I think I have baby shrimp all over my pond, however they have a grayish color, very small, body a little curved and have bunch of legs, but I can't see any antenna or eyes popping out. I haven't seen a baby become an adult since I have other animals that eats them. But I am afraid these creatures might not be baby shrimp and if so, what would they be?
Thanks

It sounds like they may be scuds. Baby ghost shrimp look like very tiny versions of the parents. Scuds stay pretty small depending on the species. They are more gray and have that curved body. Scuds are a type of shrimp. They are no threat to your pond, just another native animal.

Robin, thank you so much for your response.
I realized I create a poll instead of a question, sorry. It was my first time doing it.
now,
How did they get there??? and if they are scuds, they are everywhere: inside my filter, in the middle of my plant roots, all over the bottom in between the decomposing material. It is an art cleaning my pond. Everytime I change my filter I have to leave the sponge in another bucket with a plant next to it so my scuds (now they have a name) can move to. This way I won't throw too many away.
I just searched about them and it is in fact a scud, and mine breed all year long - not just between warm season.
Thank you again for letting me know what I have and also the relief of knowing they are natives and a positive volunteer addition to my pond.

Scuds can come with plants that you add to the pond or can be transferred to your pond from animals who have visited other ponds and then come to yours. They like detritus and will happily multiply in ponds with a lot of debris.

Hi Robyn,

I just had a feeling you called my pond duty. Just kidding! ;)
My pond is not one of a kind, but it is a half barrel (around 30 gallons) which sits on my condo's patio. I live in the second floor facing the canal here in south Florida. Once in a while I get visitors like frogs (from the pond downstairs) and long leg birds (too lazy to find food in the wild). Probably the scuds came with the plants I add in it.
I have a crawfish, a pleco, two Chinese Algae eaters, two albino / yellow fish that I don’t remember their names, around 100 feeder guppies and like you know 1,000 scuds. Maybe I still have one or two ghost shrimp lost in there.
Could you give me an idea on what type of filters is best for this pond size? I have a ordinary aquarium filter inside there, but I know I should invest a little more and buy something decent that also doesn’t take too much space.
By the way, I have been browasing in your website and I have learned a lot!

Thank you so much,

Eliana

Actually, if the pond is only 30 gallons and in a protected area, an aquarium filter probably will work better than small pond filters. Pond pumps and filters aren't usually made for ponds under about 100 gallons, at least any decent filters. An aquarium filter is fine to use as long as the electrical components aren't in danger of getting wet. For a 30 gallon pond, I can't think of any pond filters that are going to do much. Few pond pumps are that small and those that are tend to have short lives. Your pond may be small but it sure sounds like a ton of animals in there!