# keeping shrimp alive?



## spike (May 25, 2008)

Whats the best way to keep shrimp alive overnight? I have a hard time keeping them alive from the bait shop to the boat ramp :wallbash:


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## Mac1528 (Mar 24, 2012)

I use welding oxygen and just turn it on a smiget for about 15 minutes every couple hours. Rigged up to a 12volt timer with an electronic on/off valve. Works great for me. O2 is not that expensive and a small bottle lasts a long time.


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## Tobiwan (Apr 27, 2012)

spike said:


> Whats the best way to keep shrimp alive overnight? I have a hard time keeping them alive from the bait shop to the boat ramp :wallbash:


An air pump and lower temps will keep them alive. In the summer they die on the way to the boat ramp in cooler months I seem to have no issue. 

I'm sure there is a threshold though. Don't wanna go to low


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## spike (May 25, 2008)

hummmm.... so go to Tractor Supply and they should have the oxygen bottle, the valve and timer???


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## Mac1528 (Mar 24, 2012)

I got the bottle and regulator from a welding supply shop, one that fills the bottles. The valve and timer came from Grainger, and the tubing and air stone came from the pet supply shop.


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## kanaka (Oct 3, 2007)

I haven't tried these but seen em published in national magazines soooooo...

Couple sheets of newspaper over ice, toss the shrimp on top, nuther layer of newspaper over em. Don't let the paper get soggy.

Toss them in sawdust, lasts for a few days.....

Let the rest of us know how if it worked.


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## Kim (Aug 5, 2008)

In the summer my shrimp bait bucket has a battery operated aerator, that bucket goes into a bigger bucket with ice in the bottom. The ice keeps the water cool and the aerator keeps the water oxygenated. My bait bucket is three gallon and it goes into a 5 gallon bucket. At home I use a small aquarium air pump and on the boat a 12 VDC air pump. This keeps 3 or 4 dozen shrimp alive pretty well. More than that and they start to die off.

In the winter I use the aquarium pump to keep them alive at home, change the water twice a day, morning and night and they do just fine with the cool temperatures.


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## BrakeTurnAccelerate (Jul 1, 2012)

What you'd really need to do, is replace the water the shrimp come in. The water from the baitstores is basically crap. Get a rubbermaid or cooler full of water (the closer to the gulf you can get, the better), and put the shrimp in that with a air bubbler. Leave the rubbermaid or cooler inside. You really don't want them to get cold.


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## Mac1528 (Mar 24, 2012)

I can understand by the intro of cold that the metabolism will slow down, but how would they be able to draw (salt) water over thier gills in order to sustain life? I guess the worst thing is that if they don't live, and they're in a metal bucket, if the sawdust is hickory you can light them up and have smoked shrimp. Good luck!


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## FishWalton (Jul 22, 2010)

Some good ideas here. Due to having trouble keeping shrimp alive I have just about stopped using [email protected] a dozen, and I mean 12, no extras from the bait shop, I'm just as well off with dead shrimp from the market.


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## c_stowers (Jan 10, 2012)

As mentioned by others, I have found that keeping them cold is the key to success. I use a standard air pump and drop a frozen 20 oz bottle of water down in the bucket. The frozen bottle of water needs to be changed out every so often depending on the temperature.


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## Chapman5011 (Mar 7, 2013)

Clean oxygenated water


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## kanaka (Oct 3, 2007)

https://www.google.com/search?q=how...2&ie=UTF-8#q=how+to+keep+shrimp+alive+sawdust


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## Salt Lines (Apr 4, 2013)

Lots of responses about keeping the water cold, or adding oxygen to it. My $.02 is they are mostly the same issue. Cold water holds significantly more oxygen than warm water. A few dozen shrimp in a few gallons of warm water can use up the oxygen very quickly. Also, in cold water, their metabolism slows down, so they use less oxygen. Keep the water cool (not necessarily cold), and put an airstone it. The airstone (the kind they use in fish aquariums) will create bubbles and circulates the water a bit so more oxygen dissolves from the surface. Dont put them in a sealed container (i.e. keep the cooler cracked) so there is plenty of fresh air to supply oxygen. Also, put a piece of burlap or cheese cloth for the shrimp to hold onto. They will rest more, use less oxygen, and be more lively for it. That goes for live-wells and bait buckets too.


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