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Re: Zebra Mussels Spread to Lake Lewisville [Re: wrestlefish] #9113856 07/10/13 04:42 AM
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Yep, kind of like some of the snakes and fish that now inhabit the everglades...learn to deal with it...because we couldn't prevent it. It may be that we have to get some northern biologists (zebra mussel experts) hired into the TP@W to keep an eye on them...and figure out management plans based on their colonization in our lakes.

Re: Zebra Mussels Spread to Lake Lewisville [Re: LHodge] #9115503 07/10/13 06:55 PM
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I am sure they already know what they need to do. You are not going to control them in the lakes. You just kind of have to let them take their course. You might be able to control them in small manmade areas however by controlling water temperature and such. Those examples are there of what they have done up north to adjust the Zebras, and what they do in Europe when they build knowing they have to deal with the mussels.

Example. In Europe, anytime they build structures with intake pipes, they build two. ONe to use and one to cap off. When they close one off to clean it, they open the other one. I am not sure we have that luxury with our old pre-zebra mussel structures.

It causes a lot of problems, so we need to minimize their spread by draining our boats. It is going to be a big tax expense if we have to accommodate for zebras in all of our bodies of water at once.

Unfortunately, now that they are in Bridgeport and Lewisville, the Trinity River basin is in trouble, and that is a lot of lakes. I wish we could stop the flow of water from one reservoir to another, but that is pretty much impossible.


Last edited by wrestlefish; 07/10/13 06:57 PM.
Re: Zebra Mussels Spread to Lake Lewisville [Re: wrestlefish] #9115710 07/10/13 07:59 PM
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You would think by now the experts would have figured out a way to control the population, if not eliminate it altogether.

Re: Zebra Mussels Spread to Lake Lewisville [Re: LHodge] #9116273 07/10/13 10:05 PM
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And here lies the problem. They reproduce so fast that once they are established, there is no getting rid of them. They simply take over the bottom of the lake, and they change the ecosystem indefinitely.

From Wikipedia

"The life span of a zebra mussel is four to five years.[11] A female zebra mussel begins to reproduce within 67 weeks of settling. (see Borcherding, J. (1991): The annual reproductive cycle of the freshwater mussel Dreissena polymorpha Pallas in lakes. Oecologia 87: 208-218).

An adult female zebra mussel can produce 1,000 eggs each reproductive cycle and upwards of 1 million each year. Free-swimming microscopic larvae, called veligers, will drift in the water for several weeks and then settle onto any hard surface they can find. Zebra mussels also can tolerate a wide range of environmental conditions and adults can even survive out of water for about 7 days."

So understanding that they are here to stay, there will be strategies implemented to keep the mussels from plugging equipment. Within equipment, adjusting water temp, chlorination, and other strategies can be used to keep them from ruining equipment. It just becomes a never-ending battle that nobody wants to deal with, but we will be dealing with it. We kept it out of Texas for a long time. Took over 20 years to get here. But now they are here.

Last edited by wrestlefish; 07/10/13 10:15 PM.
Re: Zebra Mussels Spread to Lake Lewisville [Re: wrestlefish] #9116585 07/10/13 11:29 PM
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I don't know how they reproduce, but I wonder if sterilization could be an effective strategy? Or if there is something, a fish perhaps, that can feed on the young in the early stages (larvae) of life...

Re: Zebra Mussels Spread to Lake Lewisville [Re: LHodge] #9116990 07/11/13 01:14 AM
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They reproduce to fast for predation to be an answer. They have found some parasites that are promising. I would think that something host specific to a zebra mussel could be the answer.

Like you, I think the answer may be biological, but I think a parasite, bacteria, or virus may have a better chance of having the wide scale effect. Predation just doesn't work due to their pure numbers and ability to reproduce. If something is to be used to wipe them out, it too would need to be prolific, and microbes can do that, whether it be a bacteria or a virus.

Re: Zebra Mussels Spread to Lake Lewisville [Re: wrestlefish] #9135684 07/16/13 09:15 PM
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I was up on Texoma this weekend and noticed signs warning of Zebra mussel infestations...do you have any idea how long they have been established there and what, if any, impact has resulted over that time horizon?

Re: Zebra Mussels Spread to Lake Lewisville [Re: crapicat] #9204248 08/07/13 12:47 AM
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Where will they show up next?

Re: Zebra Mussels Spread to Lake Lewisville [Re: crapicat] #9207645 08/07/13 11:28 PM
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Originally Posted By: crapicat
I was up on Texoma this weekend and noticed signs warning of Zebra mussel infestations...do you have any idea how long they have been established there and what, if any, impact has resulted over that time horizon?


I think this is the third year with zebra mussels on Texoma. IMO its been a net positive for the lake because they have made the water clear. The first 2 years they came on strong. I would find them all over the shoreline and beaches. Now I rarely see them at all. Catfish and crawfish eat them. I think carp and drum may eat them as well. Hasn't affected the fishing. I don't do anything for the boats either. We have sea ray on a lift and 40ft houseboat that stays in the water and we have not had any problems despite absolutely no prevention measures. Best thing you can do is drive the boats once a week although the houseboat rarely gets driven and still no zebra mussel problems. Initially in the first two years there were a lot of reports of big boats with zebra mussel problems.

Ya'll just need to drain the water out of your boats which you should be doing anyways.

Last edited by TexomaPowerboater; 08/08/13 12:01 AM.
Re: Zebra Mussels Spread to Lake Lewisville [Re: LHodge] #9207783 08/08/13 12:00 AM
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zebra_mussel

Crayfish could have a significant impact on the densities of 1 to 5 mm long zebra mussels. An adult crayfish consumes an average of nearly 105 zebra mussels every day, or about 6000 mussels in a season. Predation rates are significantly reduced at cooler water temperatures. It seems that fish do not limit the densities of zebra mussels in European lakes. Smallmouth bass are a predator in the zebra mussels' adopted North American Great Lakes habitat.[14]

Re: Zebra Mussels Spread to Lake Lewisville [Re: TexomaPowerboater] #9208513 08/08/13 03:18 AM
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Originally Posted By: TexomaPowerboater
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zebra_mussel

Crayfish could have a significant impact on the densities of 1 to 5 mm long zebra mussels. An adult crayfish consumes an average of nearly 105 zebra mussels every day, or about 6000 mussels in a season. Predation rates are significantly reduced at cooler water temperatures. It seems that fish do not limit the densities of zebra mussels in European lakes. Smallmouth bass are a predator in the zebra mussels' adopted North American Great Lakes habitat.[14]



So crayfish are the answer...and they even muddy up the water in the process....Interesting information.

Re: Zebra Mussels Spread to Lake Lewisville [Re: crapicat] #9209916 08/08/13 05:00 PM
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Originally Posted By: crapicat
Originally Posted By: TexomaPowerboater
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zebra_mussel

Crayfish could have a significant impact on the densities of 1 to 5 mm long zebra mussels. An adult crayfish consumes an average of nearly 105 zebra mussels every day, or about 6000 mussels in a season. Predation rates are significantly reduced at cooler water temperatures. It seems that fish do not limit the densities of zebra mussels in European lakes. Smallmouth bass are a predator in the zebra mussels' adopted North American Great Lakes habitat.[14]



So crayfish are the answer...and they even muddy up the water in the process....Interesting information.


IMO all the science out there as it relates to zebra mussels in TX is outdated junk. Catfish eat them, but you won't read a word about it on any article despite numerous youtube video's documenting zebra mussles in the bellies of Texoma catfish. If crawfish, catfish, and small mouth eat them then I don't know why carp and drum wouldn't eat them either.

I don't give any of these supposed scientific experts a ounce of credibility after they cost the local Texoma economy millions with their false green algea scare that never hurt a single person in OK or TX, nor has it resulted in a single death in the entire country ever. Their incompetence was so damaging that it led to the OK legislature removing the corp of engineers authority to issue algea warnings in the state.

Re: Zebra Mussels Spread to Lake Lewisville [Re: TexomaPowerboater] #9209979 08/08/13 05:19 PM
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Seems the "experts" always seem to have an angle to write from...that is whomever is paying for the study, gets the answer they want...there is NEVER any truly independent evaluations or "Unbiased Studies" performed...that is why I always have a skeptical perspective when I hear someone sounding off about some "Problem" that needs our tax dollars or our private dollars or our assistance to solve.

Re: Zebra Mussels Spread to Lake Lewisville [Re: TexomaPowerboater] #9210941 08/08/13 10:04 PM
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Originally Posted By: TexomaPowerboater
Originally Posted By: crapicat
I was up on Texoma this weekend and noticed signs warning of Zebra mussel infestations...do you have any idea how long they have been established there and what, if any, impact has resulted over that time horizon?


I think this is the third year with zebra mussels on Texoma. IMO its been a net positive for the lake because they have made the water clear. The first 2 years they came on strong. I would find them all over the shoreline and beaches. Now I rarely see them at all. Catfish and crawfish eat them. I think carp and drum may eat them as well. Hasn't affected the fishing. I don't do anything for the boats either. We have sea ray on a lift and 40ft houseboat that stays in the water and we have not had any problems despite absolutely no prevention measures. Best thing you can do is drive the boats once a week although the houseboat rarely gets driven and still no zebra mussel problems. Initially in the first two years there were a lot of reports of big boats with zebra mussel problems.

Ya'll just need to drain the water out of your boats which you should be doing anyways.


I am from New York, and grew up fishing lake Erie; i have seen how the zebra muscles affected the water and fishery, i can tell you that it takes longer than 3 years to see the negative impacts of these prolific breeders.

nothing affects the habitat of fish like crystal clear water, do some research on it. i remember seeing the fish swimming around 35-40' down at times on Lake Erie. This clarity definitely changes fish behavior and ability to cope with the sun and its affects on them and their habitat.

zebra muscles are not an asset, rather they are a destructive, non-native species to our ecosystem that should have never been released into our waterways by foreign ships so long ago. they disrupt the food chain and as the smaller fish get hit in population size, eventually the game fish we all love to catch will see a decline as well.

hopefully our native Texas species fight back and show these foreigners who the boss of Texas is!

Last edited by General Jigs; 08/09/13 03:12 PM.

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Re: Zebra Mussels Spread to Lake Lewisville [Re: General Jigs] #9212642 08/09/13 01:38 PM
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Originally Posted By: General Jigs
Originally Posted By: TexomaPowerboater
Originally Posted By: crapicat
I was up on Texoma this weekend and noticed signs warning of Zebra mussel infestations...do you have any idea how long they have been established there and what, if any, impact has resulted over that time horizon?


I think this is the third year with zebra mussels on Texoma. IMO its been a net positive for the lake because they have made the water clear. The first 2 years they came on strong. I would find them all over the shoreline and beaches. Now I rarely see them at all. Catfish and crawfish eat them. I think carp and drum may eat them as well. Hasn't affected the fishing. I don't do anything for the boats either. We have sea ray on a lift and 40ft houseboat that stays in the water and we have not had any problems despite absolutely no prevention measures. Best thing you can do is drive the boats once a week although the houseboat rarely gets driven and still no zebra mussel problems. Initially in the first two years there were a lot of reports of big boats with zebra mussel problems.

Ya'll just need to drain the water out of your boats which you should be doing anyways.


I come New York, and from fishing lake Erie; i have seen how the zebra muscles affected the water and fishery, i can tell you that it takes longer than 3 years to see the negative impacts of these prolific breeders.

nothing affects the habitat of fish like crystal clear water, do some research on it. i remember seeing the fish swimming around 35-40' down at times on Lake Erie. definitely changes their behavior and ability to cope with the sun and its affects on them and their habitat.

zebra muscles are not an asset, rather they are a destructive, non-native species to our ecosystem that should have never been released into our waterways by foreign ships so long ago.

hopefully our native Texas species fight back and show these foreigners who the boss of Texas is!


I used to fish the St Lawrance and Lake Ontario growing up in the summers with my grandpa. I hear the St. lawrance is now clear.

When they invaded Lake Erie did they come on strong for the first two years and then subside to the point that you rarely see them anymore on the shoreline?

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