Are these a required thing for livewells or just something else to help fish survive?

Thanks.
Joe

It supplies O2 to the water which sustains life when need be......

Not required at all. Depending on which camp your in, they don't work as advertised. They don't put 02 into the water, they just make bubbles.

They are neither required, nor are they effective. Wasted money, IMO.

Spend the money on a thermometer for the livewell. Even a $10 pool floating thermometer is adequate. Add frozen water/soda bottles during hot months. Seventy is a nice temp, but don't drop it more than 30 degrees of what the lake is.

Anybody ever use one who thinks they don't work?
I used the smallest one for a couple years and IMO it worked noticeably better than without it.
In the hottest days of summer I could keep a bunch of sandies happy for half a day with it. Without it and running the livewell constantly, a single venturi system, some would die.

I have changed over to a oxygen tank since but don't fish tournaments anymore so I rarely even use that.

Saying they don't work? I wouldn't.

Not required and will kill fish from saline lakes, like Squaw.

You have made what science calls anecdotal observations. You really didn't measure definitive change or cause. TPWD, on the other hand, measured the oxygen saturation level in a livewell (with no fish in it), and found a negligible change in the oxygen level. Running dual aerators full time made a greater difference. So, does it increase oxygen? Yep, it does....but so little one would ponder "why bother?"

have been using this for about 15 yrs now and have not lost a fish due to bad livewell water since. they work and are less than 40.00
how long do fish live in an aquarium with out the bubbler on?


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