gsveda

And Hollywood Fishfarm have just come back to me with the following: Also, before I started trying to talk to petshops, I found a website about NZ freshwater species (sadly didn't bookmark it) and emailed them and Dr. Clint McCullough replied with this information:

They didn't research it until I asked them about it from the sounds of it - they're feeding them that NovoTom stuff now though

Thank! In that case I won't mess with them

And then she really got up my nose and in the end I called her a name I shouldn't have, so that's definitely the end of my relationship with this particular vendor. Meantime, I've emailed a couple of other petshops and tried to be more diplomatic about how I approach the issue - see, I can learn from my mistakes! I also want to find out if they have any other advice for looking after the mussels than what we've gathered here, or found on forums around the place. Is JBL NovoTom and some home-cultured green water the best we can do? Speaking of, I've been using it for a couple of days now, and the little powder flecks of NovoTom do suspend in the water and not get sucked immediately into the filter. It's hard to tell if the mussels are ok but so far they're not trying to escape (apparently that's a good sign?) apart from one of them rotating itself 180 degrees on the first day, and I'm pretty sure they're the right way up (any advice for how to make sure I haven't got them upside down?) and they close up if I touch them gently so I know they're alive. One of the animates guys suggested sitting them on top of an upturned plate so they'll move down the slope towards the gravel and orient themselves on the way. Would that work or should I just trust that they're the right way up now if they're not struggling?

It's too late to take it back. However, I did actually mean it. I didn't want to cause offense - I actually like(d) their staff and spend alot of time in their shop. I just wanted to bring something to their attention and find out what their experience of buying and selling freshwater mussels is. But, I don't think her response was called for regardless of how annoyed she was. There are other ways that she could have dealt with the situation.

This was my email to them: Too much?

Also contacted Wonderworld Pet Centre in Rotorua ([email protected]) and received a really crappy response from Jo Drummond: I usually deal with the guys in the fish part of the store, and have never received anything other than excellent service from them (and I've spent a huge amount of money there in the last year or so). In one fell swoop this woman has soured any good feeling I had for them. I won't shop there again.

I've just contacted a guy called Brendon Mikkelsen from the Ministry of Primary Industries (which has absorbed what used to be MAF) and he's going to look into the mussel supplier and find out where the mussels are coming from and who's gathering them.

Also it says no new permits are being issued -what if the suppliers have an existing permit? Then they wouldn't be taking the mussels in contravention of the act, so it wouldn't be illegally selling them either. How could we find out who the supplier is, and whether they have the right permit to trade in them?

Can you please link to the full document/site where you're quoting from?

I did ask Animates to tell me, but he hasn't said where he's getting them from. Is it illegal to gather animals that don't have a protected status?

Fair enough. What have you done so far?

Great, off you go then! Pick a petshop that stocks mussels and get in touch with them. Unless when you say 'we' you aren't referring to yourself?

I'll do my best anyway

I looked it up, if I've got the right stuff it's actually NovoTom and it's described as: I think I'm still going to do the thing with the green water and the turkey baster as well