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The shrimp arrived today. They were alive and in good shape. I released all but two into the pond. The other two are in a container setting outside. It is currently 45 degrees with a forecast low of 42. If they survive that it should verify they are PK shrimp. I will let you know how they are doing tomorrow.

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How did they do?


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The shrimp survived the cold weather and are doing good. I am going to add them to my aquarium.

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Thank you for doing the confirmatory experiment!

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Bill Cody - I have a TON of scuds in my lake. Would trying to establish these shrimp be worthwhile or unnecessary?


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3 of mine have been in the fridge going on 4 days now (fridge is set at 40 degrees) so I can also confirm that these guys are cold tolerant.

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they are probably about to get slammed with orders..LOL


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I would not add grass shrimp(PK) if you have a good population of scuds (amphipods - Gammarus). I would prefer to have the scuds compared to the PK shrimp. Both utilize basically the same niche.

Last edited by Bill Cody; 03/31/17 09:59 AM.

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10-4, thanks!!


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WBuffetJr I think is referring to a different scud Gammarus fasciatus than those that live in LA as noted by 'ryjohn'. Below I review the similar food habits of both G.fasciatus and PK shrimp (mississippi grass shrimp Palaemonetes kadiakensis). The feeding niches overlap and both can be closely associated with the bottom areas or in habitats above the bottom.

G.fasciatus prefers unpolluted, clear, cold waters, including springs, streams, pools, ponds, and lakes. They prefer highly oxygenated, shallow, still areas, with lots of vegetation or debris for coverage. Many scientists categorize them as cold water stenotherms, meaning that they require a narrow range of cold temperatures in order to survive
These amphipods prefer benthic regions of water bodies because they feed on the detritus, zooplankton and micro plantae (algae and diatoms) found there as well as the feces of Dreissena species (freshwater mussels). They are categorized as scavengers, and though they eat meat, they very rarely attack living animals to feed (though they will eat newly dead aquatic animals). Recent research has indicated that types of food consumed may shift throughout the life cycle, with smaller individuals feeding mainly on detritus and larger individuals having a more varied diet. ("Gammarus fasciatus", 2013; Bronmark and Hansson, 1998; Clemans, 1950; Limén, et al., 2005; Meglitsch and Schram, 1991; Pennak, 1989; Summers, et al., 1997).

Grass Shrimp
As epibenthic predators and benthic sediment disturbers, grass shrimp alter infaunal community structure (Bell and Coull 1978; Knieb and Stiven 1982).
The diet of eastern grass shrimp is dominated by algae (diatoms and green algae), but they also consume vascular plants, detritus, aquatic insects, and other benthic coarse particulate organic matter. Diatoms that glass shrimp eat include species in the genera Fragilaria, Nivicula, Stephanodiscus, Gomphonema, Synedra, and Cymbella. Examples of green algae consumed include species in the genera Cosmarium, Closterium, and Scenedesmus. In laboratory conditions, these shrimp were observed feeding on aquatic weeds. Insects they feed on include mayfly nymphs (Baetidae) and dipteran larvae in the families Chironomidae, Heleidae, Chaoboridae, and Culicidae. (Beck and Cowell, 1976).
These delicate crustaceans feed on a variety of very small invertebrates, plankton, and algae, and on various kinds of organic detritus. They often eat algae and other small organisms that grow upon the surfaces of submerged aquatic plants. The larger plants offer them shelter from predators.
As detritivores, grass shrimp aid in the mechanical breakdown of refractory organic material such as fibrous plant materials, as well as assimilate the associated m i c r o f l o r a , m i c r o - fauna, and fungi (Adams and Angelovic 1970). The assimilation of dissolved organic matter asorbed to finely divided particulate matter such as clay particles is important in grass shrimp nutrition (Odum and Heald 1972). Although grass shrimp often live among aquatic macrophytes (Adams and Angelovic 1970; Livingston et al. 1976; Heck and Orth 1980; Morgan 1980; Coen et al. 1981; Gore et al. 1981), there is little evidence that the macrophyte structure is actually consumed. More likely, grass shrimp eat and assimilate the epiphytic , microalgae that coat the plant structure (Morgan 1980). Grass shrimp also are predators of meiofauna and small 0ligochaetes, nematodes. As epibenthic predators and sediment disturbers, grass shrimp alter infaunal community structure (Bell and Coull 1978; Knieb and Stiven 1982).

Last edited by Bill Cody; 03/31/17 08:21 PM.

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Went out to the artesian pond around five this morning with a flashlight. After some time, I saw the tell-tale jerky movement of a scud/shrimp along the bottom of the mostly algae-covered pond. Just one, but all we added were the few PK's last fall. It only looked 3/4" long, but the pond has not had any scuds added. I am just glad that the somewhat unique water conditions are suitable for their survival. Hopefully, they will reproduce and build up before we get a big flood.

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I bought a few from this Ebayer. Hoping to establish a breeding population in a small, unpopulated, forage pond on the NY/PA border with full ice-over during most winters.


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I installed about 200 into a 1/4acre nursery pond that didn't have any other fish in it. The shrimp were all filled with eggs when I installed them about a month ago. I haven't seen a lot of activity but the pond went from light clear green to a muddy water. . I'm pretty sure it's from the shrimp but can't 100% confirm. I'll try the flashlight trick. Anybody know how fast they grow? I plan on seining in June or July to see what's going on.

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Just checked my very small fishless pond where I added PK shrimp last fall and saw no sign of them.

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Hate to necro an old thread, but was curious how everyone was doing with their eBay shrimp.


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Stocked 1,000 fall 2018, all seemed in fairly good shape. Unfortunately, I haven't seen any since stocking. Granted, I haven't looked hard, but surely by now I'd have seen some.

Probably not ideal pond for them. Low hardness & alkalinity, water viz near 40 inches most of the time. Shame I couldn't pull it off, though.

Last edited by anthropic; 07/09/21 01:39 AM.

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I put 20 in my pond two summers ago.

Now there are thousands of them.

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Originally Posted by Augie
I put 20 in my pond two summers ago.

Now there are thousands of them.

What do you have in their for vegetation? How about predators?

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Until the Great Muskrat Invasion of 2020 I had APW, bladderwort, arrowhead, cattails, mud plantain, and various other rooted and floating veggies.
Now there is very little plant life. The cattails and arrowhead are starting to come back, and there is some sort of little rush grass that grows in very
shallow water, but not much else.

What I do have is 100+ cedar trees that I put in before the pond filled back up after the renovation.
RES, BG, YP, SMB, HSB

That said, the grass shrimp only had 50 baby sunfish to contend with for the first summer, and most of those fish were in a cage until October.

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I ordered a small batch and most arrived dead due to 3 day delay in USPS transport during COVID. Got a free second shipment (ebay seller was awesome to communicate with and very much worthy of others patronizing his efforts). PUt that in and hoped for the best. WE have lots of cruising golden shiners, spotfin shiners and perch and almost no vegetation. Put them in on the side of the pond with some overhanging sedges/rushes and hoped for the best. Now we have scads of baby SFS and about 1/5 of the pond is covered in FA giving lots of cover. I may wait till weather cools and try again.

I'm more concerned now about water quality. I think these critters need a lot more hardness to feed their need for calcium than my pond can offer. My water turns over by rainwater runoff and ground water inflow. Ground water is pretty low in hardness which is great for my water softener but not so great for crayfish, scuds and shrimp which seem to not do so well.

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Interesting observations from both of you.

Will be interesting to see how those populations hold up with the vegetation reduced and larger numbers of predators.

I am considering attempting to start some before I get predators stocked, we have tons of limestone around here, I may add some limestone rock areas before I put them in. Would think that would help the crays also.

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Awesome replies as always. My pond should be done soon, and I want to put a lot of effort into forage diversification, and these shrimp seem to be the ticket.

@Canyoncreek - I was reading recently about adding wood ash to your pond to raise the hardness/calcium levels. I wonder if that would be an option. Wood ash contains around 20% calcium and raises pH in the same way ag lime does. If your pond turns over often, it might take a lot to make a difference, though.


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I always thought my fish were eating them but of course can't be sure as I didn't stock them in any huge number either.

I think they do prefer certain kinds of grass/weeds as the ebay seller did say he had to find them in a certain type of vegetation in local bodies of water.

But the water characteristics also play a big role in their survival. I would test your water. Of course adding the limestone for cover for crayfish is good too.

Many here would warn you to put a crayfish predator in before crayfish especially if you are going to give them lots of hiding places in the limestone. Once crayfish get ahead of your predators and have places to hide it can be very tough to establish any vegetation and the predators will not catch up with your crayfish numbers.

Another order of action might be.
test water first
if it could stand more alkalinity and harness add limestone
add forage fish, scuds, shrimp, smaller forage etc
add bass (if that is your predator for crayfish)
add crayfish last

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My predators will be HSB and Blue Cats, so I'm still undecided about whether or not to add crayfish or not. The shrimp seem like a good idea to feed the forage fish though, and any YoY Blue Cats that I may get.


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