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Posts: 93
Location: WI | Just wondering how or what most people use for sucker tanks at home. Wondering what worst best and keeps them alive the longest. Pics would be great . I have a 55 gallon plastic drum on its side with a door cut on the top and I just use a regular 2 port aquarium air pump from walmart with 2 air stones. If temp stay cool I can keep fish alive for 1.5 to 2 weeks. Just wanted to see other peoples set ups.  |
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Posts: 814
| I use a 100gallon horse trough(sp?). I fill it with about 75 gallons of water, I use a 100gallon aquarium filter,with amonia bags, with a spray bar above the tank for oxygen, I also have two air stones that oxygenate from the bottom. I change out about 10 gallons every couple days. Ive had over 35 large suckers in there at one time, the only ones that ever seemed to die were the ones that were hooked up and dragged around the lake all day and brought back home, they only seem to make it a few days after that.....not sure why.
* Also make sure you cover them....they will jump out. First morning after setting this up I had 5 suckers on the ground!  |
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| I use my sons plastic pool and an aerator from wal-mart with two stones. held 20 -25 suckers no problem. The only casualties were the suicides before I covered it. |
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Posts: 13688
Location: minocqua, wi. | the big cabela's molded livewell with aeriators ... works well. wanna buy it? |
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Posts: 374
Location: Bemidji | 150 gallon horse trough with an Agitator aerator. Keeps about 30 suckers alive. |
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Posts: 4
| my buddy uses a horse trough. i think that it's a 150 gal with 2 air pumps. he does his best to change the water every week or so, but if he can't he found a water treatment at a fish store. he just takes the suckers out of the trough and puts them in buckets for an hour + while the chemical cleans the water. i belive that he had three doz in there at one time last fall. fortunatelly my parents live on a musky lake so i get to cheat. i just welded together a 4'x2.5' by 3' tall cage with a hinged top. with half inch chicken wire, my only problem is the grey herrons. but on the plus side muskys do hang around the cage. i have caught quite a few casting around it. |
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| Fish are sensitive to stress. That is why your suckers that have been hooked die first. This can help -
http://www.fosterandsmithaquatics.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcat...
one bottle will last several years and also condition your water to help promote longer life. Suckers are tough - if you change/filter your water and provide aeration suckers should last. If you plan on keeping them longer than a week you might want to feed them - bread - crackers - or corn works. |
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Posts: 165
Location: tHe LaKe Of PrIoR, mN | I have looked into using a 150 gallon trough, but was wondering if you can keep suckers longer than a just a few weeks? In the early sucker season late september early october I can find suckers a lot cheaper than say november just wondering if anyone has had luck keeping big suckers longer than a week or two
Also the bait shop said they put smaller minnows in with the suckers to feed them anybody else do this?
has anyone used one of those cheap wally world pools with the pump about 3ft tall 10ft across ?
Edited by crix 4/28/2011 10:49 AM
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Posts: 93
Location: WI | Great info so far guys, Thanks. My local bait shop guy said that keeping the water cool is a big thing too need to try to keep it between 50-60 max. Once it gets a little warm out and I have a few left over I take empty milk jugs and fill them with water and freeze them and change them out every morning. I usually will swap out about half the water in the tank every 4 or 5 days. I usually add the minnow-life blue crystals to help with stress. But I thing the liquid drops will be cheaper. |
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Posts: 4
| my freinds and myself have been doing the sucker thing for quite a while now and you can keep them forever if you take care of them. the most important thing is to change the water and keep them cool. my buddy's system is in his garage. also, if you are having alot of trouble keeping the hooked ones alive you might want to try using a circle hook. once you get good with them they work really well, but i still use a quick stick instead. also if you use "tail gunners" you should remove them. |
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Posts: 153
| I use a plastic storage bin that is about 3'x2'x2' deep. I drill a small hole in the cover to run the aquarium aerator hose through, fill it half full of water and there you go. Water needs to get changed every 4-5 days. Works like a champ, doesn't take up much room, doesn't cost much and the suckers are easy to grab. |
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