Pearls are prized for their perfect spherical shape and enchanting mother-of-pearl shine. Growing pearls is a very long and laborious task, but with due diligence and desire, it is quite possible to get cultured pearls at home.
Preparation of the aquarium and selection of shellfish for growing pearls
Pearls can form in the shells of sea mussels and oysters, as well as freshwater molluscs, and can sometimes even be found in the shells of snails and nautilus. All of them produce pearls of various sizes, shades and shapes. Determine what type of shellfish is most suitable for keeping in your tank.
Before you start growing pearls, create a list of needs for the shellfish you have chosen. It should include specially developed food additives, certain varieties of plankton necessary for the nutrition of mollusks, and the salinity of the water. Consider whether you can meet all of these requirements, and then arrange with the pet store staff to supply the necessary nutrition and nutritional supplements for mussels and oysters.
To grow mussels and oysters, you need a fairly large aquarium, at least 100 liters in volume. In such a container, from 15 to 20 mollusks can live. Place the underlay on the bottom. Use regular tap water to fill the aquarium, but first let it sit for a few days. Add synthetic sea salt as directed, taking into account the required salt concentration for the particular shellfish.
You should not add shellfish to the aquarium yet, the water should stand in the container for about two days, add special bacteria to it. During this time, keep the pearl oysters in a plastic tank, and then mark them on the bottom of the aquarium. Check the salinity and condition of the water regularly for several weeks. If the water smells like ammonia, it means that the bacteria cannot cope with the by-products of the shellfish, increase their number in the aquarium or reduce the number of shellfish.
Check periodically whether the pearl mussel is alive or not. Touch the sink gently. Dead mussels and oysters will not close when disturbed. These molluscs should be removed from the aquarium as soon as possible.
Plankton serves as food for molluscs. Add nutritional supplements to it and turn off the filter in the aquarium during feeding. Replace a quarter volume of water with fresh water monthly.
Growing pearls
After you learn how to care for your clams and they feel good in the aquarium, you can try growing a pearl in them. In nature, pearls are formed when a foreign body hits the mantle, for example, a grain of sand. When growing cultured pearls, a small pearl ball is implanted into the mantle, which greatly speeds up the production of finished pearls.
Remove the clam from the aquarium while the mussel or oyster is still open. Take a pearl ball with tweezers and place it on the mantle, and then carefully place the pearl oyster on the bottom of the aquarium.
Next, care for the clams as usual, without letting the water temperature drop. Feed your pearl mussels regularly with plankton. A few tenths of a millimeter of nacre per ball will grow per year. It is possible that in a few years you will be able to extract a beautiful gemstone from the pearl oyster.
