Give me some basic information on fathead minnows?

Question

me and my friend maggi were at stewarts with some friends and we saw a bate store across the street and for some reason we went in there and we saw a bunch of fat head minnows all cramed in one bin type thing. we felt really bad for them so we got a dozen for $1.45 of course we werent gonna use them as bate we dont fish. we set eight free in the lake that i practically live on and we kept 4. i know nothing about them. idk what they eat, i dont know how big of a tank they need, idk how to tell if they're boys or girls, idk how big they get. please give me all the information you know.

Answer 1

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fathead_min...

that should give you a start

Answer 2

The Pimephales promelas promelas, or Fathead Minnow, may grow to 100 mm (3.9 in.), and feeds primarily on a diet of small invertebrates. You may be able to feed them with regular fish flakes, or small pieces of bread. A breeding male will have wide purplish bars encircling their entire body. They are very tolerant to varying water conditions, but not so of competing species of fish. They are one of the hardier baitfish one can buy, but they aren't very interesting. If you decide down the road that you want to get more bait fish for the tank, try such ones as the Central Mudminnow, Mottled Sculpin, or one of the darter family.

Answer 3

Fathead minnow (Pimephales promelas)

Insert Picture #2 Fathead minnow

The fathead minnow has a cylindrically-shaped body, small scales and dull color. It has a light, dusky stripe along the midside from the head to the base of the caudal fin. The lateral line is incomplete.

Adult males grow larger than females. This characteristic may create a problem if a mechanical grader is used to select broodstock. Grading for large fish may result in a greater population of males. Breeding males develop dark coloration about the head and may exhibit dark vertical bands on their body. Numerous horn-like projections, called breeding tubercles, develop on the head of adult males during the breeding season. A pad also forms on the back just behind the head. This pad is used to prepare the nest site and care for the eggs. Sexual maturity is reached at one year of age.

Answer 4

they eat soil or compost

they are all males

they get about 5cm big

and they love water

Answer 5

I had looked into this because I had considered breeding them for use as bait fish and I found a really good site that showed how to set the aquarium up and what they ate.

http://aqualandpetsplus.com/Live%20Food,...

This site should help you a lot. But be careful, they multiply pretty easily.