Data sheet pond shell
Latin name:
Anodonta cygnea
Trade name:
pond shell
order name:
Unionida
Family:
River and pond mussels (Unionidae)
Genus:
anodonta
Origin:
Northern and Central Europe
Size (in cm:
until 20
pond size
Length and width (cm):
from 100
Content in litres:
from 200 per shell
water values
Temperature:
up to 25 °C
behavior/stocking
Area:
lower area
Lining:
Omnivores, microorganisms, algae, plankton, catfish tablets, special mussel food
Behave:
Group animal, peaceful
Number:
from 2 to 3 mussels
Life expectancy:
up to 15 years
socialization:
Yes
Difficulty level:
Beginner G.-U. Tolkien, Anodonta cygnea 2031, CC BY 3.0
General introduction
In nature they come in clean, standing water such as small ponds or ponds. Unfortunately, the animals have become rare due to increasing pollution of the waters and had to under conservation be asked.
The animals are undemanding fellows, they bring versatility to the pond. They also support natural water purification. She filter suspended matter, algae and microorganisms out of the water and feed on them. Nevertheless, they are not a substitute for a conventional filter system.
The pond filter must leave enough suspended matter in the water for the mussels to feed. They starve to death in a pool of crystal clear water. If there are fish and plants in the pond, the animals will find enough food. There is no need to feed here.
In the beginning, not too many mussels should be used. Young animals are usually sold that are still growing and their nutrient requirements are therefore increasing. If the water clears a week after insertion, the maximum number of mussels has been reached.
They are popularly referred to as Swan mussel or Weiher mussel designated.
Look
The mussel shells are ovoid, with a thin border. On the shell, concentric stripes run parallel to the growth stripes. The inside shines like mother-of-pearl. The shell lock has no teeth.
Compared to river mussels, the shells are very thin. Since the pond mussels live in water with no current, this thin shell is sufficient protection. The coloring varies greatly from yellowish to chestnut red to dark brown.
Behave
Once the animals have found a suitable location, bury themselves halfway underground. Often only the gills stick out. They colonize the bank areas in about 20 cm water depth.
They dig up the ground with their feet. They suck in the whirled up mass and filter out the components they need for nourishment. They also filter out food particles from the water they breathe, which they suck in through the siphon that introduces them.
Clams can use their foot to move slowly across the ground.
hibernate
If the pond is more than 80 cm deep, the mussels can overwinter there. At a shallow pond they have to move to a suitable aquarium in winter. The pool should be filled with pond water, have a thick sandy bottom and must not be warmer than 10 °C.
The animals that overwinter outside are placed in a bucket in the fall. The bottom of the bucket must have a 20 cm layer of sand. The animals dig themselves in there. The bucket is lowered into the pond at a deep point with a rope.
The animals hibernate and do not need to be fed or otherwise cared for. It is important that the pond, where the bucket is, does not freeze through to the bottom.
In the spring, the bucket can be brought up with the rope. The mussels are put back in their place near the shore.
Pond
Pond mussels do not make any special demands on the water parameters. One is essential 15 to 20 cm thick layer of sandthat covers the ground. There should be little or no plants and roots where the mussels sit. They would impede the water circulation. The animals could not filter out enough food.
In a pond that is at least 80 cm deep, the water temperature remains relatively constant. In shallow ponds it heats up quickly in summer and can become too warm for the mussels.
Plants and fish provide food.
inserting the shells
The animals will be about 20 to 30 cm deep water on the sand. You dig yourself in. Several mussels are distributed around the edge of the pond. If they sit too close together, they suck each other’s food away.
gender differences
pond mussels are hermaphroditeThere are no gender differences.
breed
Pond mussels become sexually mature at the age of 2 to 5 years.
As hermaphrodites, they fertilize each other, each animal being up to 600,000 eggs produced. The eggs are fertilized and hatched within the gills.
Mating takes place in the fall. The larvae (glochidia) overwinter in the mussel. The next spring, when the bitterlings are spawning, they are released.
Symbiosis pond mussel – bitterling
Both animal species need each other to procreate.
The Bitterlings lay their eggs in the clam’s gills. There they can develop undisturbed into young bitterlings. This does not bother the mussel, it is not harmed by the little ones. After 4 weeks the young fish leave their nursery.
In return, the mussel releases its own larvae in the spring. They form a slimy sticky pile that sticks to passing fish, mostly bitterlings. The clump breaks up into many small individual mussel larvae. Each is equipped with an adhesive thread and a hook. With it they colonize the gill region of the fish as glochidia.
They feed on their host’s tissues without causing much damage. When the glochidia have grown into small mussels after about 3 to 4 weeks, they fall off and begin an independent mussel life.
If the animals are not to reproduce, there must be no fish in the pond. Bitterlings are the first choice, but if they are missing, the glochidia attach themselves to other fish.
socialization
Pond mussels can be socialized with all fish where they are not on the menu.