Conference wahoo::fishing

    I've had good luck keeping shiners in a tank- theyre pretty
    tough. I think the most important factor is temp. Keep them
    cold (but not frozen). a basement is usually cool enough.
     Airation and/or circulation is next on the list. Air-water
    interface is the key- the more water that comes in contact
    with the air, the more oxygen is passed into the tank.
     Arkansas shiners love to eat bread that is rolled into little
    balls (I can hear the comments now) and dropped into the
    tank in a manner that will grab there attention- they will
    often ignore a slice just laying there.
     Sounds a bit extravagant for a bunch of fish who are about 
    to make the supreme sacrifice, but if $5.75 per dz. for good
    slabs o' bait aint enough to earn our respect, remember-
    shiners with a poor attitude and low morale will hardly do 
    there best to call up a lunker..........
                      
                  Hope I helped out.        
                        
                                            Kap'n Ken
    

    Forgot to mention in my reply-
    Why not use the best water that is easily available to you? standing
    water (pond or stream) will be oxygen saturated this time of year
    and also relatively void of contaminates that are imediately harm-
    full to small fish ei. bacteria and decaying vegies.
    Well water tends to be metalic, turbid and PH wild, with NO
    dissolved oxygen. Your shiners will KNOW that you sploshed pond
    water all over the back seat, and they'll appreciate YOUR efforts
    and repay you gladdly.
    
                                        Kap'n Ken
    
    P.S. I am "Kap'n" of a twelve foot alluminum Sears canoe w/paddles.
     

    	This is from memory so I'm not exactly sure, but a fish the
    size of a shiner (3"-4") will need approximately 8" of surface
    water per fish.
    
    	A typical 10 gallon tank will be 10" x 20" giving you 200" of
    surface water area. By dividing 8 into 200, you should be able to keep
    approx. 25 shiners in a 10 gallon tank with the above dimensions. This
    formula is based on not having any aerator in the tank. The book
    I got this from also said that although aerators help, they aren't
    as effective as you would think. It supposedly contributes little
    to the dissolved oxygen content.
    
    	As mentioned in .1?, the key to oxygenated water is the surface 
    area, not the total gallons. More gallons just means it will take
    a little longer for the fish to use up the available oxygen but
    once depleted, it will be replenished at the same rate as a smaller
    tank with the same surface area.

    	A recommended fish food would be regular earth worms cut into
    small pieces. Tetra brand staple flake food is pretty good too.
    I'd stay away from the powdered fish food. This seems to cloud up the 
    water quickly meaning a lot more tank maintenance.
    
    	Also, fish become more active in higher water temps.. More
    activity means more feedings and more feedings mean they crap up
    the tank faster. Although the water temp you pick is important,
    maintaining the temp is even more so. Fish don't like QUICK drastic
    changes.
    
    	As far as the water, you may want to get a Ph test kit and
    check/adjust your tap water. Well water isn't as bad as city water
    with chlorine and fluoride added. A problem is even with the tank covered 
    you'll lose water by evaporation. This means you'll have to add water 
    periodically and it may be a pain to run down to a pond all the 
    time. Also, any water brought in from outside can introduce a myriad
    of problems that can attack and kill the fish. 

    	Hope this helps. Good luck.....RAYJ

I usualy use pond water for my shiners.Temp is the most important thing.
    This ntime of year my leftover shiners last for days but as the
    temp goes up they need a little more help.I often throw some ice
    from my cooler in and change the water a little more often.also
    if your coming home with lots of leftovers you aint staying out
    long enough.Another thing why are you paying so much for them
    I pay between 2.50 and 4.50 depending on size everywhere I get them.
    Good luck 
    
    Rob

     
    
            I've been keepin shiners in my basement for a few years.
            They sell a product (can't remember the name off the top)
            but is a stabilizer ewe add before putting bait and tropical
            fish in your tank.Ewe add so much for so many gallons of
            water.One thing to remember DO NOT FEED FISH EVERYDAY they 
            always eat what ewe give them,but,they will overeat and die
            also when they eat alot they #$%& alot.This creates ammonia
            in the water and they will die from that unless ewe want to
            clean your tank every other day??? Use Tetra fish food and
            only tap a VERY little in because they will not catch all 
            the food everytime and again the food creates ammonia after 
            it has been in there a while unless of course ewe have some
            suckers in with them. 
    
            Someone mentioned shiners need so much water per fish.I can 
            say this is true WITHOUT an aerator but, I have kept more than
            5 dozen in a ten gallon tank and have only lost a couple due
            to disease (AIDS??) with an aerator.
    
            ALWAYS take dead fish out.They create disease (AIDS?) and will
            kill off other fish in no time.
    
    
              
                                                 The Keg

    RE:-1   (just couldn't resist)
    
    You gotta get one of those waterproof condom dispensers for the inside
    of the tank and then you gotta teach the little fishies how to use
    them.  Of course, education is the key to prevention, but my 
    attempts to persuade shiners to abstain from sex have failed.
    
    Of course, if I could keep them away from the sand bars, they might be
    more receptive.
    
    I'll stop now before this REALLY degrades.
    
    Ken

    Do suckers practice safe sex?
    
    Jeff

    
    
              The stabilizer that I mentioned earlier is called 
              FRITZYME (sp).This is what ewe add to your tank when
              filling it from a tap (not beer).
    
    
                                          The Keg

    
    
    	I suppose you guys won't believe this but I've kept shiners
    alive in a one gallon jar in my fridge for two weeks.  The trick
    is to keep the lid off the jar and don't feed 'em.  Also put 'em
    near the back so that the wife doesn't freak when she sees 'em.
    
    Larry Bass