Hello aquaponics growers.
This is Jonathan from Melbourne Aquaponics.
Today, we’re going to talk about freshwater mussels in aquaponics.
So freshwater mussels are very interesting animals, right?
They live in the bottom of the tank.
Normally, they live in lakes, in ponds, and in dams.
When we want to put them in aquaponics, they’re going to lay in the bottom of the tank.
People want to know if we can eat them, people want to know if we can reproduce them in aquaponics,
and people want to know as well what is their function in the aquaponics setup.
So first, what about the function?
They filter the water and what are they eating from the water?
They are eating the microalgae, the algae that are living in the water.
You know, when you got water that is turning green, it’s simply because you got some
algae that are growing in the water.
The algae by themselves are not specifically bad, right?
They color the water but then during the day, they produce a lot of oxygen for your fish.
The problem is that during the night, they consume the oxygen and they don’t produce
any.
So during the night, you have the oxygen concentration that is dropping.
The algae are competition because they use also the nitrogen that is present in the water
and obviously, the plants that you are growing in aquaponics are also trying to use this
nitrogen.
So if you have a lot of algae, all this nitrogen is not going to be available for the plant
and the last point and the most annoying point is that obviously, the color of the water
turns green so then you can’t see the fish anymore.
So it’s not really cool because in aquaponics we really enjoy to see our fish.
So the good thing with mussels is that when you put a few mussels in your setup during
the day, they’re going to open their system and they’re going to filter the water.
And they’re going to filter liters and liters and liters of water per day.
So basically, a few mussels can clarify your water.
So in aquaponics, we generally work with ponds, with lids on the top of the tank.
So it really helps.
It avoids the microalgae to develop because the algae need light to grow in your aquaponics
setup.
But if you don’t have any lid on your tank, then you may have some microalgae that grow.
So the mussels they’re really going to help you.
Now, we have a few things to say about those mussels and they are super interesting and
very few people know about it.
So the first thing, can we eat the mussels?
The response is most of the time, they are not very edible or people are not used to
eat them.
So I would say no, you can’t really eat them.
I tried to eat a few back in Europe and they are not very tasty and I don’t even know
if they are good for you so just stay away.
Don’t try to eat them.
But still they are really cool to see, right?
They are cool animals.
They look really good in the setup.
And also, they open their body and they’ve got a tong and they can move in the tank.
So generally speaking in a dam, they live in the bottom of the dam in the mud so the
mussels can just go through the mud, move wherever they want.
They normally go in shallow areas where the microalgae concentration is the highest.
So in a tank, in an aquaponics tank, normally, we don’t have any substrates in the bottom.
Generally speaking, you can put some substrates if you want.
I’m talking about sand or whatever.
But generally speaking, we don’t put anything.
We keep it clean because it’s easier to remove anything to avoid any anaerobic environment.
So basically, your mussels are just going to crawl in the bottom of the tank, which
is all right.
You’re going to be able to see them so that’s really cool to see and generally speaking,
the fish are growing well with the mussels.
Now, the very, very important and interesting part of those mussels you know, mussels they
are molluscs, right?
And if you look at molluscs, generally speaking, in the environment, molluscs once they reproduce,
they are hermaphrodites actually so one species can be both male and female at the same time
or sometimes you got species where they are – they begin by being female and then the
second year they are male.
Then they exchange again, male, female.
Every year they change.
I mean, depending on the species of fresh mussels you have, they’re going to have
a different cycle, but most of them are hermaphrodites so which means that they are both male and
female.
And what happens normally with molluscs is that those mussels one they are ready you
know, the gonad is a reproductive organ.
They’re going to maturate and they’re going to release their gametes which is either
a sperm or either ovocytes, which is a kind of ovule in the water.
And then those particles, those cells, so basically, the ovule and the sperm are going
to meet in the water.
They’re going to form an egg and this egg is going to stay in suspension in the water
and it’s going to give birth to a larva.
And the larva is able to swim and later on is going to be fixed so it’s going to fix
on a support or fix in the bottom and they’re going to develop their shell, right?
What is very interesting with those mussels is that they don’t exactly work this way.
So you understand that if they were releasing the gamete in the water, we wouldn’t have
any reproduction in aquaponics simply because if they release the gamete in the water, the
gamete will be sucked by the pump at one stage or even if the larva, if the egg is formed
even if eggs hatch and if the larva is swimming in the water, they will be sucked by the pump
and they will finish in the grow bed.
So the larvae will be damaged in the grow bed by the fill and drain system.
So here those ones they are very different.
They basically don’t release the eggs.
So what happens is that the female is going to keep the eggs.
Once the eggs are ready, they’re going to move from the gonad to another area of the
animal to the branches and there it’s going to fix the ovules there and then when the
animal is breathing so you know it’s filtering the water.
Basically, it’s filtering all the water to find some microalgae to eat.
Also it’s going to filter the sperm released by the males.
So the sperm is going to enter inside this animal.
It’s going to fecundate the ovules that are inside which means that the eggs are going
to be ready inside the animal.
So the eggs are going to stay inside.
And once it’s ready, it’s going to release the larvae.
So you don’t have this all cycle where you got the gametes that are released in the water
and they may be lost.
They stay inside the animal.
So that’s a really good win for us in aquaponics.
The bad part is that most of the freshwater mussels need a host.
So at the youngest age, they are parasites which means that they need to fix on a fish.
So they’re going to swim around and they’re going to try to fix on a fish either on the
fins, either on the gills, which means that it may hurt the fish.
So it depends on the density of mussels you have, but if you have a lot of mussels, they
may all fix on the fish and after a while, it may affect the fish.
So the good thing is that it doesn’t last for long.
So it’s just for a few days.
So we know that the larva is going to fixed on the fish and after a while, it’s going
to fall in the bottom and it’s going to start to develop nice mussels.
So if you have a few mussels and a lot of fish that’s all right.
You may be able to be okay.
But if you have a lot of mussels and a few fish, the concentration of larvae on the fish
is going to be high and it may impact the growth of the fish or it may have a negative
impact on the health of the fish.
It may stress the fish.
So depending on the species of mussels and depending on the species of fish, each mussel
is going to be able to develop.
The larvae are going to be able to develop on specific species of fish.
But depending on the combination you have, you may have some troubles.
So it’s definitely not something that I recommend to everyone.
You can make some trials with a few mussels on a specific tank with few fish.
But just keep an eye on your fish.
If you see there are too many larvae that are growing on the fish, just fish the fish
away and try to clean them.
So you put them in a salt bath.
It’s going to kill the mussel’s larvae and then you can release the fish in another
tank where they’re going to be able to grow in good conditions.
But just keep in mind that those little mussels they look really cool.
They look inoffensive but they can be a real problem for your fish.
So that’s really what I wanted to highlight in this video.
But apart from that, if you have a few mussels in the tank, I think they are really cool
to have because they look great.
You can really see them growing in the bottom of the tank, filtering the water.
So if you are like me, in my setups, there is no real need for them because the water
is always clear because I cover the top of the tank.
So it’s not really useful but if you have a pond that is outside and that is full sun,
putting a few mussels in the pond is really going to help to filter the water and to keep
the water clean and crystal clear.
So again, it’s up to you what you’re going to do with those mussels.
But here you’ve got a video.
Now, you’ve got the information.
So I hope you’re going to experiment with them because I think they are still really
cool and there are a lot of different species, hundreds of species of freshwater mussels.
So you can experiment with one.
I think it’s really cool to have.
In terms of value, you can always sell them to aquarium shops.
They’re worth a little bit of money but if you want to consume them, there is no value,
right?
You can’t really eat them.
So it’s just for fun.
Some people grow them for the pearls because you can grow some pearls in some species.
So it can be interesting as well, but most of the time you know, you don’t have the
technique to insert the little piece of pearl at the very beginning so it produces normally
plastic.
There is plastic inside and then the mussel is going to create a nice pearl around, something
that can be done but you need to be an expert to do those types of things.
So here you are.
That’s all about the freshwater mussels.
I hope you enjoyed the video.
If you like it, please give it a like.
Don’t forget to subscribe to the channel and don’t forget also that I offer you a
free guide to build your own aquaponics setup and to manage it in the best conditions.
It’s in the description of this video just below or if you click on the “i” like
information on the corner of the video somewhere, you’re going to be able to access this free
training which is going to allow you really to succeed in aquaponics.
So if you are starting aquaponics or if you have started but you have some doubts and
you don’t know about the limits, the balance between fish and plants and bacteria, get
this guide.
It’s completely free.
It’s really going to help you to succeed in aquaponics.
I’ll see you in the next video.
Bye-bye.
So if you are new to this channel, please subscribe.
I’m going to release one video every week.
Don’t forget to get your free gift from this screen.
You can also leave me a comment below the video.
Subscribe to the channel and see my last video.
I really hope to see you soon.
And I wish a fantastic success with aquaponics.
Have a good crop!