Zebra mussels

[Lenny]

First off a big hello to everyone.....yes, I'm a newbie in here. Been doing alot of reading on the forum (very helpfull stuff in here). Now for my question, I was wondering if you can put zebra mussels in a community tank....Im from northern Ohio and Lake Erie is infested with these and it hit me how well the zebra mussels cleaned up the lake ...they may do a good job in adding to the filtration of the tank !!! I know the downfalls of these things is the rapid reproduction (not too worried, just have to thin out the herd every so often), but these little guys filter 1quart per day each !! I have a 35 gal with
Convict Cichlid
Lemon
Red Zebra Cichlid
Tire Track Eel
and a few bottom feeders......

 

[ryan]

i would not recommend it because of diseases that could be brought to the tank also the zebra mussels are extremely sharp and would most likely cut your fish if they hit them.exspecially your bottom feeders. if your having problems with filtiration upgrade your filter or dont feed so much and change your water more often.

 

[Lenny]

. if your having problems with filtiration upgrade your filter or dont feed so much and change your water more often.

Hell....thats too much work....lol

 

[flamingonhot]

I wouldn't do it.

From what i've heard is they actually filter the water TOO much and deplete any trace nutrient level present.


I don't know a whole lot about them other then they take over everything and what I mentioned so i'll leave it at that.

 

[toddnbecka]

I believe the baby mussels are parasitic on fish as well. Could be a real problem if they spawned, and dead mussels wil pollute the water very quickly.

 

[ChileRelleno]

I believe the baby mussels are parasitic on fish as well. Could be a real problem if they spawned, and dead mussels wil pollute the water very quickly.

One of the problems associated with clams/mussels is feeding them properly/sufficiently.
This often requires alot of work, just ask any SW reefkeeper.
This also all too often results in dead crusteceans and a rapidly fouling tank that goes unnoticed till water chemistry is whacked.

 

[BillD]

You would still be adding biomass to the tank, which in turn would add to the bioload. That, in turn, would mean more water changes.

 

[jayhasa]

Zebra Mussels

I love all the speculation on Zebra Mussels, but the only way to find out is to give it a whirl. No one has tried using them in the aquarium trade so there isn't any actual trial and error information out there.

Here's my experience with them. It's been about 9 months.
I have a 90 gallon tank with a island in the middle for 2 Hermit Crabs and a turtle. I have guppies, a store bought snail and of course those annoying tiny ones that came with some plants I bought. Theres loaches and catfish etc. The turtle is pretty much tamed and doesn't bother the other fish. (I was hoping he'd take care of the guppy population) - Long story short, It's an every fish for themselves atmosphere and I was trying to create some sort of ecosystem. Anyway, on a trip to the Thousand Islands NY, I decided to bring some zebra mussels back and toss them in the tank. I was very nervous about them taking over, but to my surprise, that has not happened at all. Most are still alive, but there are plenty of empty shells and occasionally I see a newborn around. Something is keeping them in check in my situation. Filter doesn't seem to be affected and it's been about 9 months. When they are young, there's not much too them and I'm sure they are very edible to fish.
You can easily remove them when they get large. They do form in clusters and it's easy to scoop them out. -- However, they need to be discarded in garbage and not down toilet or in water area that doesn't have them yet. They are a nasty invasive species in the wild and pretty unstoppable in the great lakes.

My tank. Don't think I had zebra mussels when I took this. Hope this was helpful.

YouTube - Our Tank Gang

First off a big hello to everyone.....yes, I'm a newbie in here. Been doing alot of reading on the forum (very helpfull stuff in here). Now for my question, I was wondering if you can put zebra mussels in a community tank....Im from northern Ohio and Lake Erie is infested with these and it hit me how well the zebra mussels cleaned up the lake ...they may do a good job in adding to the filtration of the tank !!! I know the downfalls of these things is the rapid reproduction (not too worried, just have to thin out the herd every so often), but these little guys filter 1quart per day each !! I have a 35 gal with
Convict Cichlid
Lemon
Red Zebra Cichlid
Tire Track Eel
and a few bottom feeders......