Pond Boss Forums STOCKING A NEW POND Raising Forage and Bait Ghost Shrimp

Just wanted to pass along a success story (need those to keep trucking sometimes)

Last summer I stocked a 1/4 acre bait pond with Mississippi Ghost Shrimp. All I could get my hands on were 200 shrimp. I stocked them and crossed my fingers. After stocking I saw no sign of them whatsoever. I was sure they were dead so I stocked a few hundred bluegill to raise as breeders for larger lake. We had a really hard winter and the pond froze with about 2” of ice across the whole thing.

Had the shocking boat at the big lake today and decided to check it and see what was going on. Fired it up and the water was boiling with shrimp! Hundreds of thousands of shrimp would be my conservative estimate. We transferred a couple thousand to lake and are hoping they will do the same thing.

YES YES hear hear for positive stories!

SO you put the shrimp in a 1/4acre pond. Do you know what type of shrimp? Were they cold water tolerate shrimp?

The shocking boat was in the big lake right? So how did firing up the water cause boiling of shrimp in the big lake? How did they get in the big lake? Did you sample the small 1/4 acre bait pond or did you stock some in the big lake?

Pictures, we love pictures

I have been reading about shrimp on here, and thought they looked familiar. I am part owner of a large wetland complex in MO that we regularly get flooded by the river and inundated by the large CORPs lake just downstream (they have flowage easement).

We try to drain the place every spring and the bar ditches seethe with life after the water is mostly gone. Last weekend I was able to catch several of these critters with every swipe of a dip net. Are these ghost/PK/Mississippi shrimp?

I may transfer some to my new pond but I'm a bit leery after reading they tend to stir up the bottom. I already have clay turbidity issues.

Went back and reread... wasn’t very clear. We shocked both bodies of water separately. All the shrimp were in bait pond but I moved a bunch today.

They are PK Ghost Shrimp, look just like the ones in your hand.

They do stir up the water a bit, but also seem to keep FA down, might be uncorreated though. We don’t have turbidity issues but the bait is more stirred up than lake.

I'm afraid you can't ID the different types of ghost shrimp by that picture above. The 'pet store' shrimp are not PK shrimp and do not survive in cold water conditions. If your BOW temps get into the 40s or gets skins of ice in the winter and the ghost shrimp have survived that then they probably ARE cold tolerant PK shrimp. Others have tested by taking a handful of shrimp and putting them in your pond water in the fridge overnight and seeing how they survive it.

If a bunch of you can keep a teeming population going there are many on the forum who suddenly would want to exchange email addresses with you!

I'm not sure if ghost shrimp can stir up a pond or not. It seems like their weight and activity would not make them as likely to do so compared to fish or crayfish.

Is 8" inches ice enough? Those bugs pictured above came from this 80 acre, ~2 foot deep "pond":

So true canyoncreek redonthehead has not realized he is setting on a goldmine lol. Not sure it would be worth the effort but lots and lots of folks here would like some of those cold tolerant shrimp I bet. I would love to have some that size in my pond. May need to be HEAT tolerant here lol

A goldmine, eh? Perhaps a retirement project. Seriously though, if anyone wants to drive to Clinton, MO I'd be happy to watch you splash around in the mud gathering enough shrimp for a feast!

You guys have convinced me to transplant some into my FHM pond.

I'd be interested in some PK Shrimp, but I'm not so sure about tromping around in shallow muddy waters this time of year...snakes!

Red, If you get to harvesting some, let me know. I could assist and/or buy some. I live near enough to Clinton.

you are a lucky duck Red... I hear they are highly sought after as a great beat for panfishing as well. If you have any enterprising kids or grandkids they can have a roadside bait stand!

I too would love to see if I can get a growout tank or something going to see if I can keep a population alive. I do not have enough cover now to just throw them in the pond and expect them to survive. I do have tons of oak leaves they can crawl under but I think I need more vegetation.

Add-on to this post - I too stocked ghost shrimp in my pond - I'd guess 4-5 years ago. I believe I'm a bit further north that redonthehead is and I can tell you mine took off like gangbusters and are all over my pond now. Just running a dip net through the weeds along the shallows in warm temps will net you a dozen or more every time. And my pond was frozen better than a foot thick last year. So there's definitely a species that does fine in climates that turn cold.

If I remember correctly, pioneering fishery biologist Dr Swingle found that PK shrimp definitely improved BG size & population. Hopefully my newly stocked PK will do the same!

dlowrance, good to hear from you again! Any chance that I could reward one of you to help set up some type of opportunity for other pondboss members to get some of these sought after shrimp?

PM me if you think that is an option. I know I have asked SetterGuy next time he is at the pond to see if he can find PK shrimp in his missouri pond too.

Canyon I shot you a PM

I will add this old thread just so anyone looking for information on PK shrimp will have the link.

old PK shrimp thread

Note pp 18 - 20 of http://www.nativefishlab.net/library/textpdf/15116.pdf

PK shrimp added over 50 percent to total BG biomass. Chara plus shrimp was particularly productive.

Just chiming in here as another interested party for Missouri PK shrimp. We have a ton of chara.

Interesting that PK shrimp worked well with chara, but not nitella, which looks so similar.

You know, this might be a feature rather than a (pardon the pun) bug. BOW that are too clear, like mine, could use some more turbidity. Keeps plants in check, probably adds fertility, and makes it harder for cormorants to find fish. Win-win-win!

Any updates on this? I believe PK do so well with Chara because of it's high calcium content. They need the calcium for their shells or exoskeleton if that's the right word.

That's what Bob Lusk said when I asked why PK did so much better with Chara than Nitella, even though they look almost identical. He also noted that that 50 percent increase in BG biomass with PK shrimp observed by Dr Swingle was in unfed pond. Artificial feeding would likely reduce PK positive effects somewhat, though they are still a plus.

I can help you local guys feel free to PM me anytime.

Yes, shrimp love chara!

So the shrimp will keep the chara under control? About a 1/3 of my pond will be fairly shallow, <6' with a gentle slope toward the shore into a marshy area at that end. Hoping to take advantage of that & maximize the food chain. Would like to set up the proper "ecosystem" to keep the pond healthy, should it have to go to long without human attention.

Would like to raise some shrimp to transplant to ponds. Was thinking of a 27 foot round grain bin ring. Berried 2.5 feet in ground with a liner put in it. Would they live and reproduce in it, without any air or up keep? Would need a bale of alfalfa put in for food. Would they need some dirt on bottom of tank? I put some in my 14 foot stock tank and they didn't live. I think water was to cold all year long. Would also like to try this with minnows. Anyone ever have success with this?