I have a large lotus bog that has a large quantity of goldfish and frogs. I
have read that crayfish and freshwater mussels would be a ecologically sound
addition. Anybody out there with clam and crayfish experience outside the
kitchen ; ) ? any thoughts and comments would be appreciated.

Native mussels need fairly cool water or you'll have a mass die off.
You could try a few at first and see how they do. If they die you won't
have too big a mess to clean up.
Mussels need fish to breed. They send their new hatchlings out to
live in the gills of fish. Doesn't hurt the fish but some mussels need
a specific breed of fish to brood their eggs (not the best planning if you
ask me). Clams don't have this breeding problem, but you still have to watch
the water temperature with clams also.
Crayfish nip at fish, eat young and sick ones, same with tadpoles and
try and pry open mussels.
That said I would love to have a large lotus bog and I would add those
critters, and turtles and salamanders/newts and invite predators to drop in...
a whole wildlife buffet - what a show!

Good luck and let us know how it goes!
k30a

Yes, San Diego Joe as a good point.
Mussels reproduce by sending their infants into the water to incubate in the
gills of fish. This doesn't hurt the fish. They then drop to the bottom and
live out their lives.
So if your water is leaving your pond they will to.


kathy :-)
algae primer
http://hometown.aol.com/ka30p/myhomepage/garden.html

On Mon, 12 Jul 2004 12:46:36 -0700, San Diego Joe
wrote:

"Ridge Roofing, Inc." wrote:

I am a realtively new pond owner. I bought the property last fall and
this is my first summer caring for it. I've read almost all the posts
on keeping the water clear. The pond is approx 120 ft by 40 ft by
average of 4 ft deep, and I have stocked it with about 100 rainbow
trout. The pond is fed by two seperate springs so the water is always
cold, but it is always green also. I had a local farmer offer to give
me a bucket of fresh water mussels to put in the pond. He claims that
in 2-3 years there will be enough of them that the water will ALWAYS
be clear and that there are no downsides to this method. I've asked
him about "will there still be enough oxygen for the fish", "will they
eventually fill the pond", and a few other questions. I was wondering
if anyone here had any experiences with these to share before I go and
do it. Any info is appreciated. Thanks.
Pepe'

I don't know if mussels will do that, but just want to note, that since your
pond is spring fed, does water also exit your pond? If so, make sure those
mussels are native to your area.


San Diego Joe
4,000 - 5,000 Gallons.
Goldfish, a RES named Colombo and an Oscar.



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The water exits by way of a 6" PVC overflow pipe into my lower pond.
That pond has the same thing which then flows into a stream. The fish
are unable to leave the pond.

Hi do you know if you can eat the fresh water mussels? and if so what they look like