Pond Boss Forums STOCKING A NEW POND Types of fish to choose Finally pulled the trigger!

Most of the invertebrate community arrives by Nature's natural processes either by winged adults, water transfer, or all pond visitors. It can be good to add some critters such as crayfish. It is very hard to get crayfish established by stocking them into an existing fishery due to intense predation. Abundant shoreline shallow cover such as lengthy rocky shorelines is needed for crayfish to thrive.

I prefer the papershell crayfish also known as calico crayfish if those are native to your region. Look up crayfish endemic (naturally occurring) in your state. Then choose one from that list. IMO the genus Orconectes is best for pond dwelling. Another common crayfish in the midwest and north is the northern crayfish technical name Orconectes virile. The northern specie grows bigger and is more aggressive compared to the papershells all have pros & cons. Bigger more southern crayfish are white river and red swamp crayfishes.