I read in a earlier post that you wrote about how much rock salt do you put in a 30 gallon bait tank? Whats a safe number of shad to put in there at one time? I think you said 3 dozen but I can't remember.

Thanks

The below is some info I have pick up on the board, I think most if it was posted by JFO.

You can hold one 8 inch shad per gallon. If the water is good and cold but in general half that to ensure you end up with frisky bait. At one 8 incher per gallon, your 30gal tank's is only good for 30 to 15 big guys. If you were using 6 inchers it'd be 38. If you were using 4 inchers (really little guys) it'd be 45. A good rule of thumb, one 8 incher per 2 gallons...if you're needing frisky, live baits...its hard enough to keep them alive without overcrowding.

Add salt at the rate of 1 1/2 cupful per 30 gallons of water.

Check and clean or change your filter media every 30 minutes during warm or hot weather, every 3 hours during the cooler months.

When you catch baits that large after about 30 min. there going to purge thereselves, I would change the water out after that time, transfer them to a large cooler, pump all the water out of the bait tank and replenish it, normally they will dump there bowels about fifteen min. after you cast net them, so I would do a complete water change after about 30 min. keep the filters clean,the first couple of hours is the most critical time with Shad, then after about 2 hours due a partial water change, like 50% of the water, you can pump it down while there in there, I have an extra pump with a hose attached that I do water changes with, I just drop it in the tank, pump down the water then throw it over the side of the boat and fill it back up, with those large of baits I would fill it to an inch of the bottom of the filter base.

With those bigger baits I would suggest that you use a product called Shad Keeper, very good stuff a little expensive but compare that to losing bait and it pays for itself, don't be stingy with the stuff, it has electrolytes in it that will make them real healthy, also a product called No Ammonia, should be able to get both products at any bait shop or fish aquarium place.

Now when it comes to ammonia in the water there are a couple of things that you can do, if you use the No Ammonia stuff it binds the ammonia in the water and encapsules it, it just never leaves but it won't blind over there gills which causes them to suffocate, that's what ammonia does, it collects on there gills and won't allow oxygen to be absorbed by there gills, keep an eye on the Shads noses if they start turning red they are suffering from lack of oxygen or ammonia poisoning, also watch there eyes, they should be bright and not cloudy looking, another thing that will help you with the ammonia is open the lid and leave it open about 5 min every hour, ammonia is lighter than air and will rise out of the tank if allowed to, as long as the lid is closed then it will at sometime drop back into the water, ammonia is a water hog, when it is in gas form it wants to bind with water, that's why when the water is discharged from the pump the small droplets will break down the ammonia and it floats in the tank, so opening the lid will allow the gas to leave.

Your bait should be very frisky when you get it out of the tank, if they are lethargic and very slow moving I would do a partial water change, sometimes I have to do several water changes during an outing, Shad are a pain to keep but well worth the trouble with the landing of a big fish.

Thanks for the info.

Tracker....good inputs above. Since the hot summer months are coming there's a lot more to keeping bait frisky, expecially if you're trying to hold big ones or if you're trying to hold enough to run 6-10 poles all night or if you're trying to hold them for any length of time. To the above I'd confirm that red-nose is a key-indicator of a problem...make a change the moment you start to spot it. Foam is most likely the earliest indicator of an issue if you REALLY want to be proactive. In the hottest months, you sometimes cannot change the water using lake surface-water...its too hot and holds too little oxygen so most times its better to work with the (cooler) and more oxygen rich water in the tank. If you go down this path, ammonia and all become a factor. Cold-to-hot thermal shock is your enemy in these months. Relative to the discharges, its true that you'll get most all the stomach contents emptied into the water within the first 15-30mins of captivity. This includes both partially digested food (which clogs the gills causing suffocation) as well as poop and pee (which contains ammonia). A seperate catch-tank or a 100% water change is a requirement in the hottest weather for stress reduction. Send me an email address and I'll email you the "bait shad in hot water" posting from a few years ago...jfo