Freshwater Mussel Info

[Bio123]

For all those who don't know...

Freshwater mussels are the only species of bivalve mollusks known to exist in freshwater. No real things, such as freshwater clams exist. Helping a local native wildlife program, I was given the opportunity to find, collect, and breed these mussels to increase their population.:nilly: Here in Texas, there are various kinds of mussels. Ones I collected included but were not limited to Leptodea fragilis, Potamilus ohiensis, Lampsilis teres, and Toxolasma parvus.

If websites say that freshwater clams are different than mussels, they're WRONG. :nono: Most mussels will kill you fish with their parasitic spawn if your fish isn't 20lbs+. Almost all mussels for sale are from the wild, so you also risk diseases to your fish.

Only a very few species do not produce parasitic spawn. It is not recommended to keep mussels in general, but if you have them, they should be in a container no less than 10 gallons, provided the mussels are small. Believe it or not, a full grown mussel can filter water up to 80gph.

Don't put a mussel in your tank just because you have green water. They do filter algae, but prefer clean water. Their ideal water conditions are a PH of 7.7 and clear water with lots of protozoa in the water column.

Also, always have a strong water flow in your tank if you want to raise these inverts. Some mussels have different substrate needs than others. The small mussels that look like clams usually prefer gravel over sand. Thin mussels usually prefer sand. :jaw-dropping:

Sorry for the essay here, but that just about wraps it up. The next time you want to buy a mussel, please consider these factors so your mussel can can be as old as this guy. He's 20 and he's older than me. His health failed him just a few weeks ago.

 

[gagaliya]

Thanks for the informative post, always curious about them but so little info out there. All i knew was they smelled really bad after they die, so dont get them

you said 10 gallon is bare minimum for mussel, can you clarify because i dont think they move around a lot do they? is it ok to keep it in a 2 gallon for example as long as the tank flow rate is high enough? also what do you feed them in tank.

Thinking about strapping a aquaclear hob onto my little 2 gallon glass bowl and put a few mussel in there lol.

 

[Bio123]

2 gallons is not enough for any mussel ( unless it's a baby about 1-5 cm). Different species of mussel move around at different rates. Once a mussel has found a cozy spot, it will dig into the gravel/sand and filter there. I put tons of infusoria such as ostracods (seed shrimp) and copepods (cyclops). I take a 2 liter bottle and fill it with clean stream/pond water. Then I add about 1/5 teaspoon of my special recipe. The recipe consists of 2 parts flour, 2 parts yeast, and 1 part sugar. This along with green water helps the microorganisms grow. Then I just feed with a turkey baster and squirt the infusoria right into the intake tube of the mussel ( the one with small tentacles coming out). Hope this helps!

 

[soobie]

Freshwater mussels are the only species of bivalve mollusks known to exist in freshwater. No real things, such as freshwater clams exist...(snip)...If websites say that freshwater clams are different than mussels, they're WRONG. :nono: Most mussels will kill you fish with their parasitic spawn if your fish isn't 20lbs+.

A couple corrections.

1) There most definitely are freshwater clams, and they really exist. The group of Sphaeriidae clams (fingernail clams) is one, and Corbicula fluminea is another. The Sphaerid clams are native to the US, Corbicula is not. The difference between a clam and a mussel is that clams have two sets of lateral teeth, while mussels have only one. Lateral teeth are the small lines of interlocking projections on the top of the shell near the umbo, or hump, on the top.

2) Mussel larvae (glochidia) don't typically kill their host fish, regardless of size. Many (most) mussel species are adapted to only parasitize particular species of fish. If you have mussels in your tank chances are that they won't even reproduce in the first place, and even if they do, unless you have one of their target species the glochidia won't attach to your fish. In addition, there are many species of mussels that will only use small species of fish as hosts for their glochidia; for example, darters, shiners, sunfish, and trout are all small fish.

I do agree that it's not a good idea to keep a mussel in a home aquarium unless you are prepared to culture large amounts of algae (green water) and have a suitably large volume of water.

People should also be aware that many species of freshwater mussels are protected by law and it is illegal to collect or possess them (whether live or as empty shells) without a permit. They are some of the most endangered species in North America. Please, please leave them in the wild.

Properly permitted and monitored propagation programs are a different story, of course.

 

[pbmax]

Thanks for the clarification!

 

[jeffreyjward]

I really need some help in this area. I would like to acquire (at best) NATIVE freshwater mussels for my pond (multi-level, flowing water, about 1000 gallons) and at WORST freshwater mussels tolerant of the temperature range in San Francisco (38-80 degrees over the course of the year).

There is virtually no possibility of the mussels escaping from my pond -- the nearest fresh water is miles away and would require swimming uphill through storm sewers.

Thanks,
JW