Care of freshwater mussels

[Deadliestviper7]

I decided to make a thread on this , so I could learn how to keep them sucessfully

 

[Fat Homer]

If they are anything like clams, then you will need large quantaties of green water to feed them... Probably slightly cooler temps of around 26'C

Some type of substate will probably also be necessary for them to settle on...

(Disclaimer) the above is just my thoughts on the subject as i honestly dont know much about freshwater mussels at all...

 

[Deadliestviper7]

Yeah I was thinking lots of plankton filled water, the kinds I'm familiar with were often found in water of 75 degrees, I was also surprised how much they move when they want to

 

[TroyMIfishkeeper]

I have a freshwater clam/mussel (not 100% sure what the difference is) that I really enjoy. I actually pulled him out of a nearby pond and he's been in my tank for the past 4 months or so. Note that they need not only sand as a substrate, but very fine-grained sand (I'd recommend play sand you find at Home Depot, but make sure to clean it very well). They like to bury themselves, and if given enough substrate will often cover themselves almost completely.
For feeding, I just crush up fish flakes into a powder and drop it into my tank. Almost instantly the clam's siphon emerges and he begins feeding. Sometimes it's good to lift up decorations and such to stir up any debris as well.
I don't know why these aren't kept very commonly, they are relatively easy and really an interesting critter to own...

 

[Oddball]

FW mussels have a stage of their development where they're parasites to fish. Free-swimming newly hatched mussel larvae (Glochidia) attach to fish gills and fins. If the mussels are raised in a species-only aquarium, fish hosts must be provided to propagate the mussel population.