I caught these minnows at the lake earlier. My boy was excited to take them home. Normally I’d say they wouldn’t survive, but these are always in the shallows and in hot water and sun. So I think they may be pretty hearty. 

two of the same 

 

 

different minnow

 

What kind are they? What are the chances these will survive in a tote in the yard, maybe shaded? What are their chances in the house in a bowl? No aerator either place.  

Hard to say…… topminnow? Mosquitofish? 

Nice. BFS or Spinning gear?😁

Scale pattern looks like a carp

Looks to be a mosquito fish to me...

 

Far as keeping them - check your regs...some species aren't allowed to be kept. Then basically in an un-aerated, tank with decent surface area ('box' or drinking trough type) you want 1 gallon of water for every inch of fish....if you got 20 that are 2" long each, then it'd be 40 gallons...if it's a tall container with more depth than surface area - double that.

Thanks all. So how, do you find out the regulations for such? There isn't anything about it in the guide put forth by the F&W department. It only says you can't release species that aren't native/established.

 

Says nothing about keeping minnows. I know people catch them and use them on the spot.

 

They survived through the night in a jug, we gave them "fresh" water, and found out they love skeeter larvae. 

3 minutes ago, Bazoo said:

Thanks all. So how, do you find out the regulations for such? There isn't anything about it in the guide put forth by the F&W department. It only says you can't release species that aren't native/established.

Ours is even more strict - no releasing minnows that have been collected for bait into the waters...even one's you caught on that lake. They all must be trashed.

 

4 minutes ago, Bazoo said:

Says nothing about keeping minnows. I know people catch them and use them on the spot.

Contact the F&W to see if they're considered minnows and what the regs are. Some places they're not 'minnows' but a species of 'small fish'...nit-picky, but that's the way it is.

 

5 minutes ago, Bazoo said:

They survived through the night in a jug, we gave them "fresh" water, and found out they love skeeter larvae. 

Get a 5-gallon bucket...change water daily.

 

And everything loves skeeter larvae - I use to catch them to feed my tropicals and they went nuts over the larvae.