New Batch Freshwater Shrimp

[cowgirlone]

I've restocked my pond with 30 day old juveniles. Here's a couple of pictures of them.


Sorry about the picture quality.



I have saved 100 back to raise in a tank, wanted to see how it's going to work out. Also I hope to save back a breeding pair or two. If everything goes right I can raise my own juveniles for next year. Wish me luck!

[mousecat33]

Pics good enough for me...looks like the 'bugs' I found in the minnow trap a few weeks ago. I thought to myself " They look like little baby shrimp, but, no that would be impossible.." Wouldn't it?

Thanks,
mc

[cowgirlone]

MC, maybe you should catch some just in case.

[mousecat33]

Thats my question, I did not realize they were naturally occurring in E.TX. In your other thread you stated that you purchased them in Fort Worth, AND you said that they needed salt water to breed. How did these guys get in the tank?
What did I overlook?

mc

[cowgirlone]

I purchased them from a breeder in Ft Worth. He has salt water tanks set up to breed and hatch them.
Then he introduces the post larvae and juveniles to freshwater before selling them.
They don't occur naturally in freshwater.
Hope this answers your question.

I'm hoping to save back some breeders and try making my own salt water tank to breed and hatch my own next spring. Anyway that's the plan so far. :haha:

[cowgirlone]

Originally Posted by fordy

..............How, do you know that you don't have an turtles or some species of fish in that tank. I see species of water turtles traveling across terra firma, and terra pava all thru the summer months. They makeit across but some get get "squeeshed". I'm NOT a "Squeesher" so i try to avoid them but some folks are "confirmed Squeeshers". .............fordy....

Fordy, last year I had three turtles that caused me a lot of grief til I trapped them. I have to check it every so often to see if any have returned.
As for fish, it's a fairly new pond, so far there aren't any fish in it. I'm also keeping an eye on that. Fish would do a lot of damage to the young shrimp.
Farm ponds are pretty rare in my area, kind of dry around here.

[Tango]

Originally Posted by cowgirlone

I've restocked my pond with 30 day old juveniles. Here's a couple of pictures of them.


Sorry about the picture quality.



I have saved 100 back to raise in a tank, wanted to see how it's going to work out. Also I hope to save back a breeding pair or two. If everything goes right I can raise my own juveniles for next year. Wish me luck!

Best of luck to you cowgirlone, but you have quite a bit of skill, so I doubt you need the luck. This is by far the most interesting out-of-mainstream project I've read about on these forums. For us, being the shrimp lovers we are, it is an exciting possibility. We still have to work out some aeration issues in the pond and we'll have to fish out the catfish and brim. Might go with Tilapia too... but boy I wish we could raise shrimp! How big is your pond?

[cowgirlone]

Why thank you Tango, how nice!

My pond is just a windmill overflow pond that's around 1/4 of an acre. It's real small. I could stock it heavier than I do, but I have no aeration right now. It's been an interesting project.

[katydidagain]

cowgirl, please keep us informed about your tank experiments. I've found exactly one obscure and not very detailed experiment about raising shrimp in tanks but nothing about the breeding aspect. (I save seeds so why not...???)

I'd love to try aquaculture but who wants catfish or tilapia? I'm at least a year away from testing and anxiously awaiting your updates with baited breath.

katy

[Cyngbaeld]

ooooo coool! Just today I was wondering about raising fresh water prawn. Really interested in how this goes.

[Cyngbaeld]

By the way, what variety of shrimp are those? I've been doing a little reading and there sure are a lot of varieties.

[cowgirlone]

Katy, I'll keep you posted. So far the ones in the tank are doing great.


Cyngbaeld, They are Macrobrachium Rosenbergii. I picked these only because the hatchery was close enough for me to pick them up myself. I'm sure other breeds work just as well.
I had good luck raising them in my small pond last year. I'm trying to save back some this year to raise in tanks and I want to see if I can save a couple of breeding pairs to raise my own juveniles for next year.
They have to have salt water to breed and hatch, but after that, they can be introduced to fresh water for the grow out stage.
I've never tried a salt water aquarium, but I know lots of people have them.
Wish me luck!

I've got fresh water shrimp in my stream here in nebraska that are native. They only get to be about 1/4" when mature but look just like their bigger cousins. My bass & catfish love them...

b

[cowgirlone]

Interesting Unregistered! I wonder what kind they are. Any way to find out?

[Joy in Eastern WA]

Cowgirlone, can this be a profitable business or is this something that you are raising and consuming yourself? What did you do with last year's crop?

[cowgirlone]

Hi Joy,
This can be a profitable business. I raised them last year just to see if they would survive and thrive in my area. It was more of an experiment. We shared with friends and family. I did freeze a lot too. They were delicious!
I know that other fresh water shrimp farmers sell them straight out of their ponds. Depending on location, you can charge from $4.50 to $8.00 lb. These are not processed, still have the heads on. The farmer doesn't have to deal with freezing them either. Just let people know which days you are harvesting.

I am not planning on selling any this year, Just raising them for our own use right now. I'll have to see how it goes this year. Might change my mind.
The water needs to be free from chemicals, so my well water (windmill pond) is perfect for them. Fish will kill the small ones, so no fish are allowed at all.

I have had a lot of calls about the shrimp..one man in eastern OK wants to raise them for his wife's restaurant. He is planning on building several ponds.
Another friend has started raising them in her small pond in western Kansas.

The thing I like best about it is having FRESH shrimp! Something you don't see in my neck of the woods. :haha:

[katydidagain]

I've waited all summer for updates, cowgirl. How was the season?

katy

[Bruce in NE]

Where are the pictures??

I've also got freshwater shrimp in my NC Nebraska stream; they migrate upstream once every year in September. Shot a video of them this year, thousands of them swarming in a pool. Trout and other fish love them. Wish they got bigger....

[john#4]

Hay Cowgirlong,
That sounds great. Would they grow here in Vermont, in tanks? Wonder where I could get info. On growing in tanks.
I wish I could get your pictures to work. Just will not come up no mater what I do.
John#4

[caballoviejo]

Originally Posted by Tango

Best of luck to you cowgirlone, but you have quite a bit of skill, so I doubt you need the luck. This is by far the most interesting out-of-mainstream project I've read about on these forums. For us, being the shrimp lovers we are, it is an exciting possibility. We still have to work out some aeration issues in the pond and we'll have to fish out the catfish and brim. Might go with Tilapia too... but boy I wish we could raise shrimp! How big is your pond?

Tango, there is a large (hatchery houses and several grow-out ponds) experiment with growing fresh water shrimp among the orange groves a few miles south and a little inland (just west of 95) from Vero Beach. They are harvesting right now.

No problem with overwintering that far south.