I don't see why you couldn't do it that way. I usually put mine in individual small containers as they aren't moving around that much. I keep mine in the garage from about mid Nov until early Feb. The temp varies but is usually between 50 and 60. I never lost any and they eat great after a week or so in normal temps. I kept a small snapper in Maine in water closer to 35 to 40 degrees and he did fine.