I've been watching my little ghost shrimp (hereafter referred to simply as "shrimp") for over a year now, hoping I could get them established in my pond. Well, I guess I did it. The last 2-3 times I did a dip net survey, I could catch up to 10 of them in a single swipe. Now I have another layer of reliable forage for my BG, BC, RES, and small LMB.

I originally dip netted the snappy little crustaceans at a friend's lake, as I have never heard of a fish supplier that carries them. I managed to catch about 150 of them in 3 hours of netting and sweating. I released the shrimp in 1 grassy spot 16 months ago (March 2007). A week or 2 later, I was netting them all around the pond, and delighted they were migrating. Later last summer, they all but vanished. It was touch and go, because some surveys I would not catch a single shrimp. In late 2007 to early this year, I would net an occasional shrimp, so I kept hoping they would multiply. Around March of this year I began catching more. By late spring, I began catching lots of them, and many were carrying eggs. By early July, I began catching many more, most of which were thread-like babies. The babies are now about 1/2" long, and the adults are just over 1" long and stocky. Many are carrying eggs, so I guess I'm in a shrimp population explosion.

I became obsessed with shrimp many years ago from fishing in many ponds and lakes. It may be my imagination, but it seems to me that wherever there were shrimp, the fish were abundant and healthy. I've been netting and using shrimp for bait since I was a kid, and they have never failed me. That made me badly want to stock them as a ready and reliable source of bait for my pond. I believe shrimp snack on grass and weeds, and I'm almost 100% certain they eat FA. That's just 1 more reason they are a welcome addition to my pond. I certainly can't think of a down side to the little critters. If anyone can, please give me a heads up.

A few days ago, the wife and I decided it was time to start using our shrimp for bait. The fish haven't been biting very well in the recent hot days, but we managed to catch a few 6-7" BG and a nice 7" blacknose crappie. That was the first crappie I have caught or even seen since stocking them 8 months ago (Halloween day, 2007). I have always been partial to shrimp as BG and crappie bait on my fly rod. Over the years, I've caught some pretty nice slab WC/BC using shrimp, and also caught bass up to 3 pounds. Can't wait until this winter for some crappie and bass fishing on those occasional warm sunny days we have from mid January to early March. I'm also thinking they will be killer RES bait, but don't know yet.

About my RES...although I have netted a couple of 4-5" range, I have never caught the first one on hook and line. I guess they're in there, because I had a snail infestation that cleared up suddenly. I'm hopeful that I can get some hot RES action on shrimp next spring.

Wish I had some pics, but I didn't bring my camera. Just picture a guy with a big grin, palming a transparent little shrimp in 1 hand and a crappie in the other.

great post bobad...

Great job !! Persistence pays off once again. -

Nice!

I happen to burn I-10 up between H-town and small town Miss. I may just have to detour to 190 and scoop up a few. I also have been pineing for some fresh water shrimps. Can I get some in the ditches?

Burg, I'm only 30 minutes from I-10 where it passes through Crowley. You're certainly welcome to come by and grab some shrimp. They wear about like fatheads, so if you bring a small aerator or O2 tablets, it shouldn't be a problem. PM me and give me ~24h heads up.

It's remarkable the shrimp are doing so well. All the showers and plankton bloom are keeping my pond murky, and this keeps the weeds, grass, and FA from growing and providing cover. It also makes the shrimp very easy to net.

Bobad,
grass shrimp seem to do better with a little salt in the water (and calcium), RES like salt too and most fish will resist bacterial skin diseases in slightly brackish water. You'd be surprised how much salt you can add and still not be mid-way to ocean brine water. If you try this, get an inexpensive salt meter from an aquarium store. RES LOVE grass shrimp and crayfish as much as they like snails. Must be that nice cruncy texture. My big indoor tank RES would put on these intense shrimp chases, sometimes they would pop out of the 150 gal rubbermaid onto my floor! Boy, that bream could strike with speed! He would grill 'em into the gravel in the bottom like a rattle snake on top of a pinky mouse hopping along smooth sand! Hope to hear about your using the shrimp as RES bait. When my pond fills, I hope to stock the transparent little shrimp as well. Thanks Bobad, for the encouraging report.

http://liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=1075+1468&pcatid=1468

been considering a 100x pack of these for my pond

Is 68 deg the min. temp. for these shrimp?

Grass shrimp will pretty easily tolerate water temps down to 40F and 39F. I'm not sure about temps lower than 39F. IN winter grass shrimp may see refuge in the loose bottom materials where water temps are slightly higher that those of the overlying water column.

I've already added some salt, and plenty of lime. I'll add another pound of salt every time I make homemade icecream.

I've seen ponds that were so thick with grass shrimp that 1 sweep with a dip net would get enough bait for an hour. They sure make great bait. I have observed BG and crappie slowly patrolling the weeds, straining their eyes and occasionally sucking in a shrimp. I was thinking exactly what you said, that RES would love shrimp.

Wow, .79 apiece? I'm in the wrong business!

Seriously, about 100 in a weedy or grassy area should turn into 1000's within a couple of months, and 10's of 1000's in a year, so I guess it's well worth it.

Does anyone know how far north these shrimp will survive? Will they eat eggs and fry like crayfish? If they will survive in 40-39 degree water then they should make it through the winter in my pond. IIRC LMB can't survive temps much cooler than 39 and they seem to do just fine over the winter.

Brett,

I read somewhere they survive in NY State, and we know from a recent post they inhabit one of the Great Lakes.

No worries about them eating fry. I would be very surprised if they venture out to bare spawning beds. They taste delicious, and their only defense is camouflage and that little matrix move they do. I suppose that makes them real paranoid.

We have freshwater shrimp up by Albany, NY (cold winters). I only seem them in ponds with heavy weeds around the edge (like thick Chara or elodea weeds, not lillies or cattails). I assume this is the only way they can survive predation

I received 2 packs of these last Thursday. There was a tiny gold fish in one bag so I decided to remove the shrimp by hand & therefor counted them. 77 in one bag & 86 in the other. They claim 85 - 100 per pack.
There were only 1 or 2 dead & it looked like they were dead when put in the bag.
I hope they make it & flourish.

Rick,

That's plenty enough to get you started. If you have any weeds/grass around the banks, they'll do just fine. Mine made it with hardly any cover. Their bodies are so clear that I think it takes the fish a long time to learn to hunt for them. By the time they have learned, the shrimp have a head start on establishing themselves.

If you needed to, it seems like you could corral off an area of submerged veg for a couple months and let the shrimp get a nice foothold...big enough for the adults to move out of, but too small for the fish to move in. If you needed to, you could even feed them at this point...

Hey guys I am intrested in adding gams and ghost shrimp to my new pond. I will stock it with some CNBG in about a month, so should I get them in now or is the water already cold enough I should wait to add them until next spring? any thoughts? My new pond has large areas of grass for them to hide.