[anorwood]

Hi everyone, I was hoping you could help me with a little project I wanted to start. I know its really very pointless to start a pearl farm with less than say- 3,000 oysters because it would cost so much and I don't live close enough to a clean body of water that I could go check on them daily, but I really want to have a 'mini pearl farm' at my house.

Can anyone tell me where I could buy some year-old oysters? What would I feed them? Can I keep them in a fish tank?

Thank you so much for your help!
Anna

[MABE BRAZIL]

Hi Anna,
with my little knowledge I could say thats is posible to raise oysters/mussels to producee pearls at home. They feed on microalgae. But the feasibility will depends...
About buy some individuals, where you are located?

Cordially

Ricardo Cunha Lima

[Caitlin]

Pet pearl oysters?

How large a fish tank? Indoors or out? Sea water fish tanks are done at home, but they are fairly advanced compared to freshwater tanks.

[purepearls]

That is a very interesting project to take on! Are you planning on nucleating the mollusks yourself? I'm interested to know what has stimulated this idea.....very intriguing!

[knotty panda]

Saltwater tanks are just as easy as fresh. We have several saltwater tank owners here at work, with saltwater tanks on their desks. Yo! Bri! Can I put a mollusk in your tank?

[Caitlin]

Hi Knotty
Why not put some in your own tanks? You have the advantage of having some tanks already set up.

[knotty panda]

I do? I don't have any tanks. People here at work have tanks on their desks, little teeny ones. Just amazes me that they can keep saltwater fish tanks on their desks. Now, my brother has a huge lake in his backyard, I'm guessing 20 sq.mi. I wonder how healthy it is. I wonder if gators eat pearl farmers.

[nlerner]

I knew it !!! It was only a matter of time until our dear NCNs began thinking of having pet pearl oysters instead of cats and dogs.

Would the oysters have to stay in the tanks all day or could we take them out for an evening walk on a leash.
Do you pet it or just knock on the shell?

Any suggestions for names? Ollie the Oyster, Alma the Abalone, Millie the Mollusk ...

[knotty panda]

I have an aversion to naming pets with human names. Now, "Pinky-tada" there's a possibility! (Do mollusks do tricks?)

[purepearls]

What do you plan on doing with the mollusks?

[Valeria101]

This doesn't sound much more unusual than kipping Tridacna's in aquariums to admire the colors of their mantle, does it?

Besides, knowing how pearls and formed, where, when... doesn't take any of the magic away. It is a small miracle happening in there! Even if it is basic business as usual for a few

Now, the 'pet trade' wouldn't make a dent in the nucleated mussels stock, would it ? For now...

[MABE BRAZIL]

I do not know in others countries, but here in Brazil, to raise some native mollusk I need licence and so on. It is important to choose the specie, independently of been fresh or salt water.

Ricardo

[Caitlin]

Hi Anorwood
Joking aside
Richard (Mabe Brazil) is raising some freshwater mollusks and has many posts here on the subject. If you are interested in the freshwater pearl mussels, he has learned a lot. I have long wanted to raise some freshwater mussels in a backyard pond- but I am still in the planning stages.

I am really not sure if you can buy baby sea pearl mollusks on the market, at least yet, although there is a small contingent of people trying to raise freshwater mollusks domestically, that is, in large outdoor tanks, I think most of efforts I have heard about would be under the auspices of a university extension service.

I joined the unio listserve several months ago. This list is supported by a network of freshwater mollusk scientists in the US. They are especially interested in having members who are raising mollusks in larger,outdoor tanks, not living room aquariums.

This list itself is rather dry, but I think one who was serious could get a lot of help and suggestions from indiviual members.

Freshwater mollusks are often described as the lungs of the river they live in and they are studied because they reflect the general health of the water they grow in.

This is a huge subject and I have tried to collect resources about different states and what steps they are taking for river health. you will find these under the resources section.

[Caitlin]

I forgot about his one: Fresh Water Mussels - Better than a Rock

By Robin Engelking
As published in Aqua News, Minnesota Aquarium Society, July/August 1999.
Aquarticles

http://www.aquarticles.com/articles/...20Mussels.html

And here is everyting you ever wanted to know about pearl culture.