QA: Thanks for helping us with your real world experience on what plants did best in presence of crayfish. I like the pictures and blossom color of the pickerel weed. I have no idea if it will survive our MI winters but where can one find some and how do you get it started? Does it have to plant in a certain depth of soil? In a basket suspended or in the ground?

I know of a ditch on the side of the road that stays wet that has some skunk cabbage in it. Might try a transplant.

The only vegetation I have period is FA (I know probably not officially a plant) and several 'sedge' varieties and a taller probably rush type plant. I did get some plants that had burrs on it that I think are Beggars-ticks (bidens pilosa) or something similar. These spindly bushes are mostly above the water so they really don't add any underwater refuge but have cool purple colored tips in the fall and I was so happy to see SOMETHING grow that I just let them be.

Looking for other low growing, shallow water 'crops' for the tiny fry but not spreading/floating all over