What type of mussel is this does anyone know. I found it while creek/river fishing and wondering if it can crack it open and feed to my fish or even just quarantine it for a couple weeks and keep it in my aquarium just because why not ? 
Clam/mussel ID and can I feed to my fish
- Thread starter Rtc/tsn
- Start date
I was doing some research and found out that they filter the water and that’s how they eat but it results in extremely clear water? Would this be beneficial to my aquarium to help keep water quality good
Yes, but you risk bringing in nasty stuff to your aquarium, and you can’t use ich meds or copper to quarantine them either.
Thank you. I’ll definitely be adding this guy to my aquarium and definitely going to be researching like crazy. Would it be possible to remove my filter, add some type of carbon in my aquarium and the mussel to work as my filter to clear up a plug in spot or that idea not as smart as I feel it is
Why not? Well...a freshwater clam or mussel can do well in a tank if there is sufficient microscopic organic material suspended in the water to sustain it. If you have that much suspended food in your tank all the time, you are likely having problems.
And, yes, they can make the water look clearer as they filter out the foods; look at the increased clarity of water in some areas where Zebra Mussels run rampant. But are you going to add stuff to the water to feed the thing? Most people are trying to remove that excess organic goo, not put more in. One medium-sized mussel, like the one in your pic, will not find enough food in a small aquarium to sustain them for long.
Worst of all, when they transform from a living mussel to a spoonful of dead rotting slime, it all happens inside the shell where you can't see it. The first warning you have, if you are lucky, is the smell; if that doesn't tip you off, the abrupt and deadly ammonia spike will convince your fish to alert you to the problem, which they do by dying.
Don't ask me how I know...it happened a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away...
Well, not putting half-dead bait minnows and assorted critters you catch while fishing would be a great start...
And, yes, they can make the water look clearer as they filter out the foods; look at the increased clarity of water in some areas where Zebra Mussels run rampant. But are you going to add stuff to the water to feed the thing? Most people are trying to remove that excess organic goo, not put more in. One medium-sized mussel, like the one in your pic, will not find enough food in a small aquarium to sustain them for long.
Worst of all, when they transform from a living mussel to a spoonful of dead rotting slime, it all happens inside the shell where you can't see it. The first warning you have, if you are lucky, is the smell; if that doesn't tip you off, the abrupt and deadly ammonia spike will convince your fish to alert you to the problem, which they do by dying.
Don't ask me how I know...it happened a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away...
Well, not putting half-dead bait minnows and assorted critters you catch while fishing would be a great start...
Last edited:
Note: several US/North American FW clam species are endangered & protected.
Several also have fish-gill attaching (damaging?) juvenile stages.
Several also have fish-gill attaching (damaging?) juvenile stages.
I agree I really should’nt be adding these things to my tank but just as a last time thing I want the mussel. I don’t know why but the last 30 minutes I’ve gotten to love it for some reason lol. Also I test my water a lot. Like. A LOT lol also my tank has been getting a lot of direct sunlight and a lot of algae plus my wood in the tank is covered in algae that it can eat and I still have some gunk at the bottom from when I had the cichlids catfish and arowana so I thought maybe the mussel could be a way out of doing gravel siphons and yes I know I did my research a bit and understand that they have a parasitic larvae stage but it’s just one mussel it won’t reproduce also I read that they will eat algae wafers so that’s what I planned on doing every now and then. Also about it dying. I’ve kept mussels before when I was younger and camping by creeks and every mussel I’ve ever seen die has opened minutes after death so I would then know to remove the mussel.Why not? Well...a freshwater clam or mussel can do well in a tank if there is sufficient microscopic organic material suspended in the water to sustain it. If you have that much suspended food in your tank all the time, you are likely having problems.
And, yes, they can make the water look clearer as they filter out the foods; look at the increased clarity of water in some areas where Zebra Mussels run rampant. But are you going to add stuff to the water to feed the thing? Most people are trying to remove that excess organic goo, not put more in. One medium-sized mussel, like the one in your pic, will not find enough food in a small aquarium to sustain them for long.
Worst of all, when they transform from a living mussel to a spoonful of dead rotting slime, it all happens inside the shell where you can't see it. The first warning you have, if you are lucky, is the smell; if that doesn't tip you off, the abrupt and deadly ammonia spike will convince your fish to alert you to the problem, which they do by dying.
Don't ask me how I know...it happened a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away...
Well, not putting half-dead bait minnows and assorted critters you catch while fishing would be a great start...
I’ve always heard that they were invasive in my state. Ohio.
Your 'clam' is not a clam but a native freshwater mussel, family Unionidae.
I don't know where you are located, and this make thye id somewhat uncertain, but from the looks of it, it appears to be a FatMucket (Lampsilis radiata, also known as Lampsilis siliquoida, or even L. radiata siliquoida).
Although fish will certainly eat it if given to them, and the possibility of introducing parasites that will affrect your fish is quite small, you should NOT DO ANY of this, and instead, you should return the fatmucket to the creek, and not collect any more. Instread, be happy that the creek where you found it is still healthy enough to support this, and hopefully other species of freshwater mussels.
FW mussels are probably the most endangered group of freshwater animals in the US. Although some species are quite common, such as the fatmucket, their populations, the very habitats where they live, and their genetic diversity is severely imperiled. Their reproduction involves stages where their larvae (glochidia) are parasitic on fish, wwith some species having very specific (unique) fish species used as suitable hosts, whereas some are somewhat more generalistic. But this is another source of imperilement, as in many cases, the mussel populations, the fish hosts, and the habitats themselves are imperiled, primarily due to human activity (mainly pollution and habitat modification).
Furthermore, there are severe restrictions in a number of states against collecting these mussels (of course very difficult to enforce), and these restrictions are for good reasons and corresponding to their severe imperiled status.
Again, please do the right thing - Return the mussel to the creek if still alive, be proud that your creek still harbors these beautiful animals, and admire them at their home when you see them in the creek. Cheers to you!
I don't know where you are located, and this make thye id somewhat uncertain, but from the looks of it, it appears to be a FatMucket (Lampsilis radiata, also known as Lampsilis siliquoida, or even L. radiata siliquoida).
Although fish will certainly eat it if given to them, and the possibility of introducing parasites that will affrect your fish is quite small, you should NOT DO ANY of this, and instead, you should return the fatmucket to the creek, and not collect any more. Instread, be happy that the creek where you found it is still healthy enough to support this, and hopefully other species of freshwater mussels.
FW mussels are probably the most endangered group of freshwater animals in the US. Although some species are quite common, such as the fatmucket, their populations, the very habitats where they live, and their genetic diversity is severely imperiled. Their reproduction involves stages where their larvae (glochidia) are parasitic on fish, wwith some species having very specific (unique) fish species used as suitable hosts, whereas some are somewhat more generalistic. But this is another source of imperilement, as in many cases, the mussel populations, the fish hosts, and the habitats themselves are imperiled, primarily due to human activity (mainly pollution and habitat modification).
Furthermore, there are severe restrictions in a number of states against collecting these mussels (of course very difficult to enforce), and these restrictions are for good reasons and corresponding to their severe imperiled status.
Again, please do the right thing - Return the mussel to the creek if still alive, be proud that your creek still harbors these beautiful animals, and admire them at their home when you see them in the creek. Cheers to you!