Almost any grainy, doughy, or bread-like food can work to attract shiners, such as:
- Dog food or cat food
- Corn meal
- Chicken feed
- Livestock grain
- Old Bread, biscuits or crackers
- Oatmeal
- Even cereal!
What do golden shiners eat?
Juvenile and adult golden shiners feed primarily on zooplankton and aquatic insects, while the newly hatched fry (baby fish) are omnivorous. Golden shiners readily accept commercial fish feeds, and catfish feed is a close match to their dietary requirements.
What do you feed a shiner fish?
Keep a record of the amount of commercial food you feed the shiners. Feed your golden shiners a commercial fish food that contains small worms such as fly larvae or mealworms. Leave your shiners undisturbed and allow them to spawn.
How do I care for a golden shiner fish?
1 Golden shiners are a resilient species of fish but are easily susceptible to diseases and parasites. 2 A bubble aerator will circulate water in a pond and keep entire sections cool. 3 Make sure to place plenty of plants in your pond. 4 A commercial fish food mimics the natural diet of the golden shiners and will allow your shiners...
What is a golden shiner fish?
They are themselves food for all manner of game fish such as trout and bass, hence their popularity as bait fish. In the southern parts of their range, golden shiners can start reproducing at one year of age; in Canada, first breeding is more commonly at three years of age. Females lay up to 200,000 sticky eggs each amid vegetation.
What to feed shiners to keep them alive?
Juvenile and adult golden shiners feed primarily on zooplankton and aquatic insects, while the newly hatched fry (baby fish) are omnivorous. Golden shiners readily accept commercial fish feeds, and catfish feed is a close match to their dietary requirements.
How do you take care of golden shiners?
Golden Shiner are not fussy about aquarium conditions and will accept all prepared foods. Because of the potential large size and activity, larger, open aquaria are preferred. And since they feed at or near the surface, a tight-fitting cover is a must.
Will shiners eat fish flakes?
They will eat, but very little goes a long way. I feed them goldfish food crushed to a fine powder, and I feed them the day befoere I plan on changing the water.
What do common shiners eat?
aquatic insectsThey are opportunistic feeders that eat primarily adult and larval aquatic insects, at the surface and midwater. Other occasional foods include smaller fishes and some plant material.
Why do my shiners keep dying?
Re: Shiners been dying any advice? The issue is the dissolved oxygen content of the water. Colder water has a higher dO2 carrying capacity than warmer water. No matter how hard you aerate 55 degree water, it will only hold so much oxygen.
How long do golden shiners live?
Adult golden shiners may reach 1 (30.5 cm) in length and live for nine years. Golden shiners are raised primarily for bait, but they also are used as forage for largemouth bass, crappie, and in other game fish ponds.
Do shiners eat goldfish food?
Algae, goldfish, and some flies and beetles are excellent sources of nourishment for the shiners. Place the shiners into the tank. Make sure that the water is at room temperature when you place the shiners in the tank. A temperature shock may cause the shiners to die.
Can you feed minnows oatmeal?
What to feed minnows to keep them alive? Commercial fish food is an easy and inexpensive option to feed minnows. Any tropical fish flake dried blood worms, or even oats will work.
What does a shiner minnow eat?
Golden shiners eat plankton (small algae and animals that float in the water column) and very small crustaceans. They eat by sucking in plankton or small crustaceans one at a time. They may also eat dragongly nymphs sometimes.
How do you raise golden shiners in a pond?
Keep the pond at a constant 70 to 80 degrees to maximize egg laying. Add clean gravel to the pond. Create future spawning beds for the shiners by walking several feet into the pond and scattering clean gravel into the water. Use gravel no more than 1-inch in diameter.
What can you feed minnows at home?
Pet minnows are known to eat frozen shrimp, blood worms, bread crumbs, plants, brine shrimp, and vegetables. They like to eat food that dips into the tank rather than food that floats on top.
How long does it take for a golden shiner to grow?
In cold waters, the young golden shiners generally grow to lengths of 1.4 to 1.8 in (36 to 46 mm) within a year. In warm waters, they can reach lengths of 3 in (76 mm). Young fish can grow to lengths of up to 5.5 in (140 mm) by their second year of life, but after this, their growth rate typically slows significantly.
What is a Golden Shiner?
The golden shiner Notemigonus crysoleucas is the most common baitfish sold in the United States. It is also stocked as a supplemental forage fish in sportfish ponds.
Where do golden shiners come from?
Today, the majority of golden shiners produced come from hatcheries. Mats with eggs are brought into an indoor hatchery and placed into tanks, where water temperature, dissolved oxygen and other environmental parameters can be controlled. Once the eggs hatch, the fry are transported in water within plastic bags that are filled with oxygen.
How many eggs do golden shiners lay?
A pound of golden shiners may produce over one-half million eggs in a season. Golden shiners are broadcast spawners; they lay adhesive eggs on submersed vegetation, or in culture ponds, on mats of latex-coated coconut fiber. The small eggs (~1-mm diameter) hatch in three to five days, depending on water temperature.
How big do golden shiners get?
The typical adult size rarely exceeds six inches, although larger fish have been reported. Juvenile and adult golden shiners feed primarily on zooplankton ...
How long does it take for Golden Shiner eggs to hatch?
The small eggs (~1-mm diameter) hatch in three to five days, depending on water temperature. Golden shiner culture methods have changed over time as a result of on-farm innovation and university research.
How many fry per acre?
Fry are stocked into nursery ponds, often at rates of one to two million fry per acre, and raised to juvenile size. After four to twelve weeks, the juveniles are transferred to grow-out ponds at lower densities.
What is the feed form for a fry?
Fry are fed a finely ground commercial feed (meal) for the first month or so, then the feed form is switched to a crumbled extruded pellet, then to an extruded floating pellet. The feed pellets are too big to fit within the mouth of a golden shiner.
How to feed golden shiners?
Feed your golden shiners a commercial fish food that contains small worms such as fly larvae or mealworms. Leave your shiners undisturbed and allow them to spawn. Keep a record of the size of shiners every 2 months. Scoop up shiners with 6-foot nylon net. Measure the length of the shiner from head to tail.
How to keep golden shiners healthy?
Golden shiners are a resilient species of fish but are easily susceptible to diseases and parasites. Invest in chemicals to fight disease and monitor your shiners for illness. A bubble aerator will circulate water in a pond and keep entire sections cool . Water that is too warm can make shiners susceptible to illness.
How many golden shiners can you have in a 1 acre pond?
A 1-acre pond would support up to 5,000 golden shiners and allow for spawning. Remove predator game fish such as bass, crappie, catfish or other aggressive fish. Place a bubble aerator in the pond to help supply oxygen. Keep the pond at a constant 70 to 80 degrees to maximize egg laying.
What is the best cover for golden shiners?
Scatter larger rocks and natural cover throughout the pond to enable shiners to hide from predators. Natural cover can be driftwood, large rocks and aquatic plants that occur in the natural habitat of the golden shiner.
What is the golden shiner?
The golden shiner is among the most abundant species of fish in North America. It has become a food source for large freshwater game fish and for commercial farms. Due to its easily identified vibrant scales, this minnow is used by anglers to lure large fish into striking their lines. Golden shiners can be raised with little effort as they thrive ...
Can golden shiners be collected from a pond?
Do not collect golden shiners from a local stream or pond. The shiners could carry diseases and transport the disease to your pond. Thomas Ganio began writing in 2006 for the "Northern Virginia Daily," a community newspaper in Richmond, Va.
Do golden shiners care for their offspring?
Golden shiners are not caretakers of their offspring and within a few days after hatching, the fry start competing for food with adults. Warnings. Large game fish in the pond can significantly reduce the numbers of golden shiners. Do not collect golden shiners from a local stream or pond.
What do golden shiners eat?
Diet. Golden shiners are omnivorous and crepuscular planktivores. They eat zooplankton, phytoplankton, microcrustaceans, insects, plants, and algae. They can feed at the surface, in mid-water, or at the bottom. They can locate prey visually, or filter-feed on high-density zooplankton without resorting to visual cues.
Why do golden shiners live in shoals?
Golden shiners live in large groups ( shoals) that roam widely. Several laboratory studies have shown that the movements of a shoal can be determined by a minority of individuals at the front of it. For example, an individual that knows when and where food is available within a large tank can lead many other fish to the right place at the right time of day. If all fish have similar knowledge, there is still a tendency for some individuals to be found always at the front of a moving shoal, possibly because they are intrinsically hungrier and more motivated to find food. Small fish are also found more often at the front of a shoal than larger fish, again possibly because they are more motivated to find food.
Why are golden shiners so sensitive to minnows?
Like other minnows, golden shiners are sensitive to the release of an alarm substance, or schreckstoff, contained within special skin cells.
How old do golden shiners have to be to reproduce?
In the southern parts of their range, golden shiners can start reproducing at one year of age ; in Canada, first breeding is more commonly at three years of age. Females lay up to 200,000 sticky eggs each amid vegetation. There is no parental care.
Where is the golden shiner fish from?
Plagyrus americanus Cope, 1865. Notemigonus ischanus Jordan, 1877. The golden shiner ( Notemigonus crysoleucas) is a cyprinid fish native to eastern North America. It is the sole member of its genus. Much used as a bait fish, it is probably the most widely pond-cultured fish in the United States.
What distinguishes a golden shiner from a minnow?
Two characteristics can distinguish the golden shiner from all other minnows: (1) the lateral line has a pronounced downward curve, with its lowest point just above the pelvic fins; and (2) there is a fleshy keel lacking scales on the belly between the pelvic fins and the base of the anal fin.
What fish eat shiners?
Just about anything that swims eats shiners. Walleye, catfish, bullheads, pike, chain pickerel, bass, striped bass, yellow perch, crappie, and trout will readily eat shiners if they are present. As such, shiners are an excellent live or dead bait option if legal in your state or local waterway. In this article, I will present as much information as ...
What hook do you use for shiners?
There are a number of ways to rigging a shiner on a hook. I would strongly recommend a standard bait hook or octopus hook when fishing with shiners for most species. For catfish, though, go with a circle hook. For 3-inch shiners, a 1 to 4/0 hook is ideal. For shiners in the 8-10” range, go with a 5/0 or 6/0 hook.
How big of a shiner to use as walleye bait?
A great size range of shiner for use as walleye bait is between 3-5 inches. Walleye usually won’t mess with any bait much larger than 5 inches.
What fish are good for striped bass?
Striped bass are often hybridized with white bass to produce what is referred to as “wipers”. To fish for striped bass or wipers with shiners, any sized shiner will do but for truly large stripers, go with golden shiners greater than 6 inches. 4. Walleye. Walleye are a prime predator of shiners.
How big do shiners get?
Feeding on insect larvae and zooplankton, shiners are commonly less than 3 inches in length with some golden shiners reaching up to 10 inches in length. Because of their small size, abundance, and protein-content, shiners are a key food source for many gamefish.
How to hook a shiner?
For shiners in the 8-10” range, go with a 5/0 or 6/0 hook. There are 3 ways to hook the shiner. Through just the lower lip for the healthiest baitfish but most challenging to cast with. You could hook through both the top and bottom lip which is better for casting but a little worse for the health of the baitfish.
Do smallmouth bass eat shiners?
Smallmouth bass will also readily consume shiners. Since they have a much smaller mouth than largemouth bass, focus on shiners under 4 inches in length. Smallmouth bass frequent many of the same habitat-types as largemouth (under docks, weed lines, submerged timber) but to really have some exciting smallmouth fishing, drop shiners near rocks and underwater boulders. Bass will be here chasing baitfish and crayfish between the rocks.
Pondboss16
i trapped some shiners out of a pond to keep in a livable to use as bait in the future. does anyone have any experience with this? also what do they eat?!
lmbfisherman
Using these shiners for future bait maybe illegal, you should double check the regulations. Around here you need a license to breed baitfish and use as bait. Further you may cause harm to the waterways you fish if your shiners have a disease/sickness.
Comfortably Numb
I doubt they will breed in captivity. You also would need big tanks and lots of filtration and water changes. As said. Very illegal.
everythingthatswims
I doubt they will breed in captivity. You also would need big tanks and lots of filtration and water changes. As said. Very illegal.
Pondboss16
Checked regulations, I'm good the minnows were trapped out of my personal pond as well. Those suckers make a good bait for picky bass, just gonna play it by ear and see if they breed
What can I add to my water to make it slime?
There are many different products that you can add to the water. A few examples include chemicals that remove chlorine from tap water, conditioner, antifungal, and antibacterial agents, electrolyte boosts, and stress-reducing mixes that increase the minnows slime coat.
What baitfish should I use for a fathead minnow?
Not just your common Fathead Minnow or Shiner. This rule applies to Gizzard Shad, Threadfin Shad, and other fragile baitfish but also to more hardy and tolerant options like Suckers, Common Carp, and Bluegill. Freshness is the key to success. This is always the case.
Overview
Diet
Golden shiners are omnivorous and crepuscular planktivores. They eat zooplankton, phytoplankton, microcrustaceans, insects, plants, and algae. They can feed at the surface, in mid-water, or at the bottom. They can locate prey visually, or filter-feed on high-density zooplankton without resorting to visual cues. They are themselves food for all manner of game fish such as trout and bass, hence their popularity as bait fish.
Taxonomy
It is the only North American member of the largely Eurasian subfamily Leuciscinae.
Description
Though it has been known to reach lengths of 30 cm (12 in), in the wild the golden shiner is usually between 7.5 and 12.5 cm (3.0 and 4.9 in) long. The body is laterally compressed (deep-bodied). The back is dark green or olive, and the belly is a silvery white. The sides are silver in smaller individuals, but golden in larger ones. There can be a faint dusky stripe along the sides. The anal fin is large and has 8-19 rays, while the dorsal fin comprises almost always 8 rays. Scal…
Distribution
The golden shiner is found throughout the eastern half of North America, north to the St Lawrence River, Great Lakes, and Lake Winnipeg, and west to the Dakotas and Texas. Because of its use as bait, it has also been introduced in many places outside this native range.
Habitat
Golden shiners prefer quiet waters and are therefore found in lakes, ponds, sloughs, and ditches. They are sometimes found in the quietest parts of rivers. They like weedy areas. They are fairly tolerant of pollution, turbidity, and low oxygen content. They can also tolerate temperatures as high as 40 °C (104 °F), which is unusually high for a North American minnow.
Reproduction
In the southern parts of their range, golden shiners can start reproducing at one year of age; in Canada, first breeding is more commonly at three years of age. Females lay up to 200,000 sticky eggs each amid vegetation. There is no parental care. Occasionally, like a few other minnows, golden shiners can deposit their eggs in the occupied nests of pumpkinseed, largemouth bass or bowfin (the latter two can be predators of shiners). This behaviour is called egg dumping and res…
Behavior
Golden shiners live in large groups (shoals) that roam widely. Several laboratory studies have shown that the movements of a shoal can be determined by a minority of individuals at the front of it. For example, an individual that knows when and where food is available within a large tank can lead many other fish to the right place at the right time of day. If all fish have similar knowledge, there is still a tendency for some individuals to be found always at the front of a mov…