fresh water Mussels

Nocky

I find myself repeating myself repeating myself, there I go again, we have 2 live threads on the same subject so is it possible to merge them, not that it matters a lot, but seems a hot topic at the moment :drunken:

other is here viewtopic.php?f=2&t=4375

steve

will do shortly.

on the natives........................ i'm getting monya to bring me over 100 goldies, i hoped they would do.............

hygicell

Nocky wrote:

I find myself repeating myself repeating myself, there I go again, we have 2 live threads on the same subject so is it possible to merge them, not that it matters a lot, but seems a hot topic at the moment :drunken:

other is here http://backyardaquaponics.com/forum/vie ... f=2&t=4375

definitely we seem to need someone higher up to merge these threads
as I don't know how to do this

the subject is fascinating me enormously

we, in Flanders, are known as fierce (marine) mussel eaters
and are exporting our culinary knowledge worldwide
though Mussels from Brussels is an entirely different concept :geek:

thanks for letting me know about the need for fish as host in the cycle of mussels
I have done some semi-intensive research in the past and have never encountered this

so may I -very hesitantly :geek:

- suggest that this phenomenon might be limited to certain species?

frank

RupertofOZ

hygicell
thanks for letting me know about the need for fish as host in the cycle of mussels
I have done some semi-intensive research in the past and have never encountered this

so may I -very hesitantly :geek:

- suggest that this phenomenon might be limited to certain species?

frank[/quote]

Would seem to be the case, but I think the jury is still out on this one.... would make sense that specific populations had become "host specific" to locally occuring native fish...

From a few bookmarks...

[quote="http://www.fws.gov/news/mussels.html wrote:

For some mussels, the host is limited to only a few fish species.

http://www.bio.umass.edu/biology/conn.river/repro.html wrote:

the glochidial stages last 10 to 70 days depending on the species and water temperature

http://www.publish.csiro.au/paper/MF9790411.htm wrote:

The glochidia were observed to parasitize the river blackfish, Gadopsis marmorutus and the galaxiids Galaxias maculatus and G. olidus. Peak infections occurred between July and February. A single brown trout, Salmo trutta, was observed to be infected during one peak infection period

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mussel#Reproduction wrote:

Glochidia are generally species-specific, and will only live if they find the correct fish host.

http://www.nswaqua.com.au/InfoLinks/Mussels.htm wrote:

Fish are the best hosts though there is some evidence that both tadpoles and yabbies can perform this task.

Interestingly... America has over 300 types of mussels.... many now extinct and most under threat... whereas Europe only has 12 distinct specie...

RupertofOZ

mucked the formatting of that up a bit...

hygicell

fascinating subject and thanks for sharing, Rupe
I am learning

Wikipedia suggests that the need for a host is limited to fresh water species which is probably why I never encountered it

Quote:

In marine mussels, fertilization occurs outside the body, with a larval stage that drifts for three weeks to six months, before settling on a hard surface as a young mussel. There, it is capable of moving slowly by means of attaching and detaching byssal threads to attain a better life position.

and:

Quote:

Freshwater mussels also reproduce sexually. Sperm released by the male directly into the water enters the female via the incurrent siphon. After fertilization, the eggs develop into the larval stage called glochidia. The glochidia grow in the gills of the female where they are constantly flushed with oxygen-rich water. For a time, these glochidia are parasitic on fish, attaching themselves to the fish's fins or gills. Glochidia are generally species-specific, and will only live if they find the correct fish host.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mussels

so marine and freshwater mussels reproduce differently

confirms both our views

rests to find out if European species also need a host

frank

RupertofOZ

Quote:

the need for a host is limited to fresh water species

Very true.... guess we should have specified "freshwater mussels" ...

Freshwater mussels are now being used extensively here in Australia and the US as part of waste water treatments, and wetland rehabilitation programs... particularly in conjunction with artifical reed bed systems..

Here's another link regarding species identification... http://www.inhs.uiuc.edu/~ksc/MusselGenera.html

hygicell

thanks for the link
I am collecting them

how about edibility of fresh water mussels and recipes?

frank

Jaymie

4 threads merged so far

Nocky

Jaymie wrote:

4 threads merged so far

Thanks

steve wrote:

will do shortly.

on the natives........................ i'm getting monya to bring me over 100 goldies, i hoped they would do.............

Jaymie
Don't know steve, doesn't appear to be much on australian mussels, but what I have found is that what fish they live in the wild wit are obviously good hosts, Rupert would know more about what Neil has in his dams, Pygmy Perch Marron and Mussels live in a water soak deep in deliverance country where I got the PP, so again I will give them ago, I have had 5 mussels in my Missus Little System since June, 6 goldies in their so will let you know if I have more than 5 mussels in a year, before breeding season hopefully, but I like the PP so will put them in system 2 in a couple of weeks when the mussels should have spawned.
And yes Rupert a few people seem to be confusing Freshies with Salties, salt water mussels are competely different to fresh, so breeding habits etc cannot be compared
:director:

FRESH WATER MUSSELS NEED A HOST :banghead:

Neil has mine on the way so should have Pic's early next week, and also taste reports, with and without chilli sauce :twisted:

Nocky

Nocky wrote:

KudaPucat wrote:

On that link, I read the following:

Link Shown Above wrote:

The Flood Plain Mussel Velesunio ambiguous is a mussel that thrives in static water and will readily breed and multiply to massive numbers if the conditions are right.

Does anybody know what the 'right conditions' are for breeding?

Kuda can't find much info in oz, but Google "glochidia" this is the name for larvae, but also the best links I have found are THIS ONE which is from Minnesota US and covers most aspects of mussels, and THIS ONE also US covers reproduction, but what I learned from Aquablue was they spawn in Spring/Summer, mussels have a male and a female, males shoot sperm into the water and the female sucks it in (Interesting Thought), Larvae Mussels need fish to attach themselves to.........but click the above links and it will save me typing the full story.
But as for the right conditions in a nutshell, they have to be healthy well fed and have fish to support the babies

This is a quote from an early thread and has some info

Nocky

Mussels were meant to arrive yesterday as were sent aussie post air express, but true to form aussie post has failed, they must use a Bi-plane or even worse Qantas, so hopefully have some Pic's tomorrow, for those in WA looking for mussels forum member trevor from Margaret River has mentioned in my system thread that he has scored 50 from the Margaret River and has eaten them before and are tasty, maybe trev or C1 could give us more info, I am not familiar with the species from Margs, have tried them from the Blackwood River and they are quite large and taste like S***, be interesting to see if the Margaret River ones survive in a tank situation, would be a cheaper option than flying them from NSW, any info C1 :?: