swan mussels

[stevo]

hi guys quick question ,my wife in her infinite wisdom came home with 3 swan mussels which she was told will help the water quality in the pond,i have tried to do some research on them but come up with very little,but what i am finding 3 weeks on is that nearly all of my common and mirror carp(not so much the kois) have cuts and scales missing which i can only attribute to coming into contact with the edge of the mussels? I know from being an ex fisherman in the uk that carp like to eat said mussels,so a) any info on the mussels would be appreciated and should i get them out before the fish cause themselves irepairable damage? many thanks steve

 

[vertigo72]

LOL, I got the exact same thing. Read here some of the pro's and con's Ive found:
https://www.gardenpondforum.com/milky-water-t7608p3.html

I doubt the mussels would do damage to your Koi though. The information out there is contradictory whether or not its a good idea, but if there is a risk, then its the parasites they produce.

Ive put 2 of my mussles in a fountain (totally not related or connected to my pond) that was overwhelmed by string algae, and I have to say, they do an impressive job cleaning it. Ive kept the other 3 in my pond for now..

 

[stevo]

Nice one thanks ,im finding the kois seem to look ok but in the last 3 weeks 4 of the mirror carp have lost scales and have scars on thier sides which indicate they are thrashing around next to them,but i guess the warmer weather recently in the south of the uk could be getting the fish fruity and i know they can damage themselves at this time,just seems a coincidence that this is occuring since the mussels were put in! thanks again for the reply

 

[vertigo72]

You could always try putting the mussles in your filter or some basket your carp cant reach them, but honestly I doubt it will make a difference. My Koi and goldfish seem to completely ignore the mussels, and even if they didnt, the shells are mostly closed with just a tiny opening where stick their "tongue" out. I cant see how a fish would be hurt by that. Putting them in a filter or basket might be a good idea to prevent the parasites from jumping on to your fish though.

edit: afterthought... perhaps those parasites are infecting your carp but not koi? I still havent found a definate source saying Koi are hosts for these parasites or not. Either way, if it is parasites, then its too late now. Do it next year.

 

[stevo]

You could always try putting the mussles in your filter or some basket your carp cant reach them, but honestly I doubt it will make a difference. My Koi and goldfish seem to completely ignore the mussels, and even if they didnt, the shells are mostly closed with just a tiny opening where stick their "tongue" out. I cant see how a fish would be hurt by that. Putting them in a filter or basket might be a good idea to prevent the parasites from jumping on to your fish though.

Good idea will do exactly that

 

[vertigo72]

see my edit too.

 

[stevo]

You could always try putting the mussles in your filter or some basket your carp cant reach them, but honestly I doubt it will make a difference. My Koi and goldfish seem to completely ignore the mussels, and even if they didnt, the shells are mostly closed with just a tiny opening where stick their "tongue" out. I cant see how a fish would be hurt by that. Putting them in a filter or basket might be a good idea to prevent the parasites from jumping on to your fish though.

edit: afterthought... perhaps those parasites are infecting your carp but not koi? I still havent found a definate source saying Koi are hosts for these parasites or not. Either way, if it is parasites, then its too late now. Do it next year.

it has surprised me how much little info i can find on the mussels,like i say i used to be a fisherman in the uk and often found the empty shells washed up on the lake edges but they seem to be the new fad in the fish shops in the uk atm but the guys selling them seem to know as little as me!

 

[addy1]

We aren't allowed to have them.......I never checked on them but it is what others have said............I did put some little clams in last year, no clue if they lived or not, have seen a few of my trapdoor snails snailing along.

 

[stevo]

thanks,just not sure whether to keep them or chuck em into a lake! lol

 

[addy1]

I would keep them.......vertigo said they did a good cleaning job.

 

[stevo]

Just as an update i took one of the mirror carp to the fish shop, they tested water all ok,and in 2 smears he found 1 skin fluke on the fish ,apparently no probs he thinks the fish have battered themselves during rumpy pumpy! So ill malachite a couple of times this week and leave them and the mussels alone! ps if i find a carp hangin out of a mussel tomoz morning they will be eaten for breakfast! :regular_waving_emot

 

[vertigo72]

Thats good to hear. Im gonna keep mine too, but Im considering moving them to my iris filter bed. It has a clay bottom and I read those mussels like (or even need) mud (or substrate) bottom to bury themselves in. Only problem with that, is that Ill probably never find them again and may not know when they die. I also have no idea what Ill do this winter, as the iris bed freezes over solid, as its fairly shallow. Perhaps I should drill a hole and attach a fishline to them so I can pull them out lol.

 

[addy1]

Thats good to hear. Im gonna keep mine too, but Im considering moving them to my iris filter bed. It has a clay bottom and I read those mussels like (or even need) mud (or substrate) bottom to bury themselves in. Only problem with that, is that Ill probably never find them again and may not know when they die. I also have no idea what Ill do this winter, as the iris bed freezes over solid, as its fairly shallow. Perhaps I should drill a hole and attach a fishline to them so I can pull them out lol.

Do they move around a lot? Could you put them in a large basket, wire, plastic etc so you could pull them back up? Almost like a crab cage, push the bottom down into the mud so they would have their mud.

 

[vertigo72]

Do they move around a lot? Could you put them in a large basket, wire, plastic etc so you could pull them back up? Almost like a crab cage, push the bottom down into the mud so they would have their mud.

Thats a good idea. I could do something like that. And, no, they dont seem to move a lot around. I got no idea how they would more anyway lol, but it seems they do a bit, or it could be waterflow or the fish doing it, Im not sure.

 

[Rez]

Hi everyone,

I considered these too, but I did manage to find quite a bit about them.
I'm not sure if this is still relevant, but I found this:

"As part of their life cycle Swan Mussels produce, in spring, a parasitic larvae known as Glochidia, which attach themselves to fish. Glochidia are, in fact, baby Mussels. After an attachment is made a cyst is formed that feeds off the body mucus of the host fish. To be honest they do very little harm (do you know different?) and, usually, drop off within a few weeks going on to develop into adult Mussels."

Source: http://www.ryedaleaquaristsociety.co.uk/swan mussel.htm