Feeding live Mussels from the Grocery store

[Dilan Patel]

So in light of me getting two new copperbands yesterday and wanting to do as much as possible to be successful I was at the Grocery store today and decided to pick up some liv e mussels to see if that will peak his intrest. This is only his first real day in my tank so he probably won't eat but its worth a try. I am just wondering how I should prepare it for them? Never really used live mussels before. I do have clams on the half shell as well as fish frenzy which has black worms in it(which I cannot get black worms locally), Reef Frenzy,Pe Mysis, Butterfly and angel fish mix from ocean nutrition as well as Live brine shrimp as a last resort. So as you can see I am determined to get these guys to eat If any of these items work better than the brine shrimp I will be happy due to the shrimp not being very nutritious and 2$ a teaspoon. When I can get LRS for 10$ for an 8oz pack and 5$ for a lb o

 

[Big G]

Have you considered "white worms"? Much easier to cultivate than black worms. Here's a great link by Paul B: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/give-your-white-worms-a-bath.350754/#post-4365170
I just got some last week and am already surprised how they have started growing and multiplying. I too endeavor to keep CBB.
Can't help you with the live mussels. But support your CBB attempt. Beautiful fish. Best of luck.
https://madriverseeds.ecrater.com/c/1780299/other-items

 

[Dilan Patel]

I cant really get worms from my LFS for some reason they are my only LFS around my area and have a decent selection but no worms. Glad you support me as I care about my fish and hate losing them. I only attempted a CBB once and lost it a couple months after sadly. If you would like to see updates on how these fish are doing I will be posting on my build thread hopefully no bad news arrises.

 

[Big G]

Yes. I found this place online. They send you a small pack of worms. All you need is a plastic shoebox and some mulch & dry cat food. Viola! Lots of little 1 1/2" white worms that Paul B swears by.
Wasn't a big fan of the black worms. The place in California that sells them online is really pricy and once you get them you have to keep them in the refrigerator (big no from the wife) and change water frequently. Too much.
Yeah, I lost a CBB too. It never ate. But you will do well

 

[cracker]

For the clams You can freeze one & smash it into a crack in the rock or raw on the 1/2 shell maybe.

 

[Dilan Patel]

Rn I just placed it in there with him and cracked it open so it does not close on his nose if he were to try and pick at it if it were not cracked open by me.

 

[Dilan Patel]

So here is some good news. About 1min later after adding a mussel into the other tank with a butterfly (the new tank) it decided to try and eat it. It has since been picking at it!!! but sadly the other in the acclimation box has neglected the mussel but that could be to it not liking the acclimation box. Will give him brine shrimp tonight just to get his belly full if he does not try the mussel.

 

[Dilan Patel]

Updat. They are both eating mussls and this is there second full day in the tank.

 

[Holy_makerel]

Updat. They are both eating mussls and this is there second full day in the tank.

Congrats!!

 

[Erwan E]

I have used mussels in the past to feed my fish. However, I was always afraid about introducing bacteria so I steamed them beforehand. The fish go crazy!!

 

[Dilan Patel]

the bacteria actually makes them stronger as seen in paul b tanks. as well as straming or any type of cooking breaks down the proteins in the mussels so its always better to feed them live or frozen

 

[Dilan Patel]

so dont be afraid to just drip them in the tank

 

[FloodWaters]

I usually buy a few at a time and freeze them in baggies with tank water. Once I need to use one I run cold tap water over the clam to thaw it and rinse out any gunk inside the shell. A nice bonus of freezing first is that you can open them MUCH easier and reduce the risk of stabbing yourself try to crack them. Most of the time I dip them back into a cup of tank water to get rid of any tap water and the fish go bonkers for them.