i never knew there where grass shrimp in ohio at all until recently when i unknowingly got one while castnetting for bait(carp and minnows) in a marshy area(Little Portadge Wildlife area in between Port Clinton and Oak Harbor). now that i know they exist here i want to add them to the list of species to put in native tank once i get around to setting one up. can anyone point me in the direction of a good spot in NW Ohio or habitat type and collection method?
native ohio grass shrimp
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, Jun 14 2010 12:32 AM
8 replies to this topic
#2
Guest_gzeiger_*
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Posted 14 June 2010 - 05:35 AM
I also wouldn't have thought to find them so far north. Are you sure what you saw was Palaemonetes and not Macrobrachium? I'm skeptical that a grass shrimp would be trapped in a cast net.
Down here the preferred habitat is thick vegetation very close to shore in calm water. I sometimes find them in grasses, but submerged floaters like Cabomba and Anacharis seem to be preferred. Also try scooping the net along the bottom right at the water's edge. The best places to look are drainage ditches (if not ephemeral). I think this is because they are such a favorite food of any fish, so you're more likely to find them in water not inhabited by large predators.
On a related note, I haven't had any great success keeping these with anything larger than a guppy (Gambusia affinis, Heterandria formosa, Lucania goodei, Trinectes maculatus have worked out). Even small and seemingly peaceful fish like Enneacanthus gloriosus and Fundulus chrysotus will devour shrimp, even breaking apart ones too large to swallow.
Vegetation is not required for keeping these in an aquarium. I think in the wild it serves as cover from predators more than anything. They are omnivorous and in my experience will do just fine on a diet of fish poop.
Down here the preferred habitat is thick vegetation very close to shore in calm water. I sometimes find them in grasses, but submerged floaters like Cabomba and Anacharis seem to be preferred. Also try scooping the net along the bottom right at the water's edge. The best places to look are drainage ditches (if not ephemeral). I think this is because they are such a favorite food of any fish, so you're more likely to find them in water not inhabited by large predators.
On a related note, I haven't had any great success keeping these with anything larger than a guppy (Gambusia affinis, Heterandria formosa, Lucania goodei, Trinectes maculatus have worked out). Even small and seemingly peaceful fish like Enneacanthus gloriosus and Fundulus chrysotus will devour shrimp, even breaking apart ones too large to swallow.
Vegetation is not required for keeping these in an aquarium. I think in the wild it serves as cover from predators more than anything. They are omnivorous and in my experience will do just fine on a diet of fish poop.
#3
Michael Wolfe
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Posted 14 June 2010 - 08:42 AM
Even small and seemingly peaceful fish like Enneacanthus gloriosus and Fundulus chrysotus...
Two thoughts immediately came to mind...
These are not peaceful fish if your name is "food" they are quick and hearty eaters...
I have seen plenty of Etheostoma (that's right cute little darters), that had no hope of fitting hte shrimp in their mouth, stalk, chase, and (in an aquarium, literally) "corner" a grass shrimp and tear them apart...
Which then brings me right back to the first thought (modified)... no fish is peaceful if your name is "food"
Edited by Michael Wolfe, 14 June 2010 - 08:43 AM.
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#4
Guest_kwheeler91_*
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Posted 14 June 2010 - 12:06 PM
im sure it was a grass shrimp, as clear as water. and i didnt cast net the shrimp, but i gathered some water with the bucket to keep the emerald shiners and baby carp in. it was a little ditch type side water way that branched off the main marsh and was full of potamogeton crispus unfortunatley but vegetation nonetheless. the other possiblity of where he came from was the gutted belly of a very large catfish out of the portadge river, but i think its unlikey he would still have been alive.
#5
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Posted 24 June 2010 - 07:45 AM
Many macrobrachiums are clear, like grass/glass/ghost shrimp (paleomonetes) especially when the macro is younger. And their arms are shorter, like a normal grass shrimp, so they are hard to ID when they are young. I had a freshwater macro sold to me as a grass shrimp from a pet store.
However, I was unaware that the US had any freshwater macrobrachiums in their waters. Are they native to the US?
However, I was unaware that the US had any freshwater macrobrachiums in their waters. Are they native to the US?
Edited by bulrush, 24 June 2010 - 07:46 AM.
#6
Guest_gzeiger_*
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Posted 24 June 2010 - 08:56 AM
There is at least one species native to the southeast here.
#7
Guest_FishMan81_*
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Posted 24 June 2010 - 06:35 PM
i net in the marshes by the sandusky bay and early in the year i catch tons of them they dont last long in my tanks the fish love to eat them right up they look more like ghost shrimp that you buy at pet stores.
Edited by FishMan81, 24 June 2010 - 06:36 PM.
#8
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Posted 24 June 2010 - 06:53 PM
There are several Macrobrachium native to the US, mainly in coastal rivers but at least one species (M. ohione) travels a good way up the Mississippi. However, I don't think any of them enter the Great Lakes drainage. The central grass shrimp, Palaemonetes kadakiensis, does and that is most likely what you found. As their common name suggests they are usually found in weedy areas, with fairly still water. In Tennessee they are fairly common in river floodplain swamps and marshy bays of lakes, but uncommon in flowing water. They enter temporary wetlands, but usually only if the wetland is filled by overflow from a lake or river rather than rainfall.
#9
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Posted 26 May 2013 - 09:09 PM
I have an answer for you! I just collected some of these shrimp at Willow Point Wildlife area. I didn't have any luck at Little Portage Wildlife area. Willow Point area isn't marked clearly with signs, but they are there hidden by bushes. We caught them with large dipnets and a seine. The water was pretty turbid, but warm. And surprisingly we caught the most about 4 feet away from shore. The depth was about a foot and a half or less. There was only parking room for one vehicle, two if you double parked. LOL
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