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!
