Click the photos to find out how different mussels attract their hosts.
Freshwater mussels have a very species-specific relationship with their hosts. Each mussel is usually reliant on just a few species of specific fish to serve as hosts. Often those few hosts are very closely related. One mussel species may need a couple of bass species, while another might need two or three closely related darter or minnow species. Others only metamorphose on certain catfish. But just as we humans use different bait or lures to catch different fish, mussels do the same.
Yates Mill Aquatic Conservation Center at NC State University 