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Joined: Mar 2004
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Has anyone purposefully put zebra mussels into their pond or does anyone have them in their pond? I believe here in Texas it would be illegal but I have heard that Lake Texoma now has them in it. Can they clean the water of excess nutrients reducing the risk of a fish kill? I have read good and bad things about them being in the Great Lakes. The good is that the fishing is the best ever with very clean water. The bad is that they clog up every pipe and inlet into the Lakes.
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Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 914
Lunker
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Lunker
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That's a good one. You would probably be taken out and shot for putting those anywhere. One of the worst if not the worst invasive species ever to hit the US. I cannot think of anything worse.
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Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 457
Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
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Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
Joined: Jan 2010
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European starling, common European rat. Brown tree Snake. Round Gobi, Brushtail Opposum, Common housecat, eurasian boar (domestic pig) and my personal favorite: the grey squirrel (exterminating fox squirrels in a neighborhood near you!)
Sorry, took a class on this, the prof was vehemently angry about it. Made us memorize lists of what he called "bad".
That doesn't mean that any of these (or the rest) are actually worse than the zebra mussel, i wouldn't know. Just impulse to spout them off after that grueling experience.
Last edited by skinnybass; 03/23/10 12:58 PM. Reason: had to blame the teacher.
Trying to help with 7.5 Acres in the Chain of Lakes Illinois - - The fish would stay out of trouble if it could just keep its fool mouth shut. Turns out there is a lot I should be learning from the fish.
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Joined: Oct 2005
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Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
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Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
Joined: Oct 2005
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you forgot the house sparrow
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Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 457
Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
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Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
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yeah. along with the clearcutting of the northeast by the early settlers, the house sparrow helped kill off the courier pigeon.
RIP the courier pigeon. he was a good bird......
and we left out the common domesticated dog...along with extermination of the prairie dog took down the Black Footed Ferret (at least reduced them to 17 remaining...they are making a comeback, though....). Awesome little guys, the BFF, fascinating creatures. Our South Dakota or Wyoming Friends have probably heard all about them.
What's really interesting is the prairie dog killing sprees....you know as much as it is accepted as common knowledge nowadays there is not documented, verifiable research that proves the potential economic harm prairie dogs have on ranch lands is actually higher than the confirmed cost of exterminating them as "pests"? (at least there wasn't when i wrote the paper, and most people were pointing to the fact that there wasn't any confirmation of it...who knows, i studied that years ago, could be very wrong).
Last edited by skinnybass; 03/23/10 01:08 PM.
Trying to help with 7.5 Acres in the Chain of Lakes Illinois - - The fish would stay out of trouble if it could just keep its fool mouth shut. Turns out there is a lot I should be learning from the fish.
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Joined: Jan 2010
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Lunker
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Well, I'll go on ongoing costs to not control them. 500-600 million a year, and that will probably double to a cool billion a year as they spread.
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Joined: Jan 2010
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Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
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Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
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back on topic....kinda funny actually....my fiance just applied for an internship over the summer surveying zebra mussels in the kaskaskia river here in s. Illinois. lol...she had to sign a waiver something about leeches, stinging insects, waterborne parasites etc.
Good times, good times.
Trying to help with 7.5 Acres in the Chain of Lakes Illinois - - The fish would stay out of trouble if it could just keep its fool mouth shut. Turns out there is a lot I should be learning from the fish.
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Joined: Sep 2003
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Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Hall of Fame 2014 Lunker
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Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Hall of Fame 2014 Lunker
Joined: Sep 2003
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james, one might be able to walk across you pond on certain days with the amount of fish you have in there.
And you're still looking for ways to push the envelope!
Excerpt from Robert Crais' "The Monkey's Raincoat:" "She took another microscopic bite of her sandwich, then pushed it away. Maybe she absorbed nutrients from her surroundings."
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So most of you think it would be a bad idea? I'm not quite sure if after reading your statements you thought it might work or not?lol
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Joined: Feb 2009
Posts: 941
Lunker
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Don't do it. If not really messing with the lower end of the food chain they have sharp edges and will cut your fishing line. Plus they get really thick on everything and will just be a mess that will not be controllable.
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Joined: Dec 2008
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Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
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Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
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Not zebra mussels, but another mussel of the invasive variety near me... LINCOLN, Nebraska -- Larvae of the destructive quagga mussel, a species similar to the zebra mussel, recently have been discovered in several Colorado waters, including Julesburg Reservoir. Zebra mussels have been discovered in northeast Nebraska on sites along the Missouri River and at an Offutt Air Force Base lake.
According to Darrol Eichner, fisheries management supervisor for southwest Nebraska, whose responsibilities encompass Lake McConaughy, zebra and quagga mussels are extremely destructive. "They damage boat engines, threaten native mussels, fish and wildlife through competition and cost taxpayers millions of dollars by clogging power plant and public water intakes and pipes."
Eichner said the primary way these mussels can spread is on boats trailered by the public or commercial haulers. They can spread on boat hulls as visible adults ranging from 1/8- to 1-inch in size. They also can be transported as microscopic larvae, called veligers, in a boat's engine cooling system, bilge and live well water. If a fishing or recreational boat has been in infested waters for less than one day, it could be carrying zebra mussels.
Eichner said they are quite prolific. "A female can release up to one million eggs each season, so transporting just one zebra mussel can spell trouble for western waters and your boat."
Zebra mussels were introduced to the Great Lakes in 1986 in ship ballast water. They have spread to at least 20 states and two Canadian Provinces.
Eichner said Julesburg Reservoir is just too close for comfort to Nebraska waters, including Lake McConaughy. "We get a lot of Colorado boaters, and it would be very easy for adult mussels to hitch a ride on a boat hull, or for larvae to stow away in bilge and live wells for a ride into Nebraska."
Julesburg Reservoir is less than 50 miles from Lake McConaughy and is on the South Platte River drainage.
Eichner said it is critical that anglers realize that these exotic mussels can cause severe harm to the fishery as well as to personal boating equipment. Anglers should thoroughly inspect their boats, motors and trailers for the presence of zebra mussels. They should drain, dry and even wash off boats and trailers before moving from one lake to another. Zebra mussels produce young that are too small to see with the naked eye, but newly settled young feel like fine sandpaper on smooth boat hulls. As they grow, they can be seen on boat hulls, especially around the trim tabs, transducers, along keels and on lower units and propellers.
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Joined: Apr 2002
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Lunker
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Lunker
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Don't do it man! It would be an act near impossible to undo! Besides your fish won't eat then but they will certainly eat a big portion of the base of your food chain!
Owner/Builder of Ottawa Canada's first official off-grid home. http://www.mygamepictures.com - Hosting your outdoor adventure, fishing, hunting and sports related pictures!
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Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 131
Lunker
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Zebra mussel beds = Razor wire
That's not good for anything, especially fishing line...
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Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 349
Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
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Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
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I have never heard of any good reason to put those on a waterway that does not have them...I'm sure there are reasons for that.
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