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Extraordinary!

A prudent measure. Topical applications of antibiotics are infinitely better than systemic indications, especially for prophylaxis. Aside from being more economical it also reduces the likelihood of increased resistance in other species. Even then, the efficacy of antibiotics applies mainly to...

As a rule of thumb (even with broad spectrum antibiotics), you can't indicate what you can't stain. In fact, treatment may not be necessary at all. Cross that bridge if or when you get there.

30 hours is not a problem for relaying mussels so long as the shell stock is cooled, immersed and oxygenated. However, without adequate quarantine measures you run the risk of introducing invasive species and/or diseases.

I'd suspect purple has the highest incidence of occurrence thus breeding for it offers a greater opportunity to select among the strongest genetic expressions.

On that we agree. While I suspect numerous sham, scam and spam posts never see the light of day by the admins, these ought to stand for rebuke. For the sake of consumer protection and broader education. On a side note, it demonstrates the effort by the admins to screen this stuff behind the...

My thoughts exactly. The three white pieces may be tridacna pearls, but the purple and tan are beads.

Social media influencers (otherwise unemployed models looking for free stuff) broadly appear in staged settings, not real life situations while their numbers are almost always bot driven.

These charlatans sometimes go to great length to put a lustrous polish on the shell. Little do they realize it's not what experts look for. Most often these are cut from the thickest part of the shell, which is called the umbo. Each and every one seen by me to date reveal bisected growth fronts...

Purple results from the thinnest epithelial structures. The best example being most bivalves present as purple along the margins where two shells meet. Proteins indeed play a role, but much of the purple colour is perceived by the flat orientation of aragonite in a minimal space. Colourful...

It all adds up too. *palms forehead* Works for mabes why not the nuke? 20-23mm is some serious tunnelling though, no less with mussels. That is a lot of expansion! They lean to purple colour which usually dictates the pearl sac is at or near minimum thickness. It takes time to expand tissue, no...

Hi MarinH20, My apologies for missing this thread. Congratulations on your find! The food oyster Crassostrea virginica is widely produced and/or occurs naturally on the east coast of North America. Occasionally, pearls may be found. I believe Cookes Cove oysters are dredged in the wild, hence...

Exactly. At the end of the day, it's just calcium carbonate bound by proteins. In industry, pulverizing is a heat treatment (friction) thus any elegant variation of aragonite will inevitably revert to calcite immediately. At a price per ton it's much cheaper to buy in volume than targeting...

He managed to get three defiant comments before Googling giant clam pearl. They disappear quickly once they discover the aircraft they attempted to fly is unworthy of flight even before being shot down in flames.

It's likely natural, but in a cultural setting. Always interesting nonetheless. This type of pearl is common on my operation and I'd expect you'll see many more over the years. Congratulations on your successes and I'm hopeful these continue.

Correct and agreed. Hinge blisters form in or near the heart (pericardium). Having immediate and great proximity to vascular flow, pearls of this type grow rapidly and are largely granular and calcareous.

Agreed. There may have also been some degradation which could have occluded the sub-surface due to cooking. That said, the shape has good symmetry and significant size for a natural pearl. Although not a highly lustrous piece, it may still be crafted into something attractive and unique...

They don't have a brain, hence pain is not processed the same way. In nature, creatures like mussels survive where even other molluscs cannot. These settings are often fraught with environmental stresses. Storms, falling or tumbling rock, logs ashore, radical temperature shear, predation etc...

Thank you for this and others who contributed. The course gives a proper insight to the origin of cultured pearls.

You are currently hands on with shellfish, that's a good start. I'm not a degree biologist either, insomuch as an erudite having knowledge that is known by very few people. Most of the papers I've read had little or nothing to do with pearl culture, insomuch as how shells are formed. I started...