Freshwater mussels live in a variety of substrates including sand, gravel, cobble and mixed materials on the bottoms of streams and rivers. Some species such as L. abrupta , and C. stegaria , live in the sediment beneath large rivers, while others like, E. t. rangiana are found in swift flowing riffles and runs of smaller streams. P. clava and P. collina are examples of mussels that live in a variety of environments ranging from large rivers to shallow streams. Freshwater mussels eat a variety of microscopic organisms including algae, diatoms, phytoplankton, zooplankton and detritus which they filter out of the water. Reproduction for most species begins in the spring when males release sperm into the water column.
Females take up sperm through their siphons.
Eggs are fertilized and develop into tiny larvae known as glochidia within the mother's gills. Some species of mussels finish incubating their young by the summer while others incubate throughout the fall and winter. Most Unionid mussels depend on one or several fish species to serve as hosts and disperse their developing larvae. Glochidia latch onto the gills or fins of fish from which they derive nutrients before detaching and falling to their new locations. Adults embed themselves in the substrate of the stream where they siphon food items from the passing water.