# Foam in my bait bucket!



## pierjunky (Dec 7, 2008)

Can anyone tell me why i get a bunch of foam on top the water in my bait bucket? I fish in saltwater. My setup is a 15 gallon bucket with a super saver pump with the jets. Im wondering why this happens, what i can do to fix it and does this hurt my bait at all???????


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## BentHook (Dec 22, 2002)

Foam on the surface of any water that is holding bait is harmful. This includes fish farm raceways, hauling truck tanks, holding vats, minnow tanks, live bait wells, and minnow buckets. Surface foam is created from any protein content in the water. Sources of protein may be fish slime, uneaten food, fecal matter, or decaying fish. Most waters holding bait tend to have foam problems at one time or another. It is vitally important that you remove this foam whenever present, to alleviate the possibility of large losses
Change your water every hour or so and this will also keep the water temp down in your bucket.


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## Kurt (Mar 29, 2011)

The foam is caused when the air bubbles from your pump bind with the proteins released from the fish waste, or bait loosing there slime coats. There are foam preventing agents out there but I find it easier to simply replace the water. If possible (not familiar with your pump) reduce the number of air bubbles so you push more water than air.

FYI - Anybody with a Saltwater fish tank would love to have this problem since one of the primary filter systems used is called a Protein Skimmer which works on the same principle.

Good Luck and Have Fun!


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## narfpoit (Jun 16, 2004)

you can add a little non-dairy powdered creamer and it will kill off the foam pretty quickly and the bait don't seem to mind.


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## pierjunky (Dec 7, 2008)

Really, use creamer? Thats interesting! My setup is a bilge pump suction cupped to the bottom with a hose running to the top of the tank with 2 short pieces of pvc with slits cut in them. The water shoots out of the slits into the bucket thus aerating the water. So what i should do is put the pvc closer to the water so not to push so much air? Or maybe just use one piece of pipe? The foam doesnt seem to hurt my bait too much, but i have noticed it affects shrimp more than baitfish.


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## Kurt (Mar 29, 2011)

Personally I would use the foam as a gauge to change out a gallon or two of the water. Not having any foam doesn't mean the water is free of proteins (which foul the water) it simply means you haven't made it visible with aeration. To answer your question, Yes the less aeration the less foam you will produce. Shrimp are less tolerant of proteins than many baitfish. It really comes down to keeping the water quality as high as possible to make the bait last throughout the day. I believe that you should continue to aerate as you currently are, because oxygenated water is crucial but simply skim off the foam and replace a gallon or two with fresh seawater every so often. As was mentioned above along with keeping the water quality high, water changes have the added benefit of keeping the temp in the bucket down. Shrimp tend to cook off pretty quick in the hot sun.

 Kurt


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## FishinMortician (Jun 19, 2007)

The bilge pump is heating up the water. You can slip some of those freezer packs down in there every so often to keep the water cooled. Even milk bottles with frozen water.....just don't add chlorinated ice. The cooler the water the easier it is on the bait. Much less stress. It also makes it easier to catch them. Avoid introducing sun screen into the water by using a net. Keep the container very clean in between trips. Finally, limiting the number of baits in the unit can also make a big difference.


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