I saw a post on another forum regarding the Betta Buddy Marimo Ball which is a moss ball sold as a decorative plant for aquarium use. A Seattle Petco employee found invasive zebra mussels inside and attached to the moss ball and authorities were contacted. A link to the Oregon Dept of Fish and Wildlife article can be found here Invasive zebra mussels found in Betta Buddy Marimo Ball
PSA re: Betta Buddy Marimo Ball
- Thread starter deeda
- Start date
Lol I was thinking something similar. I’m planning a puffer tank and am just thinking “free food and a plant!”
Another article linked Here said the 1st report came in Feb.9, 2021 but was limited to the Betta Buddy brand. Further down the article in the What to Do section recommends checking any Marimo Balls purchased in the last few months for zebra mussels.
I think there are more alerts going out as the news becomes passed around to various forums, fish clubs and states so who knows where this will go in the coming months.
I think there are more alerts going out as the news becomes passed around to various forums, fish clubs and states so who knows where this will go in the coming months.
Additional states added to the list, see the following article for updates Zebra mussel update. A link is included in the article on how to clean an aquarium that has/had zebra mussels in it.
It appears a California distributor had shipped zebra mussel contaminated moss balls of varying brands throughout the U.S. to pet stores. It's also possible that other vendors not affiliated with pet stores may also have received the same product so please be aware.
It appears a California distributor had shipped zebra mussel contaminated moss balls of varying brands throughout the U.S. to pet stores. It's also possible that other vendors not affiliated with pet stores may also have received the same product so please be aware.
Alberta Canada added to the list of zebra mussels in marimo balls Alberta Lake Mangagement