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#1 Fleendar the Magnificent

Fleendar the Magnificent
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  • Ohio

Posted 09 March 2019 - 01:50 PM

Here in Ohio it's illegal to catch, keep or even have the shells of all native mussels and clams due to being threatened. The question I have is this, we have the invasive Asian clam in huge numbers here as well (Corbicula fluminea) which is native to Australia, Africa and Southern Asia. Would it be illegal to capture and keep these in an aquarium or their shells? Ohio laws concerning bivalves are as clear as mud because all they tell you(in legalese speak) is that "you cannot keep, sell, buy or possess live or the shells of bivalves in Ohio, but they don't specify) for the obvious reasons of they don't know if you killed them or just found the empty shells. This is just something I would like to get a more definitive answer on. We enjoy a truly beautiful hobby of keeping native fish for our tanks, but we do not want to run afoul of the law or take/harm anything endangered or protected.

 

TIA

 

Chris M.



#2 Matt DeLaVega

Matt DeLaVega
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  • Ohio

Posted 09 March 2019 - 06:37 PM

Law says bivalves. That would include Corbicula. No reason to keep native bivalves. They rely on large amounts of nutrient filled water flowing past them daily. Most aquariums do not have the volume or the microorganism base to satisfy their needs. Places that rear mussels typically borrow water directly from a local river to cater to their needs. Corbicula are more likely to survive in an aquarium and may be worth purchasing, but probably not collecting. The burden of proof is on you, and could be expensive. Not worth it in my opinion.


The member formerly known as Skipjack


#3 Fleendar the Magnificent

Fleendar the Magnificent
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Posted 10 March 2019 - 12:32 PM

Much appreciated Matt. Was just wondering about these invasive species and if keeping the dead shells was ok too. Since they've been in the U.S. for almost 100 years now, I guess that they may as well be considered "native" now.

 

Thanks for the help.

 

Chris



#4 Doug_Dame

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Posted 10 March 2019 - 01:56 PM

I have designed a evaluation test for people to self-assess whether they have the mettle to keep freshwater bivalves in a std aquarium set-up.

 

Note this does NOT cover the more difficult part of a "Success With Bivalves" operation, which is providing suitable food.

 

Shopping list:

* 4 to 6 river-rock "pebbles", approx 5 cm in size

* Sharpie permanent marker pen

* 5 US quarters (in a pinch, any denomination will work, but you won't get the same satisfaction from cheap materials)

* calendar

 

Instructions:

 

(1) Using the Sharpie pen, write "faux bivalve" on each of the river rocks

 

(2) write notes on the calendar 

     (2a) for [today], "bivalves introduced to Tank X", and, 

     (2b) for 2 years from [today], "stop/continue date for Bivalve Experiment"

     (2c) for 7 days forward, "check bivalves"

 

(3) bury the Faux Bivalves in the substrate of your aquarium, no more than 6 cm deep

       * optional better approach: ask someone else to do this for you

 

(4) on the designated 7th day, find and dig up the bivalves

 

(5a) crank the probability machine, aka flip all 5 quarters, once per bivalve. If you get 5 Tails, that bivalve has died. Ah, so sad.

    (5b) put dead bivalve in the freezer pending the next trash pickup

    (5c) replace the dead bivalve

 

(6) loop back and continue from Step 2c.

 

 

(+) Sporadically during the week as you're doing other fish-tank stuff: spend time watching the tank with bivalves, to see if they're out & about, interacting tolerably well with the other occupants of your tank, and/or displaying any interesting behaviors.

 

HTH

 

Doug


Doug Dame

Floridian now back in Florida
 


#5 Fleendar the Magnificent

Fleendar the Magnificent
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  • Ohio

Posted 10 March 2019 - 03:58 PM

I tried this experiment before to test myself and my aqua thumb, and, after all of my hopes and expectations, and in the words of Charlie Brown, all I got was a rock.... :shock: On the bright side, it's VERY peaceful rock and bothers no one.



#6 UncleWillie

UncleWillie
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  • Georgia

Posted 11 March 2019 - 08:01 AM

Yall crack me me up!

Chris, one thing to remember is the laws are not necessarily based on abundance.  Sure, Corbicula are abundant, but as you mentioned in the title heading, considered invasive in Ohio.  If you replace the Corbicula with another animal with the word "invasive" in front of it, it would also be illegal to possess.  I suppose the blanket statement of "illegal to possess bivalves" makes sure that native mussels are left alone and invasive species don't get spread.


Willie P


#7 Fleendar the Magnificent

Fleendar the Magnificent
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Posted 11 March 2019 - 01:20 PM

Thanks Willie, does make sense put into that perspective, similar to other invasive species where you can find them in the lakes, rivers and ponds, but it's illegal to catch and keep them for the reason of moving them around thus perpetuating their spread.

 

Thanks again. Now back to patiently watching my very colorful, bottom dwelling bivalve rock....

 

Chris



#8 Moontanman

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Posted 11 March 2019 - 08:49 PM

Are there any freshwater mussels being imported other than the Asian clam variety? I mean the long bivalve instead of the almost round ones we are familiar with? 


Michael

Life is the poetry of the universe
Love is the poetry of life

#9 Fleendar the Magnificent

Fleendar the Magnificent
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  • Ohio

Posted 12 March 2019 - 01:28 PM

As far as I know, no, but don't hold me to that. People probably import aquatic critters once in awhile that get through, perhaps even more common in the Asian food area like these were brought in 100 years ago.



#10 gerald

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Posted 14 March 2019 - 12:17 PM

I have seen Asian river mussels in local pet shops.  So far no surviving escapees have been documented, as far as I know.  All the long-oval and trapezoid-shaped mussels seen in NC/SC waters are native species, so far.  Corbicula are more triangular-rounded.  Zebra mussels and Quagga mussels haven't yet become established in the Carolinas, but that could change.


Gerald Pottern
-----------------------
Hangin' on the Neuse
"Taxonomy is the diaper used to organize the mess of evolution into discrete packages" - M.Sandel


#11 Fleendar the Magnificent

Fleendar the Magnificent
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Posted 15 March 2019 - 01:04 PM

I am sure that somewhere in Ohio, the Asian clams are for sale in aquarium shops, just haven't seen them yet. However, they're all over the local river. Thousands of dead shell halves all over the place  in just one tiny area. We also have about 60 native mussel species left in Ohio. However, the river I wade in, all I see is dead shells. Not a good sign of the water quality. As for the zebra and quagga mussels, Quaggas are(for now) limited to all of the Great Lakes, the Ohio river down below Indiana and places out west. The Zebra mussel is *everywhere* in the Midwest. There's no way to eradicate them now as they're too widespread. They're right on the western border of NC as illustrated by the USGS site, but NC, SC Georgia and Florida are clear, for now.



#12 gerald

gerald
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Posted 18 March 2019 - 03:49 PM

Corbicula ("golden clams" in the trade) are the dominant bivalve all over NC too.  In some rivers, including the Neuse in Raleigh, parts of the river bed have more Corbicula shells than gravel.  Corbicula are short-lived, but their shells are thick and last a long time. The Asian mussel I was referring to in pet shops is Pilsbryoconcha exilis.


Gerald Pottern
-----------------------
Hangin' on the Neuse
"Taxonomy is the diaper used to organize the mess of evolution into discrete packages" - M.Sandel


#13 Fleendar the Magnificent

Fleendar the Magnificent
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Posted 07 April 2019 - 08:33 PM

I've never seen the Asian mussel you speak of, but I DO like eating the Asian green mussel found in soups, stews and such at Asian restaurants. However, I think that they're saltwater. We don't have the Pils Exilis around here that I've ever seen.






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