THE ONLY SPECIES THAT WILL DO WELL IN PONDS OUTSIDE OF THE FAR SOUTH(think Florida and coastal areas up to southern SC) IS Palaemonetes kadiakensis. Or as we call them, PK shrimp.
Other species like Pugio can live in freshwater but need brackish water to spawn. Paludosus can live and reproduce in freshwater, but cannot tolerate winter temps where any ice over occurs.
Grass shrimp are in my opinion the most under utilized forage in ponds. They should be stocked in ponds just like FHM. In every pond right in the beginning! They turn detritus(rotting organic matter) into high quality fish food! I can think of NO downside to having them in a pond. Only positives... How can you go wrong? At $0.25 a piece and $35 shipping, you could purchase 200 for $85. That'll be the best $85 you spend on your pond! If you have a new pond and are just looking to stock it, these are a MUST in my opinion. If you have an established pond with areas of vegetation for the shrimp to take cover in, they're worth the investment as well.
I was down at my pond this evening and observed several grass shrimp cruising in the shallows. I was excited as this was the first time I had seen grass shrimp since the spring thaw. I can run a seine in the shallows in mid summer and when it comes up, it literally moves there are so many shrimp coming up. All those shrimp are pure fish food. YOY game fish feed on them, BG, YP, crappies... You name it, feeds on them. They make unbelievable bait as well.
TJ and I first bought our shrimp from Fattig after a lot of searching and work and we've had them since 2009. Fattig treated me right and every other person who has ordered from them, I've yet to hear a complaint. I know $0.25 per shrimp seems expensive but in a new pond, just 100-200 is all it would take to establish them. For a pond with an established fish community, as long as you had some areas of submerged aquatic vegetation, I think you can still get them established.
