eel storage question
 

Hey guys, I have the keep cool eel bucket thing and I just can't stay on top of the ice enough because my eels tend to die after say, 4 days, which I guess isn't bad. But I want to keep them alive for like a week or more, so I need to get some kind of a tank. I did a search and it seems like a lot of you guys use a 55 gallon drum with an aerator, but that seems like overkill for my purposes. I only want to keep like a dozen alive at at time. So my question is, could I get like a rubbermaid storage bin type thing and just fill that with water and put an aerator in there? can something like that support water being in it all the time or will it break or something? any other ideas are welcome....

Here's what I did:

Get two rubbermade type storage bins (get the same size so they fit together, and ones with a tight fitting lid)

Drill a bunch of holes in the bottom of one of them

Put the one with the holes inside the one without

Drill some holes in the cover (one large enought to put the hose from the aerator through)

You'll be able to lift the bin with the holes and kind of put it back in crooked to allow the water to drain so you can easily grab the eels.

Change the water once every two or three days and add ice (I keep mine next to by freezer in the basement and fill old two liter bottles with water and rotate them between the freezer and tank). Keep them in a cool place, like the basement, and you'll need less ice.

It works pretty good. I pretty much copied Canalman's setup and made some changes to fit better in my fishing room.

that will definitely work.:btu: :btu:

I did a similiar thing, but i added a aquarium filter. I get 2 dozen eels to last a week between water changes.

Easy way. Aquarium pump with 2 outputs for hoses. 1 or 2 5gallon buckets with holes in lids. Dozen in 1 bucket, dozen in other, you can divide by size of eels. Run hose thru hole in lid into bucket with stone. Same for other bucket, or put both hoses in 1 bucket. Change water accordingly, I usually do once per day to keep smell and temp down. Should run about 15$ for setup.

thanks a bunch for the info guys. I think I'm gonna try that storage bin route

Use Block ice instead of cube...it lasts longer. I take a big tupperware container, fill it with water and stick it in th freezer. once a day is all I need to do to add the ice to the bucket.

You saw the snakes i had last friday...they were alive over a week doing that and they were still very lively. make sure you keep them in a cool shaded area too.

Hey Kevin, I actually did that block of ice thing, just as you described it and I think it didn't melt fast enough or something because they still died! maybe my bucket is f'd up or something but I can't figure it out.

cooler....water.....aqaurium pump

50-75 eels at the house at all times


change the water once a week

Make sure you drill a LOT of holes, especially near the edges in the bucket the eels sit in. I've seen a lot of bucket set ups that just don't drain enough. There's often still enough slime to weaken and kill the eels. I usually throw some bubbleweed in there too and I've been able to keep the serpents alive for 3+ weeks.

Thats a big @$$ cooler...

What Pete G said, holes to the side, and seaweed to keep the moist! I have had up to 2 doz alive for a week+

Take a bucket with a screw on cover,
Drill holes in cover, bucket, and bottom
Find a local pond or stream
Add a rock or brick for weight
submerge in pond or stream
Tie a rope to the bucket and a tree branch
Eels will live for a long time
But they will starve to death

I use to use a keg bucket, I think it was like a 25 gallon container,for aeration I use a Fluval 303 canister "biological/mechanical filter" & a 700 Natural life air pump.With the two of these I was able to keep 2-3 dozon of eels alive w/ 1 water change a week w/ minimal casualties.
On hot days I would put the filter in a cooler and packed it w/ ice then wrapped the cooler in a thick wool blanket I also wrapped the bucket in R-13 insulation,now looking back I should of kept the whole contraption in the basement.
Don't forget if one eels dies you gotta get it out of the tank cause it'll break down quickly release toxins & slowly kill the rest.

I had a pic of my old set up,I couldn't find it,sorry.


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man these are some great ideas. i'd love to see some pics. of the set-ups. i've got the one bucket dying everyday set-up going:hs: ....

Power heads with a foam filter are killer too. You get water movement, airation and bilogical filtration all in one.

Holy crap!I found the pic:wiggle:This pic is a few years old @ the time it worked for me.

Chef,I agree 100% a Power head is very effective as well I use to use one on my new live well but after a couple of years it chit the bed.
BTWHope this helps.


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