish so they are not alowed trust me i would have caught 100x more and 100x bigger fish if i coulda put a 4-6" gold fish on my hook an toss it out.


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## BRUNER247

Doubt there's to many states that its legal to use goldfish.first state that I've heard its legal. Cheating imo.


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