Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

There's been a couple threads so far about adding clams or mussels (or other mollusk filter feeders) as a way to clean and clarify system water.

I thought it would be nice to check in and see if anyone in 2015 has been running with clams or mussels in a system as a long-term method of keeping water nice and crystal clear.

As I understand it, there are virtually no freshwater bivalves that are worth eating, compared to their saltwater counterparts. So I'm not even interested in attempting to raise food clams for example.

It would be nice to know a couple things though, such as:


Did they make a difference for water quality or clarity?

How many can survive per liter / gallon?

Were they put in the fish tank or sump tank? or in a different tank entirely?

Can clams go in grow bed media, if it's loose / fine enough, like pea gravel or coarse sand?


The main reason I'm asking is because I have quite cloudy water right now but don't know the cause. My system is quite new so it's possible it's some type of bacteria or algae bloom related to nutrients suddenly becoming available, but in any case I would like to clear it up so I can see my fish

Did they make a difference for water quality or clarity?
Absolutely the water was crystal clear after adding them to my system, they took about a week to clean up a pretty dirty system
How many can survive per liter / gallon?
I can't help you on this one, I found it very hard to get any real information on them

Were they put in the fish tank or sump tank? or in a different tank entirely?
I put them both in the sump and the fish tank with no problems at all

Can clams go in grow bed media, if it's loose / fine enough, like pea gravel or coarse sand?
I've heard of people putting them in their filters but I've not heard of anyone using them in pea gravel. On the suface they would be OK but buried I don't think they would be able to move around enough to clean all that well.

The one thing they don't like is too much salt, keep it below 2ppt and you should be fine

You definitely can't eat them but to clean the system you can't go past them

Do you ever see them open and moving around Joeblow or do they just sit there like stones.?

They definitely do move around, they're very slow moving and once they've clean up a spot then they will move on but it's like watching paint dry and as you say they "sit there like stones". Sometimes I would put them on one side of the tank and the next day one or two would be half way across to the other side but they don't move around all that much or very often.

They only open up about 1/2mm at the most, just enough to filter water through the shell.

Very cool joblow, what type of mussel are they? I'd like some in my system, does anyone know if they are available here in the West? I tried some we got from the Swan however they didn't last a week.

joblow, that looks fantastic. It seemslike they're just sitting on the bottom of the tank... do mussels not need any substrate like gravel or sand?

Also, I'm a yank so I imagine I'd end up with a different subspecies here. I've also heard reference to people with "american" mussels clogging up pipes in an AP system. Certainly, I've seen saltwater mussels here on the west coast (USA) that "glue" themselves to rocks. Any suggestions on what to look for to avoid having my pipes clogged with mollusks?

One other question: would shells of live mussels or clams work to buffer pH the same way that a bag of shell grit does?

I'm envisioning a deep water culture bed with 1cm or less of fine gravel at the bottom, and a bunch of mussels in it that just browse around filtering the water that flows through the bed. I've heard fish pose problems in a DWC tank because they can eat at the plant roots, but mussels shouldn't have that same problem. This almost sounds crazy enough to work.

@joblow - I was planning to add some into the sump when i build my new system, but i was thinking of adding crays too, do you think it will be a problem?

Regards

Skeggley, you want flood plain mussels for ponds / ap, not river mussels, river mussels require flowing water, flood plain mussels dont.

if you are unsure, aquablue seafoods stock floodplain mussels, however most that you would find at a local pond shop will be the right ones too.

A few kilometers south from my home the Kennet and Avon Canal wends its way through the Vale of Pewsey.
We were moored up for the night but the grandchildren were restless. I gave them a long wire rake and told them to dredge for treasure in the mud alongside the mooring.
Canal beds were traditionally constructed from clay. This was trodden by workers to form the watertight base of the canal. It was called “puddling” Think treading grapes!
i say workers, but in reality it was probably the wives and children of the ‘Navies’ or “Navigators” who built the canal who trod the clay.
The local pub is called, “The French Horn”. Tourists, who inquire about the brass horn on the wall are told of how the prisoners from the Peninsular War were forced to construct the canal. French survivors from the battles at Salamanca, Badajoz and Cuidad Rodrigo. Reality is they were professional highly skilled Irish Navies.
Picks, shovels, wheel barrows, some horse power and sweat built this amazing, “ Linear water feature” A LWF? No! Its a F****** canal.
Standing on top of the sixteen lock flight at Devizes. The Caen Hill Flight stretches before you in all it’s glory. It takes the Irish to dig a big hole!
Any way!
Apart from various junk the grandchildren dredged up dozens of fresh water mussels.
Larger than sea mussels they soon filled a bucket.
What do we do now Grand father?
Well, of course we purge them in fresh water!
Now what?
We wait!

Possibly the impatience of youth.
Probably the inability of the adult; not to elaborate.
When can we look for the Pearls Grand father?

Two hours purging should be enough!
Boil them.
Well, you don’t find Pearls in every one!
The hint of diesel on the tip of the tongue was distinctive.
Let’s just stick to the burgers on the BBQ
All forgotten until your post.
Thank you.
The canal is dirty slow flowing.
My AP water would be like heaven.
Is there a danger of importing parasites?
How do you put a piece of grit in a mussel to encourage it to make a pearl?

Any idea where I can get freshwater mussels or clams in USA west coast?

Skeggley they are "Velesunio Ambiguous" and as Yavimaya mentioned Aquablue Seafoods is where I got my guys from. Aquablue were great to deal with, an interstate overnight delivery right to the front door.
http://www.aquablueseafoods.com.au/other-mussels.shtml



They are "Flood Plain Mussels" or pond Mussels as Yavimaya said and don't need flowing water.
http://nswaqua.com.au/fish-species/fres ... ambiguous/



Curious I don't think you would have any problems with adding crays, they use fish to reproduce and that made people a bit reluctant to put them in with their fish but that is what happens naturally in the rivers and ponds.
"Quote= Mussels need to “infect” a host fish with glochidia to complete the reproductive process.=Unquote"
http://molluskconservation.org/MUSSELS/ ... ction.html



Cathode they would probably prefer fine gravel but seem to function just as well with a clean tank, they just suck water in and take what they need from and then spit out clean water. I don't think they would eat plant roots but they may suck any fish solids stuck to the roots.



You guys have "Flat Floater Mussels" in America that are a flood plain mussel so you should be able to find someone selling them.
http://www.gpnc.org/ffloater.htm

One other question: would shells of live mussels or clams work to buffer pH the same way that a bag of shell grit does?

I can't help you with that one but I don't think live Mussels would have any effect on you pH.

Well, nobody locally has any type of bivalve mollusk for sale. After learning that a local pond supply shop didn't carry any type of clam or mussel, I asked if they had any other type of filter feeder that could be tossed in a freshwater pond to clean the water and the employee didn't even know what a "filter feeder" was...sad.

I ended up ordering some asiatic clams off ebay. This, specifically: http://www.ebay.com/itm/151672002287?_t ... EBIDX%3AIT

I won't get them until later next week so I'll update with my findings later. I want that crystal clear water!

That's great, you'll notice the difference in water quality.

What I've noticed in fish tanks is that low pH will dissolve their shells and it's not a good thing for the mussels.
You'd want your water well buffered if you want to use them I think.