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?

Nehunter,

Based on the documented work of others, I think you could grow 15,000 or more pk shrimp each year from such a set up. If you would like my recommendations for doing so, reach out by PM and I will share what I would do for a cell that size. Stock rate, fertilization, when to harvest etc.

Frank, I don't know if this is the reason, but Chara hosts a symbiotic periphitic nitrogen fixing cyanobacteria. This is true of all Chara species as far as I know. This adds enough nitrogen to rice paddies to produce rice indefinitely without fertilization. I think it may at least contribute to Chara's superiority over nitella.

After reading this and a few other threads on shrimp I am interested in seeing what dumping say 4k shrimp into my new 1.5 acre pond that is full of chara. I am interested to see if that number would do anything to the chara and to see what it would do for my BG and the young bass/crappie.

I have been hesitant about putting in other fish to take care of the chara (not sure i want to add the extra biomass in something i am not going to catch) and not really into putting chemicals in. They could do nothing for the chara but it would be interesting to see if they did. Also would love to pump up my BG as well.

Sounds like a good idea. If your water has enough calcium to support chara, the shrimp should do well.

if others can tell what chemistry is necessary for shrimp to do well that would help. I've tried stocking a few times and don't seem to have survivors. I'm wondering if my 'hardness' or calcium content could be remedied if that is the missing element.

Go for it, these are great forage and if you can get them to thrive there are many of us interested in learning and trying in our puddles at home.

If RedontheHead who posted above is still here on the forum, I wonder if he still can harvest PK shrimp easily and what insight or help he could be as well!

My father in laws cow wading mud hole I mean pond has lots of ghost shrimp. They are on the edges in the torpedo grass and some floating dollar weed. The only things the Nile tilapia won’t eat. I can run the net and catch several in a few minutes. The pond has a visibility of 0” and has Nile tilapia, and bluegill also some hoplo cats and the odd walking catfish. I honestly wonder if the poor visibility and high fertility (cow manure) helps them thrive and hide.

I am going to test my water as to have as much data as i can. Then in will go the shrimp. I imagine that they will do fine with the amount of chara i have. this farm pond has not had any love until i bought it, time to see what happens.

Who sells nothern PK shrimp?

I do, but having a tough time collecting.. been quite a challenge getting numbers up. Gets better as time goes by.

keep us posted Snipe! I'd love to be your customer and I'm starting to get a bit more vegetation so they might just survive this time. I have purchased PK shrimp on ebay but I know of no other reliable source unless other pondmeisters on this forum help each other out.

Snipe what makes it challenging to collect? Just separating them out from all the weeds that also get in the net?

Yes Snipe, please let us know when you have some numbers. I would love to try them!

I have river bulrush around 50% of my PK shrimp pond and they are way back in that stuff.
I have several patches a sago pondweed starting to grow in that pond so I think it's going to be ideal for continued production.
I'm finding that although I preach being patient, I'm somewhat impatient..

How are PK shrimp normally harvested? Can you bait them out of the weeds and into a trap?

If you can find a way to trap them, that will be very useful information for lots of PK shrimp followers. Using a sweep net among the weedy habitat is the only way that I know how to harvest them.

I stocked some years ago and they disappeared.. would like to try it again with scuds and grass shrimp. Any recommended sellers?

Bought mine from a fella on ebay that goes by "johns796" & is located in Lousiana. Nice guy & great communication. Shrimp were 10 to a double bag, 10 bags per box (I bought 100 shrimp). Bags encased in rockwool insulation, encased in styrofoam. 100 shrimp ran $100 shipped, shipping took 2 days & zero morts. Not cheap by any stretch, but the price per shrimp goes down as the quantity goes up.

Thanks CrazyCarl! tt look like he references them as PK shrimp and also Mississippi grass shrimp. Did they survive cold weather at your location? I'm in south central illinois. where is st. clair county mo?

Looks like St. Clair is a little further south than me; but not that much. We're about straight east of St. Louis.

PK shrimp are adapted to survive even in ponds with extended ice cover such as Dec to ice off in March. I am not sure about longer ice cover conditions. If the PK shrimp are not surviving after stocking then there are 2 very likely reasons. 1. Most Importantly NOT enough good habitat. They need dense finely divided weed cover as refuge and feeding areas. 2. Too many fish present that 'cherry pick' eat them.

IMO if you really want PK shrimp to survive, just put them in a pond with just minnows. Then you will have your own home grown source of minnows and PK shrimp. I am not sure how well PK shrimp would survive with just GSH. Someone needs to try this experiment and then habitat would be important to the outcome - success!. Minnow forage pond would not need to be big. IMO 30ftX30ft would be plenty big enough. I had an associate raise them in an aquarium. So a big tank with good water quality should work okay.

The larger species of Scuds (Gammarus fasciatus or G.lacustris) are a different growing story. They require cooler higher quality water than PK shrimp. Good luck trying to raise them in warm pond habitats.

Rangersedge,

I think the members that have grass shrimp populations that survive long term in their ponds frequently have some type of heavy plant cover in the shallow water edges to provide a safe haven.

You might want to search some grass shrimp threads to see if your pond has the necessary ingredients for success. Otherwise, they are just an expensive snack!

(I am not any type of grass shrimp expert, just going off of fuzzy memories from reading PB.)

I bought 100 PK from the LA ebay dude several years back. In spite of the crayfish and muskrats decimating the emergent vegetation
in my pond there is still a thriving population. I assume they're living in the 100+ cedar trees that I put in while the pond was filling.
I'm located smack in the middle of Misery.

PK=MS grass shrimp. They've only been in since late September, but with only FHM to share the pond with, I'm hoping to have a goodly population of 'em by the time RES & HBG go in in May, along with a good bit more vegetation for 'em to hide & procreate in.

ETA- their native range extends as far north as southern MN & NY. You should be good to go in IL.

A permanent wetland would be a good place to raise grass shrimp(GS) . Also a good idea would be to have a small wetland, nutrient sequestering, weedy area attached to the pond. Where I first collected my GS was in a 1/4 ac pond that was too weedy with coontail or milfoil to fish it. However GS were very abundant.

I have a large aquarium in my classroom that has no predators in it (bristlenose suckerfish only). I would thoroughly enjoy raising PK Shrimp over the winter just watch them and possibly see if I could get a breeding system going? If I could do that it would be nice to have a stock that I could add to a pond. Anyone have details on how to set this up and where to get PK shrimp for it? My initial thoughts would be to put some coontail in the aquarium (I have plenty of it) for the shrimp, better ideas?

Are you a science teacher, or just have an aquarium to calm the ADD type students?

I think showing all of the food chain in a micro-environment would be a great lesson for kids these days since this generation is out "on the land" even less than the immediately preceding generations.

Science. I use the bristlenose for punnett squares and genetics in the classroom. Keep a variety of traits (albino, brown, long fin, short fin, etc) in the breeding tank. Once the eggs hatch the kids figure who the parents are. Would be cool to add PK breeding into the mix.

Since you are in the public school system and maybe limited as to where you can purchase items see Carolina Biological.

https://www.carolina.com/freshwater-animals/ghost-shrimp-living-pack-of-12/142476.pr

Their ghost shrimp will be the PK shrimp aka Mississippi grass shrimp Palaemonetes kadiakensis,,, aka ghost shrimp, glass shrimp. Very similar anatomically to P. paludosus. It takes close examination of the rostrum to separate the two species. Carolina may know the species???? Maybe not? As noted they are also available in eBay.

https://www.ebay.com/sch/johns796/m...p;rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.m3561.l2562

Awesome usage, catscratch!


P.S. If you would like to add another aquarium, Petco has been selling their Aqueon line (basic) aquariums for 50% off most of the time this fall. I did pick up a large one for my wife's classroom.

Mods - please delete my postscript if it crosses the commercial promotion line. (I have no interest in either company.)

Thanks Bill Cody. I already use Carolina for disection specimens and planaria, might as well look at their shrimp too.

I'm not in the market for another aquarium fishinrod but I might look just to see if I'm tempted.

Thanks guys!

I am still searching for some PK shrimp myself here in NE Kansas. I wasn't aware the Mississippi Grass shrimp were the same species.

John, I emptied my small forage pond that shrimp were stocked into last year and to my surprise, maybe got 100-125 specimens out of it. Even full of river bullrush, arrowhead and sago pond weed.. Didn't see anything like what I had expected so I think there is far more to their survival and recruitment than I understand..

I can't tell you the find differences between the various species of PK shrimp. But some definitely are warm water only species and others are hardy under the ice. I would guess Snipes Kansas shrimp are the hardy type.

The ones sold by the Carolina supply house may NOT be.

Ghost/glass shrimp sold in pet food chain stores are not the desired shrimp for survival in freezing water.

Snipe, I'm shocked that that's all you could find! When I've come across them in the wild they were usually in thick stuff like chara or coon tail. I've even seen them in the thicks mats of moss. Unfortunately ever since I've wanted them in my pond I haven't come across any.

Distribution for grass shrimp - Palaemonetes kadiakensis. It lives wide ranging on both sides of the Mississippi Rv from the Gulf coast up through Ohio to northern Lake Erie and the southern 1/4 of Michigan. In Pennsylvania, where it is introduced, it was collected from areas with a mixture of eel grass (Vallisneria americana), pondweeds (Potamogeton spp.), and coontail (Ceratophyllum demersum) (Kimmel and Argetn 2008). It really thrives in plant infested ponds often with too many plants for easy angling for fish. A wetland of about any size attached to a pond would a very good place to grow grass shrimp and forage minnows.

Look at the type of habitat where this singing angler catches his grass shrimp.

Well I ordered 10 for 3 bucks a piece after shipping. 🤣
I’m gonna try to breed them in large tanks over this winter. Good luck to me!

Bill (and others),

The geographic distribution of grass shrimp is quite large, but it appears that our distribution of suppliers is fairly limited at this time.

My question: Does a Louisiana grass shrimp have the same cold tolerance as a Lake Erie grass shrimp? Or do you think there is probably some wide variance within the same species?

The shrimp in the youtube video above are much bigger than the ones that survive in northern waters. I think the only way to know cold hardiness when buying online or from a supply house is to buy a small number and put them in the fridge overnight and see how they do.

The larger size of the Southern PK shrimp could IMO be easily due to the longer growing season for these shrimp. These shrimp since they are invertebrates could grow larger when they have a longer growing season? I would like to get a few preserved shrimp individuals to verify the species using close microscopic analysis of necessary features for species identification. Does anyone have some of these Gulf coast area PK shrimp to send me?? As canyon says another easy way to determine cold tolerance is to put some in the refrigerator at 39F to 40F for a week or two.

I brought mine from near the coast and they have done well in oakwood . We have had skim ice over most of the pond and they made it

Thanks for all of the comments.

Sounds like we need a distributed PB forum experiment to get some solid answers.

I put in 100 of the LA PK shrimp in September. Nothing in the pond but FHM & a couple of map turtles. I'll take a look-see come spring & see if any survived the winter & how they're doing. RES & SBS won't go in until April or May. Hoping the shrimp can get well established by the time the bream are big enough to feed on them.

Regardless, I'll let y'all know how things turn out.

I stocked Nebraska PK shrimp from a former PB forum member and they overwintered well, but then disappeared a few seasons later.
I tried stocking PK shrimp from a source in Florida on ebay and they have not overwintered.

Canyon - How do you know they FL grass shrimp died because of temperature and not due to poor or incorrect habitat? . Grass shrimp of all life stage sizes are very vulnerable to predation.

Very true Bill, I thought about that after finishing my post. My post led the reader to believe that they died due to not tolerating the winter. I should have said they were not seen in the spring so I don't know if they could not tolerate the cold or if they found the habitat or lack of weed cover the reason for their demise. I was assured by the seller they would survive freeing temps in a northern pond but I should have been wiser and put a few in the fridge. I still can order another batch and do this test and also do another restocking as a reasonable second step. Perhaps when the fish are cold and moving slow the PK shrimp will escape predation?

I do believe they prefer the crunchy weeds (calcium containing) and perhaps need more dissolved calcium in the water? I suspect the water chemistry may be more to blame then anything else. For those who have posted before that they stocked a handful and have tons now, I'd love to know their water chemistry numbers (pH, hardness, dissolved calcium etc) I understand that they have a certain affinity for some types of grasses or weeds over another which I can't do much about since my pond doesn't seem to support aquatic growth except for FA. A rim of swamp buttercup and a few sedges have sprouted on the banks and self propagated this year.

I hope to try to transplant duck potato and I started a thread on hoping to get some pickerel weed established next year. Would love to find some chara or eelgrass.

So much to learn!

canyoncreek,

Thanks for adding that great follow-up post.

For the aquarium guys... what do you feed them?

My PK shrimp came in today I purchased off eBay. Excellent packaging, no deaths, and a very nice assortment of large to small sizes. I also believe I ordered 10 and I got more like 15. Currently tank raising them in my garage over winter. I realize ultimately I’m gonna need thousands. Guess we will see how well they tank breed. Water is currently set at 75 degrees as I read this was optimum breeding temp. I have filamentous algae and coon tail in there. They really seem to like picking through filamentous algae the most. I’ve also noticed they like to search for food in groups. Will be fun to watch them grow.

Are you using any special growing and special lighting and foods for encouraging egg development? There are some grass shrimp breeding instructions on YouTube that you should see for proven success techniques. Please return and keep us in the loop of your informational progress.

Agree with Bill, thanks for posting your PK shrimp experiment on the forum!

I've read the shrimp have a true favorite when it comes to what vegetation they like to eat. Somewhere on the forum I read that a preferred leaf is from the mulberry tree. Probably too late to find any leaves for them to sample. They eat green vegetables like zucchini or kuiri squash. Aquarium shrimp often are given indian almond leaves.

Some indicate leaves that release tannin is helpful too, not sure why. Many experiments await!

Bill, I Don’t have anything special just normal lights. Now I’m kicking myself for selling all my saltwater tank stuff. I had lights that would mimic daylight hours, moon light hours, overcast days, lightning storms and all. You could just set it and forget it. I’ll look into that Bill, thank you. Canyon creek I hadn’t heard of the the mulberry leaves accept that scuds like them. I have loads of them I can collect on my property. I’ll toss some old ones in there and see. Thanks for the responses. I’ll try update now and again especially if I get any reproduction.

Ooh, that could be good-ish news for me as there's just no keeping the oak leaves out of the pond.

Thought I'd heard PK shrimp loved charra? Something about the calcium for their exoskeletons. With that thought in mind, I "planted" a dozen or so sprigs of live charra (bought from Carolina Biological) in early October. Supposed to just toss 'em in the water, so I did, scattering a few in different areas around the pond, primarily the shallow end. I realize it wasn't ideal conditions for it, but cheap enough to be worth a shot & I'll "plant" a few more come spring.

Yes chara is often a habitat for PK shrimp. Whether they hang out there because it is good protection, or maybe they eat little critters that make the chara their home I don't know. I do think the crunchy calcium nature of the chara helps but I also have read that PK shrimp love diatoms. I know you can order a diatom culture from pond management companies (or perhaps Carolina supply?). Also I have seen posts from azteca or Bill Cody where they can give you a recipe to make your own diatom stew.

send pictures?

Hmm. May need to look into that. And yes, Carolina has them. Kind of funny buying from them, as I worked right next door to their facility in Burlington, NC for several years.

Attention Bill Cody!

Please check out this link. I'm curious, of these offerings which would be a good option if someone was to try to provide nutrients or a richer food chain for PK shrimp if they were in a small aquarium? It sounds like lots of options for 'diatoms' or diatoms plus algae or diatoms plus planaria?

Is there a way to culture your own diatoms using readily available products?

Diatom search on Carolina Biological supply

Most of the diatoms from Carolina were likely grown in special growth chambers in nutrient enriched solutions usually in culture chambers with controlled lighting and temperature as the flasks are lightly swirled or shaken. Without special conditions the diatoms or algae that are planktonic are fairly difficult to consistently grow continuously. There are probably some aquarium enthusiasts that show one how to some green algae water.

Provide me a link to where someone says grass shrimp grow best on diatoms. I am not sure this is true. Shrimp I think usually feed best as a detritivore and there should be better more convenient foods for grass shrimp than diatoms.

Thing is, chara might not grow well without lots of alkalinity to begin with. I had some in my pond one year, but disappeared as brushy pondweed took over.

The biological 'job' of shrimp in water is to feed on organic matter such as dead plant materials, bacteria, and dead animals as mostly invertebrates - organics . On land, cockroaches feed on dead leaves, garbage, and other refuse. Both animals are detritivores, and they fill the same niche in different environments.
Niche of an organism refers to its habitat, activity role and functional position within system. Detritivores are the organisms that feed on dead and decaying organic matter and serve to release the nutrients back in the environment. Since both shrimp and cockroach feed on dead and decaying organic matter, both are detritivorous. Being found in different habitats, they fulfill the same niche (same functional role, that is, the role of detritivore) in different environments.

Here is a very good description of detritivore
https://biologydictionary.net/detritivore/

Very good grass shrimp facts and information in these links:

https://www.tankfacts.com/invertebrates/freshwater/shrimp/grass-shrimp_166

https://www.jstor.org/stable/2680196

Thanks Bill! There is never-ending amount of detritus in my pond basin. However I do wonder if the PK shrimp like a certain type of leaf structure over another (we have settled out iron on a thick layer of mostly oak leaves, a black nasty mess) Did you uncover any info on the calcium content of water (hardness) and their preference to thrive?

If I could get cockroaches to grow gills I'd be happy to stock them by the millions as long as my organic debris thins out and as long as they don't mind the YP or PS snacking on them. Could you put them in an inverted bowl (like a diving bell or bubble) with O2 supply but have the bottom of the bell open to the bottom of the pond and let the cockroaches go to town?

Detritus may be the best food for grass shrimp however they need the proper cover habitat with detritus to survive fish predation. I know nothing about the specific calcium content of the water for their survival. If you can get crayfish to thrive, the grass shrimp with the same chitin like 'shell' will also thrive. Again, it is the type of habitat requirement that makes for a successful grass shrimp population. Habitat, Habitat, Habitat. The best habitat IMO is finely divided leafed submerged vegetation. They can survive without ample proper vegetation, however the protection from predation pressure needs to be conducive to all their life stages. Remember - their life cycle is one year.

When the pond has lots of dense habitat this means there is an abundance of natural foods for grass shrimp. Looking on YouTube, aquarium type people feed the grass shrimp algae both filamentous(FA) and attached algae(periphyton). fish food both flake and pellet. Some say they even eat fish manure. They probably eat most anything that is organic based thus the feeding term for them is detritivore. About every pond will have plenty of food for them. It is the good type of habitat that is important for their survival until they can reproduce and not get eaten.

diving roaches... funny stuff!

See below how you can grow grass shrimp for stocking into your pond. Stock them in spring and harvest stocker shrimp in fall before frost.

Catching grass shrimp in eelgrass


Grow grass shrimp in a wading pool use eel grass for plant habitat in the pool instead of those suggested in the video.


These techniques should work for raising grass shrimp for stocking in spring and harvesting in fall
Growing shrimp in garbage cans


Grown in maintenance free tank


Tank growing advice

I plan to purchase some soon. Is the ebay guy still the best source for grass shrimp?

Is there a good source for scuds.

I have a fish less pond at edge of woods. Fill up with Lilly pads each year. About 6 feet maximum depth.

Tried putting some in it a few years ago without success. Would like to try again.

I bought 50 from him a month ago, so he's still selling. All mine died in my tank within a few weeks though. I'm hoping i can find a cheaper source for them and buy a couple hundred and just dump them straight in the pond and cross my fingers.

Bob - Now that you have some experience with grass shrimp in an aquarium, what do you think caused them to all die? Inquiring minds want to know and learn what to avoid.

I have no clue what killed them. Wish i did though, wasted 75$ haha.

Hello.

I don't know if it's the same for Shrimp, probably.

Here is my protocol for my Gammarus, they say that Gammarus are very sensitive to water change more than fish.

First I don't take water from the house because of the copper pipes.

I do my water change (pond water or rainwater) drop by drop.
A+

I bought a couple hundred PK shrimp off the internet after reading al the threads on here about them. They arrived yesterday and were still very lively, I split them between my two bigger ponds. At the new pond I hope they can hide in the rocks and in the clumps of weeds that are under water now from the water coming up. If they are able to breed a couple times they might have a chance?

At my bigger wildlife pond the other half should do great as weedy as it is. I would think the habitat in it would be perfect for them if they are able to survive in my area this far north. Hopefully I may be able to use it in a couple of years to restock the other pond with grass shrimp if it needs it.

Hey guys, I’m new to the shrimp world, I’m trying to purchase ghost/grass shrimp for one of my pond’s up in New York. Looking for a cold water hardy shrimp. Anyway someone can hook me up with a place to purchase them? It would be greatly appreciated.

This is KoiHole,
Bill Cody I just want to thank you for hooking me up with the BK shrimp,
I’m so glad I found this forum and you reached out to fill me in on how to get the BK shrimp. I ordered 200 from your source on eBay.
I have three ponds, all ponds are spring fed ,a 1 acre pond with about 60 Koi ranging from 5 pounds to largest being 32 pounds that Pond also has largemouth bass, perch, and Croppie.
Also, two smaller ponds one for Koi eggs to hatch and raise the fry, then select the ones for the other small pond to raise big enough to put in the 1 acre pond.
I recently drained both those small ponds did what I had to do with the Koi,
Then stocked the one with shiners and minnows to feed the 1 acre pond, and to use for bait for bass fishing.
But getting to my point was really trying to stock a food source in the other small pond for the shiners and minnows & Bsss,that’s where the grass shrimp come in.
Bill, or anyone that would like to chime in I would love some feedback if you think this is not a good idea. I read earlier about they might stir up the bottom, but I do not have to worry about that. Koi did a good enough job of that..
Thanks Again