Conch pearl questions...

[Zeide Erskine]

Hi Caitlin,

The thing with the tubes is already being used in Yemen I think.

As far as the water from air is concerned, that's a fine idea but the more people do it, the less water is to be gotten. In combination with the "cloud machines," though, that should work great. Same goes for photovoltaic roofs. Building adobe houses with basements and have ivy and such grow around the walls will go a long way in saving energy needs both for heating and cooling. Having neighborhoods with sidewalks, shops, caf?s, fountians, public parks, swimming pools etc.. will go a long way in establishing a feeling of belonging and vastly increase quality of life. Now all you have to do is break the concept of sustainability to American corporations and the U.S. populace stands a chance of getting a whiff of life beyond mere consumption. Maybe some will even rediscover bipedalism, seasons, local social activities beyond church etc..

Ten feet depth, 50 feet diameter, and some ventilation should be enough for your very own backyard pearl farm.

Zeide

 

[Caitlin]

Hi Zeide

Ten feet depth, 50 feet diameter, and some ventilation should be enough for your very own backyard pearl farm.

Hey! That is smaller than the 70 foot horse ring I no longer need! Seriously what kind of ecology would I need to make mussels happy? Could I grow some of those black pearl mussels?

 

[Caitlin]

Hi Zeide
I was looking up Sinanodonta Jourdyi when you answered. I kept a copy of that article, I'll check it out. If I am going to learn enough to do this, I want to raise black, or really dark, FW pearls!
I will really enjoy researching this. It just does not seem that far fetched an idea to grow mussels in your backyard! 50x50 feet is barely 1/4 acre, a mere puddle.

 

[Zeide Erskine]

Hi Caitlin,

You are not going to be allowed to breed exotic (non-native) species just like that. However, there are plenty of native contenders with dark nacre. You may even get a shot at the Tampico pearly mussel. Each of the different species will have different habitat requirements. Given your location, your biggest problem will probably be water temperature, so your pond may have to be both bigger and deeper for that reason alone. Of course you may also be able to do a lot with shading. But before I go into minute details on that, I think you should first clear with the EPA what species you can breed and then we can discuss their biology from there.

The deertoe and the bluefer are probably a good two-tier strategy. The bluefer for the dark pearls and the deertoe for the light ones.

Zeide

 

[purepearls]

In reference to the earlydebate in this thread on Queen Conch and natural conch pearls, I just got back from Belize and actually was able to speak to a well-known person there. He is a diver/fisherman among many other things and sees the act of diving for conch as survival for the people that live there. Many people who live in Ambergris Caye are natives to the island and they dive for Queen Conch for the meat so they can eat, not for money and not to sell the pearls. I asked if they find conch pearls and he told me that have found many but have never sold one. All the conch pearls found have been distributed throughout his family. I think this is very interesting because it changes the perspective on how one might view this "industry".

 

[MABE BRAZIL]

Hi Caitlin,

When you have selected your species and are ready to do the habitat building, let me know and I'll send you an instructional DVD on tissue nucleating.

Zeide

Hi Zeide,
this instructional DVD is avaiable. I am very interested. I have took some picture of the species I will cultivate here (Anodontites trapesialis) And as soon as posible I will put them on this forum.

Ricardo Cunha Lima

 

[Zeide Erskine]

Hi Ricardo,

I think I can make you a copy. It is not technical enough to be a full tutorital but you have adjust your technique to the species you are culturing anyway. Please send me an e-mail with your address.

Zeide