fresh water Mussels

Uncle Yarra

DOA or floaties a day or two after?

Uncle Yarra

BTW, anyone know the ideal temperature for mussels?
Also, do they hate magnesium?
(got iron and magnesium in my bore water, wouldn't mind using it to to off the tank occassionally)

RupertofOZ

I think one of the attributes of mussels is there ability to filter metals from the water... probably mean you might not want to eat them later... :wink:

Nocky

no were DOA no floaties after, are trying to find out why air express took 6 days but don't expect a reasonable reply, all I can say is Aquablue provided excellent service, final tally is 47 :evil:

Uncle Yarra

Nocky,
I ended up just giving the floaters a bit of a squeeze and they retired to the bottom again. I think they might do that (float) when they get a big chunk of dirt in their shell, as they didn't sink until I washed/squirted out the foreign matter.
Oh, and they do like mud, I put some dirt in and there are lots of trails going to the deepest parts of the mud - now they're invisible.

Outbackozzie

How would they go with the thinner type of liners like PVC? Are they likely to eat through it?

RupertofOZ

Nah OBO... they're filter feeders...

Jaymie

and, this has prolly been asked, but if you put them in the fish tank, is that a bad move? will the fish eat them?

Outbackozzie

They dont eat fish Jaymie, and they actually require the fish as hosts to breed

EllKayBee

Quote:

and, this has prolly been asked, but if you put them in the fish tank, is that a bad move? will the fish eat them?

I have had mine (14) in the main FT for a number of months now...both species doing fine

don't know how long it takes to get baby mussels, but the water temps are in the range :wink:

Jaymie

thanks Les, something else to think on

hygicell

Outbackozzie wrote:

They dont eat fish Jaymie, and they actually require the fish as hosts to breed

I think you have misunderstood Jaymie's question, Ozzie
the question was if the fish would eat the mussels, not the other way round

most fish do eat mussels I think. Carp do I know for a fact.

come to think of it: this might explain why mussels spit out their larvae on passing fish so that they can cling to the sides of the fish: not because they need a host, but to avoid them being eaten

they might also need the movement of the fish for aeration in their first weeks

they surely use them as cheap taxis to spread around the pond
pretty smart I think

this is only a theory though
pure result of my imagination

Frank

RupertofOZ

Freshwater Mussels specifically need a fish host as a part of their reproductive cycle... this host cycle IS parasitic in nature...

Quote:

The larvae act like a parasite to the fish host; they attach themselves to the fish's gills or fins, and feed on them. This causes the cells on the host tissue to lyse (Watters 1995). The fluid from the lysed cells provides an essential part of the nutrients needed for the glochidia to survive (Waters 1995). This does not cause any problems or stress to the host fish. Some freshwater mollusks depend on a single fish host while others need many different species throughout their transformation from a larvae to a juvenile mussel. This transformation from glochidia to a juvenile mussel takes approximately one to four weeks.

hygicell

thanks for correcting me, Rupert
I keep forgetting that there is a difference between saltwater and sweet water mussels

old Alzhe...

What was his name again? :geek:

frank

steve

i divvied my lot between the disused now green water ibc, the main 3lk tank, my tropical tank, dads AP and my ambient fingerling aquarium.

about 9 deaths in the main 3kl AP system, all others fine. might do a water test when motivation returns

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fresh water Mussels

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