They form their glochidia into gummy little packets that look like tiny fish and release them into the water. These packets are called conglutinates . When a predator fish tries to eat this decoy, the conglutinate ruptures in its mouth, releasing the glochidia. The tightly packed rows of conglutinates bear an incredible resemblance to the segmented appearance of some kinds of minnows. This photo shows the super conglutinate lure of Lampsilis perovalis , the Orange-Nacre Mucket.
Mussels are filter feeders.
They pump water through themselves using two tubes called siphons . As the water passes through the mussel, it gets oxygen and food. The siphons are located at the posterior end of the shell, which is at the end opposite the pseudocardinal teeth. Mussels will always seek to orient themselves with the posterior end sticking out of the substrate so they can use their siphons properly. Mussels may live over 100 years, although most live 20 to 30 years.