Why do live anchovies start to die once they're put in a bucket?

When I go out on a charter boat to fish in the SF bay or the ocean, they stock up on a large amount of live anchovies. They seem to do fine when they are in the live-well, but once they are put in buckets for use as bait, they start to weaken and eventually die. Why does that happen? What is different about the bucket and the live-well for the bait?

Why do live anchovies start to die once they're put in a bucket?

It's the oxygen. A bucket of water only has so much oxygen in it. If you put 3-4 anchovies in a 3-gallon bucket they'll use up the oxygen in about 5-10 minutes. The bait tanks on the boat are constantly pumping fresh seawater through the tanks -- fast enough to completely change the water in under 10 minutes.

There are pocket-sized aerators I've seen used which can keep a bucket of anchovies alive for long periods. I remember once as a kid seeing guys go to the old Monstad pier at Redondo with a 20-gallon ice-chest equipped with an aerator, buy a few dozen anchovies, and roll the ice-chest a quarter mile to the little pier inside the harbor, where there were bonito, but no live bait. They used those baits for an hour or more while the rest of us were stuck with frozen anchovies and ineffective lures. They caught fish, we didn't.

That being said, at least the southern California boats have small (6" by 18" by 3 inches deep or so) handwells on the sides of the bait tanks, and anchovies (or sardines or whatever baitfish) can live in them for hours. We don't put baits in buckets, we take them straight out of the handwells and pin them on the hook.

Why do live anchovies start to die once they're put in a bucket?

The live well keeps baitfish fresh and alive. Flow-through systems (versus recirculating) replenish fresh, oxygen-rich water and eliminate harmful waste buildup

Why do live anchovies start to die once they're put in a bucket?

Hey I fish s.f bay and the farrallons alot. Anchovies need alot of circulated water.

Why do live anchovies start to die once they're put in a bucket?

try to put some sea-weed in the bucket. it should block out the sun, filter the water, and add in some oxygen

Why do live anchovies start to die once they're put in a bucket?

Very simple ~ movement of water = aeration which supplies oxygen to them ;)...

Why do live anchovies start to die once they're put in a bucket?

The answer is probably either a decreased oxygen level , a change in water temperature, or when they were transfered their slime layer was damaged. An oxygenated and cooled bait bucket may solve this. or try some icecubes(noncloronated water). There are some water additives for bait available commercially to help maintain their slime layer in captivity.