Help Identifying Freshwater Bivalves (mussels?)

[DirtyPaws949]

Hi folks!
I recently got two different species of bivalves/ mollusks, in place of two orders that a seller oversold during an auction sale (black devil spike snails and racer nerites).
I am only familiar with gold clams, which do not have a parasitic stage.

Hoping to get an identification on them before moving them to any tank, in case they may have parasitic larval stages.

I’m sure the seller will get back to me sometime tomorrow or Saturday, but maybe someone here could let me know sooner.

I am going to keep them in a 5gal bucket with an airstone for the time being.

Species #1






Species # 2

 

[MultipleTankSyndrome]

Can't speak for species #1, but species #2 looks just like the parasitic mussels shown here: https://web.archive.org/web/20111008005036/http://aqualandpetsplus.com/Bug, Mini-Clam .htm

 

[DirtyPaws949]

Can't speak for species #1, but species #2 looks just like the parasitic mussels shown here: https://web.archive.org/web/20111008005036/http://aqualandpetsplus.com/Bug, Mini-Clam .htm

oh noooo! D:
Hopefully some scientific names get thrown around for better research (or the seller gets back to me soon).

what’s even more confusing is googling “Asian gold clam” images pop up that look like them. The gold clams I’ve purchased before (most died, I think. But there are still a couple that I had seen kind of recently) looks more like the traditional clam (rounder).

 

[FJB]

It is very difficult to be certain of the mussels you have, not knowing anything about where they come from.
From your first post showing two Asian species, it seems that you have an Hyriopsis sp. (or species in a similar genus), family Hyriidae, and a different (possibly also Asian) species of the family Unionidae.
In the group of images in the second post, several species of various genera (and families) are shown, including various freshwater mussels, as well as a non-mussel: The Asian Clam, Corbicula fluminea, introduced widely throughout the world, including being widespread in North America.

It is important to realize that most freshwater mussels (all familes from all continents) are among the most endangered invertebrates on Earth for a lot of reasons: themselves (their life history depends on very specific and difficult to provide items), their habitats (destroyed or altered), the fish hosts they require (themselves often endangered), etc. They should be discouraged as pets in home aquaria, even if if appears that 'they are doing well' in one's tank.

In addition, they are difficult to keep healthy in aquaria, mainly due to the fact that the food they require (mainly phytoplankton and mixtures of un-attached single-cell algae, and other particles in the water) is very hard to provide in aquaria.
Most species also live for a long time, and can last for months of longer in poor conditions. The result is that keepers feel their mussels 'are thriving' (interpreted from the fact they are still alive), when in reality they have been very slowly dying since day one, and will take months or longer to die.

All FW mussels of the families Hyriidae, Unionidae, Mycetopodidae, and Margaritiferidae require hosts for their parasitic larvae and that is how they reproduce and colonize new habitats. Most use fish and a few amphibians, and many are specific to single host or very few host species. Asian clams (Corbiculidae) are not mussels but clams and do not have a parasitic stage; instead they spawn into the water and free swimming larvae eventually develop into little clams.

Do you now where your FW mussels came from? My bet is Asian species.
For North American FW mussel species, keeping or holding them is restricted for all species in al states. That is not the case with Corbicula spp. (3 species), which are not mussels, are not native, are are invasive in NAmerica and much of the world.

One last bit: NAmerica happens to be the world's most biodiverse region for FW mussels! (even though endemic species occur in all continents), and nearly all of those species are endangered or at risk. It is the single animal group with the most recent known extinctions in NAmerica.

 

[DirtyPaws949]

It is very difficult to be certain of the mussels you have, not knowing anything about where they come from.
From your first post showing two Asian species, it seems that you have an Hyriopsis sp. (or species in a similar genus), family Hyriidae, and a different (possibly also Asian) species of the family Unionidae.
In the group of images in the second post, several species of various genera (and families) are shown, including various freshwater mussels, as well as a non-mussel: The Asian Clam, Corbicula fluminea, introduced widely throughout the world, including being widespread in North America.

It is important to realize that most freshwater mussels (all familes from all continents) are among the most endangered invertebrates on Earth for a lot of reasons: themselves (their life history depends on very specific and difficult to provide items), their habitats (destroyed or altered), the fish hosts they require (themselves often endangered), etc. They should be discouraged as pets in home aquaria, even if if appears that 'they are doing well' in one's tank.

In addition, they are difficult to keep healthy in aquaria, mainly due to the fact that the food they require (mainly phytoplankton and mixtures of un-attached single-cell algae, and other particles in the water) is very hard to provide in aquaria.
Most species also live for a long time, and can last for months of longer in poor conditions. The result is that keepers feel their mussels 'are thriving' (interpreted from the fact they are still alive), when in reality they have been very slowly dying since day one, and will take months or longer to die.

All FW mussels of the families Hyriidae, Unionidae, Mycetopodidae, and Margaritiferidae require hosts for their parasitic larvae and that is how they reproduce and colonize new habitats. Most use fish and a few amphibians, and many are specific to single host or very few host species. Asian clams (Corbiculidae) are not mussels but clams and do not have a parasitic stage; instead they spawn into the water and free swimming larvae eventually develop into little clams.

Do you now where your FW mussels came from? My bet is Asian species.
For North American FW mussel species, keeping or holding them is restricted for all species in al states. That is not the case with Corbicula spp. (3 species), which are not mussels, are not native, are are invasive in NAmerica and much of the world.

One last bit: NAmerica happens to be the world's most biodiverse region for FW mussels! (even though endemic species occur in all continents), and nearly all of those species are endangered or at risk. It is the single animal group with the most recent known extinctions in NAmerica.

Thank you for the informative post
It was not my intention to acquire any FW mussels with my order, they were replacements for two snail species they had sold out on and were “surprises”. The gold clams I had purchased in the past were home-bred by a seller in the US. I have read about their critical/endangered status while researching, so I’m really hoping they were responsibly farm-raised, but since I did not order them, it’s impossible to say.

The single image of multiple pictures in the 2nd post was just a google page when looking up “Asian gold clams”

The seller did get back to me, and said the black mussel is shark fin/tooth mussel- Hyriopsis bialatus (great ID!)
the second species he told me were “Snow White clams”. I’m having a hard time finding scientific name for them D:

While bidding during the sale, I asked the seller if he home-breeds the livestock offered, and he informed me he only breeds the shrimps, and the rest are imports which he treats for cooties and holds for a month before sale/ shipping. I’ve had my eye on his nerites for a while, and hadn’t ever seen him offer mussels/clams in his listings.

I have a 20gal that’s temporarily housing a pair of convict cichlids, I will probably move them back to the 75gal, or move them to the 60gal or their own 30gal, and place the mussels in the fish-less 20gal. I might add some guppies or gambusia to it and see if they get affected by the parasitic larva.
In terms of food, I think the remaining gold clams have done okay (I purchased over a year ago) due to their tanks being outdoors (lots of algae, microorganisms, floating particles). One of the surviving clams is actually living in that 20gal still. I’ll supplement food by pulling water from my green-water tank, and detritus from other aquariums (and look into purchasing liquid/powdered algae)

 

[FJB]

That's cool. What's the plan about feeding them?

 

[DirtyPaws949]

Thank you for the informative post
In terms of food, I think the remaining gold clams have done okay (I purchased over a year ago) due to their tanks being outdoors (lots of algae, microorganisms, floating particles). One of the surviving clams is actually living in that 20gal still. I’ll supplement food by pulling water from my green-water tank, and detritus from other aquariums (and look into purchasing liquid/powdered algae)

I am certainly open to suggestions.
I’d hate to have an endangered species die on me
No pressure, right?
I know my green-water tank has a lot of “yucky” deliciousness in it for mussels, and the water parameters are great (just ask all the flippin’ hydra ?). It’s a 10gal though, so I could probably only do up to 50% change once a week or so to maintain the green-water status. I’ll try and get some additional daphnia/ green water cultures going. The 60 / 65 / 75 gallon tanks also have oodles of algae, though it’s mostly on the glass and not free/floating. I’ll scrape some off before water changes.

 

[fishdance]

You don't have to worry about parasitic clams.

It's highly unlikely they would breed in a hobbyist tank.

If they breed and infest your fish, the fish aren't badly affected unless food is scarce. You probably wouldn't even realise.

In fact, it would be quite an achievement to breed clams.

 

[BillyMaysChickenWings]

+1

 

[DirtyPaws949]

You don't have to worry about parasitic clams.
It's highly unlikely they would breed in a hobbyist tank.
If they breed and infest your fish, the fish aren't badly affected unless food is scarce. You probably wouldn't even realise.
In fact, it would be quite an achievement to breed clams.

That’s such a relief to hear (read)! Is there any types of fish that I ought to be hesitant about putting them with? Would small fish be okay if they became infested? What about “scaleless” fish like cats and/or loaches?

My 65Gal is one of my “dirtier” tanks, and has yo-yo loaches, a small synodontis species, and small fish like wild guppies and sparkling gourami. Eco-complete substrate.

75gal is my longest-established (and probably the “dirtiest”) aquarium I have, and has a convict cichlid pair, their fry, and a small Vieja hybrid (the male Vieja hybrid would kill her in the 150gal). Sand substrate.

The 180gal has mostly small schooling/ shoaling fish, but also has weather loaches, would the weather loaches pester the bivalves to death?
This tank is galvanized steel with HEAVY plants up top, so little-to-no algae. Sand substrate.

The 150gal has my larger cichlids, and is indoors. That aquarium probably isn’t ideal for mussels. Cichlids might abuse/eat them and it does not have any algae. Sand substrate.

The 60gal has cichlid grow-outs, and like my other outdoor tanks, has a lot of detritus/ algae, but is relatively newer compared to the aquariums listed above. Very little substrate, mostly consisting of 1-2” lava rocks for beneficial bacteria.

the rest of my aquariums are 30gal or less, and probably wouldn’t have enough food for the mussels.

I am leaning towards the 65gal or 75gal. The 65gal has full sun most of the day, and would likely be the best candidate as far as food for the mussels. The substrate is coarse, but maybe the mussels’ size would counteract the need for finer substrate?

Could I move the mussels from tank-to-tank in efforts to get them the most food, or should they stay in the tank(s) I end up putting them in initially?