User:Carlie Fox/sandbox

On March 2, 2021, the US Geological Survey was notified that Zebra Mussels had been discovered in marimo moss balls, a common aquarium plant, sold in pet stores across North America. By March 8, invasive zebra mussels had been detected in moss balls in 21 different states at multiple locations in the United States. These discoveries were prompted by the initial find at a Seattle Petco. Infested-moss balls have also been found from online retailers and smaller, independent stores. Though it is more difficult to know the extent of the spread at a larger scale, Wesley Daniel, a fisheries biologist with the U.S. Geological Survey says that about 30% of the inventory pulled from shelves were found to contain the zebra mussels.

After working with UGS, PetSmart and Petco voluntarily recalled their moss balls due to the potential harm zebra mussels could cause on local ecosystems, especially on a country-wide scale. As of November 2021, nearly 8 months after the recall, marimo moss balls have still not found their way back onto retail chain shelves to be purchased.

If purchased around the time of the first discovery and recall in March 2021, aquatic customers have been urged to decontaminate the moss balls by either boiling them for at least one minute, freezing for at least 24 hours, or placing them in diluted chlorine bleach. Another way to rid of the zebra mussels can be to submerge the moss balls in undiluted white vinegar for a minimum of 20 minutes. After following one of these methods, the USGS urges owners to bag these moss balls before disposing of them in the trash to prevent spread to local water ways and ecosystems.

Even if moss balls infected with zebra mussels are contained in an aquarium, the concern that they could contaminate local waterways is high, especially in regions and states where they have not yet infested. Aquarium dumping and disposing of unwanted pets is common, according to Eric Fischer with Indiana’s DNR. It is illegal to own, sell, or distribute zebra mussels in the U.S. If spotted, either in an aquarium or out in nature, contact the local DNR in the region resided.

Concerns are also high following the contamination of zebra mussels in at home aquariums. If zebra mussels had reached open water in Washington, where the first case was confirmed, the invasive species would cost the state $100 million each year in maintenance for power and water systems.