# Keeping Shrimp alive



## BowShooter (Mar 30, 2009)

In the live well i have a 8 or bigger gallon tank.  (bass boat live well)  It has a aireator that cycles the water but this will run my battery flat.  I want to use a bubbler D battery operated to keep the water full of air.  What sholukd i do will this work what else do i need to do or worry about to keep the shrimp alive.
thanks


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## wmaybin (Mar 30, 2009)

what size pumps do you have , running them continously shouldn't kill your battery, if it is a freshwater bass boat your livewell should be on a timer system and you could use that to prevent continouse running.  It would really be better if you were cycling new water instead of recycling the same water


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## BowShooter (Mar 30, 2009)

Its a older one so it does not have a timer its aluminum boat AKA not fancy so will two aereators that pump air not work


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## wmaybin (Mar 30, 2009)

they will work, fresh water is just better in my opinion, I have kept shrimp alive in a 5 gallon bucket with a walmart aeriator (spelling?) before.


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## BowShooter (Mar 30, 2009)

freshwater for keeping the shrimp alive?


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## wmaybin (Mar 30, 2009)

fresh as in new...


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## BowShooter (Mar 30, 2009)

Oh ok thanks for your help


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## wmaybin (Mar 30, 2009)

yepper


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## Hooked On Quack (Mar 30, 2009)

wmaybin said:


> they will work, fresh water is just better in my opinion, I have kept shrimp alive in a 5 gallon bucket with a walmart aeriator (spelling?) before.



Back when we used live bait that's what we did, only thing different we would put a wet towel over the bucket to add shade and help cool the water.


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## K-DAWG XB 2003 (Apr 2, 2009)

You need to have a good vent in the lid to let the amonia escape. It builds up quick with shrimp. You need to get another battery (seperate/dedicated) to run your livewell if the battery you have now will not keep up. Shrimp are delicate and need the aeriator running constantly.


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## Dustin Pate (Apr 2, 2009)

I have never tried it but I have read about keeping them between wet paper towels or newspaper over ice. You might want to look into that.


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## grim (Apr 2, 2009)

Something like this, tied to a string and dropped over the side of the boat is hands down the best.  Pull it up and put it in a 5 gallon bucket when you have to run.  bubble aerators are ok, but in warm weather, you need to cool/replace the water regularly, or they will belly up quick.


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## EastmanFireFighter (Apr 2, 2009)

You could always use the bubble machine that freshwater fisherman use to keep minnows alive....


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## fishdog (Apr 2, 2009)

A five gallon well is going to be hard to do. If you keep the water fresh you can do it. The problem with minnow style buckets is there is not enough water in them to keep a full quart of bait alive very long. K-Dawg hit it on the head with the vent, but if you do not have one just open the lid every now and then. You can put ice in there in the summer and it helps. Pick the dead ones out. Always use a net, never your hand. Keep as much water for as few shrimp as you can, fill that livewell up. If you keep them out of direct sunlight (keep the lid closed) they will live almost all day.


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## jamessig (Apr 2, 2009)

Moving water uses a LOT more energy than moving air. I assume that the pump that is running down your battery is either recirculating the bait well water or taking up fresh saltwater and pumping it into your well with an overflow valve to drain. A good battery powered air pump should run for a couple of days straight on 2 D alkaline batteries. A 500 gal per hour water pump will drain any 12 volt deep cycle battery in no more than a day. If you have a through-hull water uptake you are in luck. Use a battery powered air pump to keep your shrimp aerated and on hot summer days use the live well fresh(saltwater) uptake to change the well water out every hour or two. If the water pump in the well just recirculates water you will either need to change the water manually or add ice periodically to keep the well water cool on hot days. Best way to add ice is to freeze two liter soda bottles filled with fresh water or use ziplock bags and ice cubes. Shrimp are fairly delicate and may not tolerate the chlorine released from the ice as it melts if you add ice cubes directly to your live well.


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## bross07 (Apr 2, 2009)

Dustin Pate said:


> I have never tried it but I have read about keeping them between wet paper towels or newspaper over ice. You might want to look into that.



This works! Get a styrofoam bait bucket and put some ice in the bottom. Wet a piece of newspaper and lay it over the ice. Put your shrimp on the wet newspaper and put another thin layer of wet paper on top. Keeps them poppin!!! I fished with a charter captain that did this and they kept all day!


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## fishdog (Apr 3, 2009)

bross07 said:


> This works! Get a styrofoam bait bucket and put some ice in the bottom. Wet a piece of newspaper and lay it over the ice. Put your shrimp on the wet newspaper and put another thin layer of wet paper on top. Keeps them poppin!!! I fished with a charter captain that did this and they kept all day!



I am going to try this. If it works you could save a ton of money.


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## Wild Turkey (Apr 3, 2009)

Make sure your bucket has drain hole in bottom. You dont want your shrimps to touch the ice directly or the ice cold water drowning when it starts melting.

I do it in my front baitwell with the standpipe out. Makes the shrimp real easy to pick up and hook. As soon as they hit the warmer water they spring alive. I also use a light towel instead of paper.


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## Hit-n-Miss (Apr 3, 2009)

Dustin Pate said:


> I have never tried it but I have read about keeping them between wet paper towels or newspaper over ice. You might want to look into that.


 It works but wet it with salt water. A baggy that is left open on top of the ice works too. Will live all day. But if they touch the fresh melt water they are dead.


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## Gmonkey (Apr 3, 2009)

Dustin Pate said:


> I have never tried it but I have read about keeping them between wet paper towels or newspaper over ice. You might want to look into that.




This does work.   You may think they're dead when you grab them because they go into a comatose like state, but they revive when they hit the warm sea water.  Give'em about 5 or 10 seconds.


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