Raising Minnows for your ducks?

[BlessedChaosHomestead]

Has anyone started raising minnows in an effort to give them a better diet & reduce feed cost?

I’m looking into it, but unsure if anyone has done it before. (Yes it won’t be solely their food.)
We have 2 runner ducks & would like a few more.

Any tips? Advice??

Thanks!

 

[Chikenshiken]

Hi! I keep fish as a hobby and if we’re talking about raising them in a tank it’s quite simple and most fish like minnows will breed on their own. (Not really sure about minnows specifically but I know some fish need plants to lay their eggs in since they might eat them but not sure but I know eating babies is common in guppies )Online sources say that for every 1 minnow they should have 2 gallons of space. So if you want to start maybe a 20-30 gallon tank? You can use a sponge filter with an air pump for simple filtration and the tank can be bare if they are just feeder fish. For keeping them alive you just have to make sure water parameters/water quality is stable. You should look up some YouTube videos on setting up a tank since it’s a bit “ complicated “ at first. It really is just setting up the bacteria in the tank to break down the ammonia into nitrates which you will then change the water to rid of. Without the nitrate cycle fish won’t survive at all in a tank so it’s something you should look into first so that you can cycle the tank for about a week or two for the bacteria to grow. After that, it’s just giving the fish time to breed and changing the water every week! Good luck on keeping minnows if you decide to move forward!

 

[cheezenkwackers]

I have Blue Tilapia in a couple aquaponics systems. Last year, they gave me many babies so I set up a grow out tank in a cattle water trough outside. I took several of the smallest ones (1-2 inches), and put them in the ducks pools. The fish lived for over a month, even when the water got poopy. My ducks had no interest in the fish. I even tried giving them fish who were barely alive in case they couldn't catch them. Mine would not touch them.

 

[BlessedChaosHomestead]

Hi! I keep fish as a hobby and if we’re talking about raising them in a tank it’s quite simple and most fish like minnows will breed on their own. (Not really sure about minnows specifically but I know some fish need plants to lay their eggs in since they might eat them but not sure but I know eating babies is common in guppies )Online sources say that for every 1 minnow they should have 2 gallons of space. So if you want to start maybe a 20-30 gallon tank? You can use a sponge filter with an air pump for simple filtration and the tank can be bare if they are just feeder fish. For keeping them alive you just have to make sure water parameters/water quality is stable. You should look up some YouTube videos on setting up a tank since it’s a bit “ complicated “ at first. It really is just setting up the bacteria in the tank to break down the ammonia into nitrates which you will then change the water to rid of. Without the nitrate cycle fish won’t survive at all in a tank so it’s something you should look into first so that you can cycle the tank for about a week or two for the bacteria to grow. After that, it’s just giving the fish time to breed and changing the water every week! Good luck on keeping minnows if you decide to move forward!

Thank you for the tips.
I appreciate it.

 

[BlessedChaosHomestead]

I have Blue Tilapia in a couple aquaponics systems. Last year, they gave me many babies so I set up a grow out tank in a cattle water trough outside. I took several of the smallest ones (1-2 inches), and put them in the ducks pools. The fish lived for over a month, even when the water got poopy. My ducks had no interest in the fish. I even tried giving them fish who were barely alive in case they couldn't catch them. Mine would not touch them.

My ducks loved them when they were younger & my chickens did too. lol

 

[telandra2]

I have a pond full of 100 15cent feeder goldfish they didn't eat, although they did eat them from a waterdish. Lazy birds. Goldfish might be an easier (cheaper?) choice than minnows.

 

[bhaugh]

I had mollies last year in an outdoor pond I fed to my chickens. They loved them