Maybe I can help? I know nothing about your pond or how well the shrimp will have a hiding place but i can share my experience. My pond is 1/3 acre at full pool, probably most of the year it is 1/4 acre as it is a groundwater pond and now we have hit a dry spell and it is dropping fast. My water temps might be different than yours being you are in Colorado and altitude might make a difference? I do aerate at night in summer to try to keep water more cool.
I had an empty pond last spring except for GSH and FHM. I had minimal vegetation at the time that I stocked the shrimp in April of last year. Later that summer I had an explosion of FA and eurasion milfoil (unwanted!!) so probably there were plenty of places for the shrimp to hide.
My pond is in West Michigan where winter kill was a concern. I was told winter wouldn't hurt them based on them living through brutal midwest plain state winters just fine.
I ordered 100 shrimp.. Seemed like not nearly enough. I figured if they can hide in the algae they may make it. I never saw them again. I figured, I'll just restock this spring.
I ended up treating the weeds but not the FA. I later added RES, LES, (only a few of each), LCS (only 25) and late in the summer crayfish. i have unwanted goldfish and have seen several spawns of FHM, not sure about shiner spawns.
This spring no weeds, almost barren after ice out, ?goldfish or crayfish effect? Some weeds growing back now.
I added 100 perch and this past weekend about 10 pounds of tilapia.
But this spring while raking out the FA I would see 5-10 shrimp in every load of FA.
I don't see them swimming or taking pellets but there must be at least thousands in there by now if i see them when raking the FA.
So if you have no predators or very few like I did and have FA or weeds for them to hide in (probably leaves help too) I bet they make it and in a year or two you have lots of them
