Andy's Fish Den Posted March 4, 2021 Share Posted March 4, 2021 I just saw this earlier today, there have been zebra mussels found in some Marimo moss balls lately. Although from the article, it sounds like most of them have been found in ones sold at a big box pet store, it wouldn't be a bad idea to check any. I am going to check mine out this afternoon when I get home, because I just got a few within the last week or two. I have grown up in northern Ohio close to Lake Erie, so I have seen what the zebra mussels have done to the ecosystem of the great lakes, covering docks, boats, clogging water intakes and outlets, it would not be good if they got spread to other inland lakes or waterways. Invasive Zebra Mussels Reported in Marimo Moss Balls (reef2rainforest.com) 4 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Posted March 5, 2021 Share Posted March 5, 2021 From Amazonas Magazine - Check Your Moss Balls! Breaking news today and a developing story as the aquarium industry deals with the unintentional distribution of the highly invasive zebra mussel, Dreissena polymorpha. This species has apparently found its way into aquatic plant shipments as a hitchhiking contaminant on the ever-popular marimo moss balls, which are actaully one of three distinct growth forms of the green algae known to science as Aegagropila linnaei. https://www.reef2rainforest.com/2021/03/04/invasive-zebra-mussels-reported-in-marimo-moss-balls/ 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Streetwise Posted March 5, 2021 Share Posted March 5, 2021 Zebra mussels are terribly invasive. They are a huge nuisance on Lake Champlain, brought in through the Hudson River, container ships on the Great Lakes, canals connecting to our lake, and then onto smaller waterways via recreational boats. Besides out-competing native species, they eat so much algae, foul pipes, find every underwater intake on boats, and cut your feet if you go barefoot. I hope that they don't become more of a problem in our hobby. I have been wary of local collection because of them and other invasive species. I filmed a little bit on Shelburne Bay last year, exploring the shoreline, including looking at some of these. 9 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
All of a doodah Posted March 5, 2021 Share Posted March 5, 2021 I just received my shipment today from Aquarium Co-Op including 3 moss balls. I scooped them out of my tank and have them isolated in a mason jar. My wife posted photos of them and a friend sent us the article about the zebra mussels. I'm not sure if I should wait and see if anything comes out or if I should dispose of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Posted March 5, 2021 Share Posted March 5, 2021 The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources also sent out an alert through some local aquarium groups on Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/UtahDWR/posts/5624094357601530 Around here you have to take a course on Zebra Mussels before you can register your boat. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Posted March 5, 2021 Share Posted March 5, 2021 I got a call from Kentucky Fish and Wildlife at work today (I'm a manager at Petsmart). Nationwide, all stores are instructed to pull all marimo products off the shelf. All major retailers are getting the same instructions. 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenman Posted March 5, 2021 Share Posted March 5, 2021 Zebra Mussels are already here and have been for decades. Power suppliers wouldn't be spending millions removing zebra mussels from water intakes unless zebra mussels were already here. Confiscating moss balls will have exactly zero impact on the situation since the problem's already here and has been here for decades. This is a situation where the government "does something" but achieves nothing. Zebra mussels in an aquarium could become a headache for the aquarist, but in terms of preventing their spread, that's a fight that was lost decades ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maggie Posted March 5, 2021 Share Posted March 5, 2021 Wow!!! I feel LUCKY that I treated my (major pet chain retailer) moss balls with alum. It's been slowly killing the moss balls, but I'm confident it also killed any snails (and mussels). I was a little bummed out about the moss balls dying, but today I'm thrilled that I didn't put a possibly mussel-contaminated product into my aquarium. Seems like it's a real good idea to always quarantine our plants. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lifeisgood Posted March 5, 2021 Share Posted March 5, 2021 Living by the shores of Lake Michigan we see zebra mussel shells all the time. Not that the things don’t cause problems, but we also hear that they are having a positive affect on water quality. I am not scared of getting them in my tanks as far as that goes.🤷♀️ Of course we should not dump the moss balls into other waterways though. It seems like the moss balls could be scanned for content? They are better than the stupid Japanese “ladybugs” that the DNR introduced that bite people and horses and try to get into our houses every fall. Yuck. No one asked us about that idea! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy's Fish Den Posted March 5, 2021 Author Share Posted March 5, 2021 13 hours ago, All of a doodah said: I just received my shipment today from Aquarium Co-Op including 3 moss balls. I scooped them out of my tank and have them isolated in a mason jar. My wife posted photos of them and a friend sent us the article about the zebra mussels. I'm not sure if I should wait and see if anything comes out or if I should dispose of them. I looked the ones over that I have gotten lately (not from the Co-op), I didn't see anything on he outside and I squeezed them and didn't feel anything hard inside. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAC Posted March 5, 2021 Share Posted March 5, 2021 3 hours ago, gardenman said: Zebra Mussels are already here and have been for decades. Power suppliers wouldn't be spending millions removing zebra mussels from water intakes unless zebra mussels were already here. Confiscating moss balls will have exactly zero impact on the situation since the problem's already here and has been here for decades. This is a situation where the government "does something" but achieves nothing. Zebra mussels in an aquarium could become a headache for the aquarist, but in terms of preventing their spread, that's a fight that was lost decades ago. Respectfully, where I am and the West there are not zebra mussels. And we very much do not want them. Having a very ecological detrimental invasive species show up in pet stores all around here where they are not already is very concerning. 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harpsandfish Posted March 5, 2021 Share Posted March 5, 2021 @Cory I’m guessing you have heard this already, but just in case: https://komonews.com/news/local/invasive-zebra-mussels-found-in-marimo-moss-balls This is not good news.😔 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PlaneFishGuy Posted March 5, 2021 Share Posted March 5, 2021 This USGS site has some good information with a map of where zebra mussels have been found - you can drill down to your local area and see reports. https://nas.er.usgs.gov/queries/FactSheet.aspx?speciesID=5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Posted March 5, 2021 Share Posted March 5, 2021 We checked all of our moss balls too - picked and pulled them apart. I never found any mussels, but I don't know their lifecycle. I'd assume that they may have something akin to a larval cycle (a lot of other shellfish do), so maybe the moss balls aren't carrying full-grown ones, but larval? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Cory Posted March 5, 2021 Administrators Share Posted March 5, 2021 Hello Everyone, After searching we have found 1 mussel on a moss ball, and at least 1 in an unpacked shipment we received last night. Below is a video of what we are doing. Basically with any we have sold that we can trace back to being contaminated will be getting refunded over the next hours to days. We are asking for documentation of any that are found so we can do this tracing. How to handle the situation is addressed in the video. My apologies in advance for anyone affected by these muscles. Also as this video was just filmed and uploaded, the resolution is only 360p, but as youtube processes will improve in quality. Resources provided in the description of the video: think this article for explaining what is going on, and how what to do is a good resource for hobbyists: http://magazine.outdoornebraska.gov/2021/03/game-and-parks-urges-public-to-check-aquariums-for-invasive-zebra-mussels/ Pictures and more information on them can be found in this link: https://nas.er.usgs.gov/queries/FactSheet.aspx?speciesID=5 If you find a zebra mussel on a moss ball purchased from us, you can reach out to us here: https://www.aquariumcoop.com/pages/contact-us Please include a picture. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MDoc Posted March 5, 2021 Share Posted March 5, 2021 Awesome Cory. THANK YOU for being so proactive. What a bizarre situation. Glad you all are on top of things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandra the fish rookie Posted March 5, 2021 Share Posted March 5, 2021 Hi All~~ Happy Friday! So, I am not sure if I am the only one who's FB page blew up today with the "DO YOU HAVE THESE" asking if I have Marimo moss balls in my tank. Of course I do!. But I have had them a few months, and have never seen anything in or on them. But apparently they are a "bad" thing. Not sure if this is something we need to be aware of or look out for? I live in NC, and I don't throw anything into the water ways or toilet (including dead fish). But thought it might be a good conversation for the fish keeping hobbyist to at least know about and be aware of. Has anyone else hear of this where they are? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gideyon Posted March 5, 2021 Share Posted March 5, 2021 So is there a purchase date that we need to be concerned of? I bought those from petco on Feb 12. Do I need to take it out? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Cory Posted March 5, 2021 Administrators Share Posted March 5, 2021 Just now, Gideyon said: So is there a purchase date that we need to be concerned of? I bought those from petco on Feb 12. Do I need to take it out? No one knows yet, we will be doing contact tracing of all the ones we have sold. I think at the moment, you should visually inspect yours as the muscles are fairly obvious if you're looking for them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gideyon Posted March 5, 2021 Share Posted March 5, 2021 @Cory I did a water change yesterday, and squeezed them out. I didn't do it to look for anything - just a cleaning. Now I'm concerned. I guess I'll just keep an eye out for those things, and follow this thread. Just discovered this forum recently. Discovered it just in time. It's been timely and helpful. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Cory Posted March 5, 2021 Administrators Share Posted March 5, 2021 Make sure you watch the video. I actually think the threat from an aquarium is quite low. However everyone being cautious is a good thing here. Keep an eye is one of the best things we can do as a hobbyist. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harpsandfish Posted March 5, 2021 Share Posted March 5, 2021 @CorySo grateful for your fast response and for the info. I bought two moss balls on Feb.16 so I don’t know if that puts me in the refund category, but if it does I would like to opt OUT of a refund; for me that would feel like taking advantage of a situation that is totally not your fault. I have examined mine and don’t see any but I am going to destroy them out of an abundance of caution. We are sailors in the San Juan’s and have an appreciation for how fragile any ecosystem is. We have seen lots of boater education about these little buggers. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aubrey Posted March 5, 2021 Share Posted March 5, 2021 I think the topic of the real fish police is interesting. I know I've purchased house plants from overseas and had to pay for a phytosanitary certificate. Do aquatic plants go through a similar process? I know Cory mentioned a tetra he wanted to import from Peru was classified as a "food" fish and was not able to be imported. I would enjoy hearing more about all the laws, permits, and ethical reasonings involved in the global fish/plant trade. It might seem boring, but ultimately they do effect us hobbyists too. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoldenGardner Posted March 5, 2021 Share Posted March 5, 2021 We bought a moss ball from the coop on 2/21. It's a floating Christmas Moss Ball. Is this the same? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoldenGardner Posted March 5, 2021 Share Posted March 5, 2021 Ok, I think I answered my own question: Christmas Moss Scientific Name is Vesicularia montagnei and Marimo Moss is Aegagropila linnaei 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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