Pond mussel approx. 10cm

Please note that we do not ship fish by mail. The pond mussels must be collected from us in Oberweningen. We will pack the mussels professionally for you and ensure sufficient oxygenation. This means that even longer transports can be managed without problems. We will also be happy to inform you about transport and the correct placement of the fish in your pond.

Origin and Appearance
The great pond mussel, also known as the swan mussel, can be found in stagnant, muddy waters in Northern and Central Europe.

The mussel has two calcareous shells that serve as protection. They are slightly oval, relatively thin-walled, and yellow to dark brown in color. They can grow up to 26cm in size. The nervous system of the pond mussel consists of two nerve cords, which it needs for locomotion and respiration.

They are bottom-dwelling animals that anchor themselves in fine gravel or sandy substrate, where they filter their food from the water by stirring up the substrate.

Care and Feeding
Pond mussels are robust and can be kept without problems in home garden ponds or biotopes with small fish such as bitterlings. However, in a classic fish pond, where the focus is on the fish, we do not recommend stocking pond mussels. In the parasitic stage of mussel reproduction, the fish are injured and affected by the mussel larvae.

The ideal location for pond mussels is in shallow water, but where there is still circulating turbid water. It must be at least 10 cm deep to avoid larger temperature fluctuations. They feed on plankton, algae and microorganisms. You should allow a minimum of 120 liters of water per pond mussel. Mussels are also suitable as "pond filters" for small bodies of water. A single mussel can filter up to 40 liters per hour. The result is crystal clear water. However, if a pond is too clean, the food source for the mussel can run dry, and the animals would inevitably starve.

Pond mussels are hermaphrodites and reproduce in autumn. The larvae (glochidia) are spread from January to April by carp-like fish. They can produce up to 600,000 eggs. The larvae overwinter in the gills of the mussels and are only expelled in spring. There they attach themselves to the gills of passing fish and live for a time in a "parasitic stage", in the so-called glochidium. The pond mussel preferably spreads via bitterlings, with which it lives in symbiosis. The bitterling uses the mussel for its reproduction, and the mussel uses the bitterling for its spread.

Water Temperatures and Hibernation
Pond mussels are native animals and can therefore overwinter in the garden pond without problems. They can tolerate temperatures between 4 - 28 °C.