[Jason]

Does anyone on here keep their own minows, or do you purchase them? I was thinking about trying to keep my own, does anyone have any advise?

 

[Guest]

Does any one know were I could trap minnows in the Algonquin area. 5

 

[Guest]

I used to keep my own minnow's and would again if I knew were to catch them at. Go to a farm supply store and buy a 30 gallon stock tank then make your way to Petmart and buy the nessecary chemicals to keep the water clean and a air pump. Throw a few pieces of dog food in the tank once a week to fatten them up.

 

[Guest]

Go to a Tropical Fish store & buy a cheap air pump a few feet of plastic air tubing and an air stone, cost you a total of about $15, I seine minnows from the Des Plaines river and keep them in a 5 gal bucket with the air pump, I can keep 1-2 hundred minnows (depending on size)in that bucket, keep the water cool, I keep mine in the garage until summer comes then they come in to the laundry room...feed them a little gold fish flakes every other day & change the water about once a week, there are drops you can add to the water to remove the clorine so as not to kill all your bait, be sure to check on them often & remove any dead minnows right away or you'll lose them all!

 

[Jason]

I've got an extra 55 gal fish tank, with everything, I am going to try to use that, should I try to net them, or buy them from a bait shop? How cool should I keep my water? Do you know if they will breed? Thanks guys

 

[Guest]

If you take shiners from the river and put them in your aquarium be careful, I picked up a really nasty, and very prolific black algea that is impossible to get rid of in my tank, also be careful to NOT take any darter minnows, some are endangered or protected species and unless your a marine biologist you might have trouble knowing which are which, if in doubt put it back.... as for breeding, I've had about a dz river shiners in my tank for almost a year, no signs of reproduction...all same sex? dont breed in captivity? need special conditions? lots of unanswered questions! Smaller minnows seen to survive better in captivity than the larger ones, end of life cycle? improper diet? wrong conditions....who knows...when they die off seine some more!

 

[Jason]

Since all off that info, do you suggest just buying a couple dozen from my local bait shop and putting them into my tank? How do you get them from the river, is it ok to net them, or are there laws reguarding this?

 

[Mike48]

are there any particular areas you get minnowss in the desplaines or are they all over. i live minutes from the river but dont know where to go

 

[Guest]

I'm not going to sacrifice my spot, but let's just say that if you can find a drainage tube that flows into the river thats a good place to start!

 

[Doug V.]

I have better luck keeping minnows in a large cooler then in a 5 gallon bucket. If you have lots of minnows, then you do not have to change the water that often.

 

[greg086]

i try to keep them but it doesn't work for me i suck.