I was poking around for a source for grass shrimp as I’m trying to learn as much as possible about them including where to buy, where to catch, how to catch, etc. and I ran across this site that I found interesting and thought you might, too.
Would red cherry shrimp survive and breed in my 1/4 BG pond year round and serve as live forage? Everything I can find sounds like they might very well thrive there. If so, I might consider buying an aquarium and breeding a ton!
I would not use ornamental cherry grass shrimp in your pond for 3 reasons. 1. They are endemic to China and in the USA wild habitat they would be considered an invasive species as they are considered a problem in Japan. That is just what you need is to be known as the one the US Fish & Wildlife Service arrested for releasing an exotic invasive species in TX waters. 2. Your pond is new and the habitat at this point is not right for their survival. so if you buy them the money would be better spent on other native invertebrates or establishment of better habitat in the pond for future introduction of grass shrimp. Always create the habitat first then add the organism. . 3. These cherry shrimp have red pigment and would not survive nearly as well as native grass shrimp that are essentially clear bodied and make survival of brood stock more likely to survive for the next year's crop of shrimp to feed BG. See them in the videos. You will need lots of dense forms of habitat for even the clear bodied native grass shrimp to survive year to year. With a dense population of BG and lack of submerged weed beds it is unlikely you will be able to get native grass shrimp to thrive in a pond with real abundant BG predation. Look at the type of habitat that is present for those on YouTube collecting grass shrimp. They call them grass shrimp for a reason - they live in weedy, grassy shallow water. Most pond owners will not tolerate the grassy weedy conditions that are required to produce lots of grass shrimp. IMO you need a wetland type of habitat or a shallow weedy bay for the best growing of grass shrimp. When you find the right grassy habitat you can catch lots of grass shrimp pretty quickly for stocking into your pond. There has to be bait shops in TX, MS and LA that sell grass shrimp for fishing bait. But if the habitat is not right for them it is like putting quail in open bare fields - poor if any survival. If you buy them on the internet they are not cheap. It is almost worth your time to take a day or weekend trip to collect your own shrimp for pond stocking.
Hornwort is also known as coontail. Coontail is a good plant for raising grass shrimp but you don't want coontail in your pond because it is rampant and spreads like fire. Plus it is difficult to control once it gets established in a pond. IMO it is a nuisance when in a fishery.
