Pond Boss Forums STOCKING A NEW POND Raising Forage and Bait what do shiners eat?

I'd like to buy some shiners and keep them in a 55 gallon drum ill have fresh spring water coming into the barrel but i thought shiners ate zytoplankton could i keep them alive ,and will they fish pellets.

They will eat pellets and they can jump pretty high so you may want to put a cover on the barrell. Keep us posted on how they do. Good luck. It is nice to have some fresh, cutting edge ideas on this forum.

They do, but they will also eat fish pellets. In a buddy's pond, they'll peck at pellets larger than they can eat. A bunch of shiners will gang up on one pellet, and push it around the pond as they eat it. If you're feeding the trout pellets, those would work.

If the barrel is outside, put netting over the top so critters can't get to the shiners.

will they also eat filamentous algae.

Diet studies indicate the g.shiners will eat some filamentous algae. IMO they are eating the organisms that are on or associated with the strands of algae and not selecting specifically for consuming algae. Lots of zooplankton, rotifers and various small invertebrates live among the stands of FA. If you take a small clump of FA and squeeze the water out of it and look at that water microscopically it has myriads of invertebrates in it. Also the species or genus of algae could affect how well they consume it since different types of FA have different flavors and textures. IMO it would take a very high density of shiners to control an algae problem.

bill cody, Im not looking to control the algae in my pond im looking to feed the fish. im going to get some shiners from rainman. Ill keep them in a 55 gallon drum with water flowing through and ill be selling them to some fisherman upstream as bait. thanks that was very helpful. what would be a fair price to ask for a dozen im thinking to make a profit i need at least 1.50 a dozen.

SMPD, small minnows cost 1.99 per dozen here, medium is 2.99 and large is 4.29 a dozen. I can buy them wholesale for 8 bucks a lb. but can't keep them from croaking so maybe your research will help us out big time. Good luck.

thanks ken i think that is what ill charge if the shiners die i can allways freeze them and sell em like that.

Feed g.shiners crushed or softened trout pellets. They eat it well and stay healthy eating if your water quality stays good. I've kept them all summer in a cage.

Bill, how big of a cage? My water is 95 in the summer, do you think they would live here in a cage.

My cage that I had shiners in was slightly larger than a 55 gal barrel. I used a 26" dia bicycle rim as a top frame for the cylinder and 1/2" mesh for adult 4"-6" shiners. Cage had around 13 cuft. One could put about 4-6 shiners maybe more in optimum conditions per cuft when algae does not clog the mesh. If shiners eat algae, then algae would not get very dense on the inside of the cage.

If bluegills will live in 95F water so will shiners. Scrub the cage outside walls when the algae builds up on the mesh. In very warm water and for the first attempt at shiners in a cage don't crowd shiners more than 4-5/cuft. If you try it let members here know how it works for you.

Bill, I think you nailed the reason my fish die.I put to many in a 50 gallon saltwater bait container. I use from 6-15 doz. per weekend so I will just buy them.My ponds will be over 95 on the surface much of a hot summer. No streams feeding them so they are like big hot tubs.

does anyone know a place to buy them wholesale delivered to your door?

Wholesale usually means you gotta pick them up in large quantities. That means that you need a tank with an aeration or agitation system to keep them alive - we're talking 60 to 200 gallons of water.

This place will deliver them to your door. http://www.andersonminnows.com/

I crush up my aquamax fish pellets and I feed my Fathead minnows and Shiners everyday about 1 to 2 cups in my pond. Man they get fat you should see the bellies on them. Got the shiners from Andersonminnows they overnighted them through the mail.