Mississippi
Grass Shrimp.
Mississippi grass shrimp (paleomonetes kadiakensis) are a freshwater crustacean found from northeastern Mexico to the Great Lakes.
They seldom exceed 1.5″ in size and are a preferred food of bluegill and redear.
Their diet includes plankton, detritus, and other invertebrates and they strongly prefer aquatic vegetation as a habitat. A 1978 study found that bluegill in ponds that had grass shrimp grew over twice as fast as bluegill in ponds without shrimp. When stocked into a new pond with no fish several months prior to stocking bluegill, they breed prolifically and can establish a thriving population that sustains once the bluegill are stocked. Aquatic plants are their preferred habitat, so they do best in ponds with some plant growth.