Choosing Aquatic Food
Dean Flicker

When deciding what aquatic food is best for your wetland, there are several questions you need to answer. What species of ducks do I want to attract? What type of wetland do I have? Are there any fish or minnows present? What is the quality of our water? If I plan on hunting this wetland, how will the aquatic food impact my hunting experience?

Freshwater shrimp, sago, wild celery and wild rice will all be eaten by diver ducks. Puddle ducks like all of the same foods with the exception of wild celery. In the case of wild celery, diver ducks will go down and root up the tuber and it will float to the surface. Then the divers will come to the surface to feed. This is not something dabblers do. Divers do the same with sago. However, sago produces a nutlets at the surface that dabblers love. Therefore, this food source is desired by both divers and dabblers.

Wetland size and type also is something to consider. The bigger and deeper the water, the more likely it is a diver wetland. Because of this, all of the big four foods can be used. Since freshwater shrimp will disperse after installation, it will take longer for their impact to be seen then with other aquatic foods. On smaller ponds, wild celery may not be the best option since most divers like larger bodies of water.

Fish and minnows can have a huge impact on the success of your planting. Freshwater shrimp will be eaten by fish and minnows. If you do install freshwater shrimp, it is a good idea to put in extra to allow for predation. For the other types of aquatic food, rough fish are your biggest enemy. Because of their bottom feeding, it will be harder to establish these foods. You may be better off trying to rid your wetland of these rough fish first and then find a way to keep them out before you spend money on aquatic food.

Water quality will also impact your aquatic food success. Wetlands with an acidic PH will make it harder for freshwater shrimp to survive. The acidity attacks their shells and makes them more vulnerable. The acidity is usually caused by fertilizer runoff. Having a buffer zone between the wetland and the runoff source will help reduce the acidity of your wetland. Turbid or dirty water allows less sunlight in. This will impact how well your aquatic plants will grow. If you have turbid waters, you may want to plant in shallower water than normally recommended.

What kind of hunting experience do you want to have? Since all of these foods are desired by waterfowl, establishment of these aquatic foods should offer increased hunting opportunities. As mentioned earlier, the type of duck you prefer should be considered before planting. Because wild rice grows above the water, you may want to remember that retrieves in a wild rice stand will be more difficult as well as using decoys.

If you want to see pictures or learn more about these aquatic foods, you can go to www.dmnatureworks.com. I would also like to hear about your experiences, both good and bad, with aquatic foods. Please go to the habitat forum and share your thoughts.