Abstract
A freshwater mussel species, Buldowskia iwakawai, collected from Hokkaido, Japan, was reared in the laboratory, and glochidia obtained were used to investigate the host specificity and to observe early development after detachment from the host. Nineteen fish species were used as host candidates. The fishes were kept in tanks for 10–15 days after glochidial infection, and the number of glochidia and metamorphosed juveniles detached from the hosts were counted. Living mussel juveniles were observed in 13 fish species, of which eight were identified as new hosts for the glochidia of B. iwakawai. The juveniles of B. iwakawai were reared in upwelling chambers and fed a green alga, Chlorella vulgaris. Some juveniles survived for about two months, and their mean shell length exceeded 1.4 mm (1.12–1.92 mm), reaching the maximum size record (1.92 mm). The result implied that using upwelling chambers and feeding C. vulgaris are effective for successful culture of B. iwakawai.