Freshwater Muscle

There are many species of Freshwater mussels and they make interesting aquarium subjects. They are protected by two shells (Bivalves) hinged by a tough, elastic membrane. They move about by protruding a broad, tongue-shaped muscle (the foot) into the sand, then pulling themselves slowly forward. This process may dislodge plants in newly set up aquariums.
They are best known in the aquarium hobby for their role in protecting and incubating eggs of the popular Bitterling, which lay their eggs in the breathing
opening of the mussel.

They are not fussy about the type of water they live in, as long as it is not polluted – anything your fish are comfortable in should be fine for a Mussel.
Mussels like to partially bury themselves in the aquar-ium substrate, leaving themselves only partly ex-posed – therefore using a find sand or gravel is pref-erable to using a coarse gravel substrate.
If medicating a tank containing Mussels, it is best to temporarily remove the Mussels to another aquarium or holding container, as Mussels have a lower toler-ance than fish to fish medications (especially copper). Return them to the tank when the medication has been completed and the treatment has been neutral-ised (eg by water changes or using activated carbon).