Zebra Mussels in TX
 

Hey guys just wanted to let you know about the Zebra Mussels invading lakes in TX if you haven't already hear about it. They have already been found in Lake Texoma and Lake Lavon. They can easily be transferred to bodies of water from boats and trailers that aren't cleaned properly. If one attaches to your boat or trailer it can survive up to seven days out of water. These reproduce rapidly and can damage the ecosystem of the lakes pretty heavily as there is no solution to completely wipe them out without destroying everything else. They found them back in 2009 and are still fighting an expensive battle to rid the waters of them. You can google zebra mussels for more info or check out www.tpwd.state.tx.us

Just trying to get the word out. Thanks

...for what its worth they made it to our little lake in Wisconsin.... and I LOVE THEM!

The water is SOOOO clear now, its amazing... and honestly I've only stepped on one in the last two years. Our water was always really really murky and sort of gross looking - I could barely see my wakeboard if I was standing on it under-water.... not I can see down 15-20 feet no problem. Everyone hates them, but honestly I've embraced the little guys

The fisherman side of me is the concerned one haha.

Clearer water = more light to the plants = more growth = more fish habitat .... win win !

...except on our lake, the usual "hidden" fish cribs he had can now be seen by others... and the fish can see you... no more vertical jigging.

I was not sure if they could survive in warm waters year round. If they live in Texas they will probably make their way to Florida. Boy I would think that would have a dramatic affect on the ecosystem.

Does anyone know if they can survive in southern waters?

Water might be clearer, but don't they change the ecosystem of the lake? I think I would rather walk on sand, gravel, rocks than mussels....

While clearing up the water for algae to grow at greater depths, they reduce the amount of plankton which in turn will reduce the amount of species that feed off the plankton and so on up the food chain. This disruption along with invading pipelines for water supply station are what labels it as an invasive species. Also no one will be too happy if they fouling boat hills and plugging up your water intakes.

+1 for that, they invaded the lake I live on in upstate New York roughly 5 years ago ish?
Anyway, the ecosystem was barely affected according to the local surveying people, and the water is so clear and clean it's unbelievable. Our boat is usually moored about 100 feet offshore, where it's about 20 feet deep, and I can look off the edge of the boat and see our huge cement block clean and clear. Like you've said, I've only cut my foot maybe twice in all 5 years they've been here. And it's easily preventable by a good pair of water shoes (although I still barefoot it).
I know our ecosystem is a lot different than say, Texas or Florida, but overall zerbra mussels have been the least of our worries. Right now we're on the watch for spiny and fishook water fleas...

I've heard that they will eat to much plankton and reproduce so quickly that them essentiall have a boom and then there are too many for the food source and will starve, many dying off to a lower population level. Of course many native species also die off to amuch lower population level too. The pictures I've seen they do look nasty so far as growing on docks, piers, pipelines, etc.

Whoa everyone! I'm surprised there are pro-mussel posts here! I don't know if there is any research that shows they cause water to be visibly clearer, but Holy Shhhhh, once these things start to reproduce, they grow exponentially. They will cover the beaches and shore rocks with razor sharp shells everywhere. The Colorado river is infested, and there are lots of places with sandy beaches, but you can definitively tell they are shrinking and getting replaced with beaches covered with empty shells.

In my opinion the Zebra / Quagga mussel invasion of all American lakes in inevitable. These things are slowly changing sandy shores to the equivalent of shores covered with broken glass. There was a very eye opening thread last year of a couple lakes in the midwest which have been overrun with these things. Someone posted a before and after picture of the shores and it would make you throw up.

^^^ Ditto. Sad thing is most people don't care. Ideally people should only be able to have their boat visit one body of water, and that body of water either has it or it doesn't, but that would be the best and likely only option in stopping the spread. They are no joke, and they were bad in a popular Northern Indiana lake, and everyone said similar things "They filter the water." 'i haven't seen any effect on my boat". Then their water pumps stopped working, and now the mussels are miraculously an issue and being taken care of, which i'm surprised they're cleaning out as fast as they are.

Btw, great job getting this out. I'll definitely tell everyone I know in the area. Surprised Lavon got confirmed before Lewisville.

Lavon is fed from Texoma. They shut down the pipeline from Texoma but apparently not early enough. Lewisville is fed from the Trinity and hasn't had any issues yet but that just one careless or uninformed boater away from happening. Just tell people do make sure all ballast/livewell water is drained and check your hull and trailer. If seen report to TPWD immediately and wash with high pressure water.

Just a heads up! I live in Arizona but my parents live in Idaho and I made a trip up there last weekend with the boat. As soon as I crossed into Idaho I was required to pull over and they were doing inspections on all watercraft for these mussels. Luckily I was clean but they told me if they would have found any on my boat it would have be impounded for 30 days! Just letting anyone know that may be traveling that way.

Justin

Wow pretty serious business. Thanks for the heads up.

That's really what every lake, county and state should be doing, but it's way too much to take on.

Yeah it seems like it would be a ton of money but worth it in my opinion. I don't think it would compare to the amount of damage that these things can do to a water plant and so on. Out of state stuff would definitely be easier to watch to try and keep them out but once they are already in you just have to spread the word the best you can especially in a bigger state like Texas.

hijack- jarrod, will you be frequenting Hydrous - Allen Cable park once it opens? Be glad to meet you at some point.

Yeah prolly not until next season or lewisville gets too low. I need to get some hours on my boat haha. Send me a pm with your contact info so we can catch a set before the season ends.

"However, zebra mussels and other non-native species are credited with the increased population and size of smallmouth bass in Lake Erie[22] and yellow perch in Lake St. Clair.[23] They cleanse the waters of inland lakes, resulting in increased sunlight penetration and growth of native algae at greater depths. This cleansing also increases water visibility and filters out pollutants. Each quagga and zebra mussel filters about 1 US quart (0.95 l) of water a day when confined to small tanks.[24] In lakes, their filtering effects are usually spatially restricted (near the lake bottom) due to non-homogeneous water column mixing."

Yeah I've read that and it still is kind of baffling. Most sport fish feed off of shad which feed off of plankton which is also what the mussel feeds off of. At the rate they reproduce they can starve out quite a few species of fish.

FWIW, Tahoe is trying really hard to avoid the infestation...was up there this past week, and to get my in & out sticker, they literally spent 2 hours on my boat (I had been in the delta the week prior).

They flushed out everything on the boat including ballast tanks, steam-hosed everything on and in the boat, including wakeboards, vests, anchors, etc... It seemed pretty insane (2 hours!), but I guess that's the price if you want to avoid these things.

True or not, I don't get why anyone would want to turn a blind eye or not prevent from introducing an non-native species into the environment.

Heck, I wish we had them in our nearby resevoir - water in Ohio is so murky you can't see 2' down. There are no beaches or spots to walk, so bring them on!

I can see how they would be a real problem though for beaches, boats that stay in the water, water and power plants, etc.

Just out of curiosity, where are zebra mussels originally from? And what were their natural predators there?

http://tapatalk.com/mu/a6cd8ba3-1e17-949b.jpg

So it would be a bad thing if I brought my trusty shopping cart out to my next session?

According to the TX parks and wildlife website there can be some pretty serious consequences for spreading Zebra muscles.

From TXPD, http://www.texasinvasives.org/action...php?alert_id=2

"Under the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and Texas Penal Codes, possession or transporting of zebra mussels in Texas is a Class B misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $2,000, jail time up to 180 days, or both."

I believe Russia. Not sure about any predators.

There is hope http://www.upi.com/Science_News/2008...2711222974442/ but no one n the news wants to talk about it. While the kill rate is low it seems to work.

They arrived in the great lakes in the ballast tanks of Baltic trading vessels. My lake in Indiana got them almost 20 years ago from live bait wells on fishing boats that had been in Lake Erie.

The mussel population grew at an enormous rate at first, then plateaued and has started to decline in my lake. I wish we didn't have them, but they do clear the water.

They did eradicate the indigenous fresh water clam population.



We could start an ad.

WHAT ABOUT THE CLAMS! THINK ABOUT THE CLAMS!

Oh snap! What were they runnin'? Like 5k+? I heard the Baltics were known for their ridonkulous wakes.