On Jul 17, 11:45*am, H the K wrote:
Frogwatch wrote:
On Jul 17, 10:25 am, Richard Casady
wrote:
On Thu, 16 Jul 2009 06:12:56 -0500, thunder
wrote:

On Wed, 15 Jul 2009 21:37:20 -0700, Tim wrote:
Could they become a new fresh water plague?
Not that I would suggest tampering with an ecosystem, but Zebra Mussels
are not without some positive aspects. *Their filtering capabilities can
improve water quality and clarity. *There are reports of areas where the
smallmouth, perch, and even salmon fishing has improved after Zebra
Mussel infestations.
http://seapics.com/feature-subject/m.../zebra-mussel-
pictures.html
What eats them? So many acres of sunlit water will produce x tons of
plants which will support y tons of animals. It is looking like, some
places, all the animals will be mussels, and no fish whatever.

Casady

From Wiki:

"In terms of reproduction, zebra mussels are among the most prolific
of all animals. An adult female Zebra mussel may produce between
30,000 and 1 million[3] eggs per year. Spawning usually begins in the
months from late spring to early summer by free-swimming larvae
(veligers)."

So, why not take advantage of this source of protein by harvesting
them or even growing them. *Take them off whatever they grow on, grind
em up and use the result in animal feed.

Or serve them as a delicacy in really crappy rednecky restaurants? With
barbecue sauce, of course.

Harry:

We used to make "Periwinkle soup" made from coquinas we seived from
the beach sand boiled with milk and then strained to remove the sand.