grow your own pearls?

[polyppetey]

I was just helping out my kid with her homework,"how pearls are made"

Anyway has anyone ever had a pearl oyster in their tank?? I recall many years ago when I worked in a restaurant we got in live pearl oysters for a special event. Each guest got to open their oyster to reveal a small pearl, sometimes 2 or three.

While doing some research I came across a reference to the biggest pearl in the world worth about 40 million dollars!!!! from a Tridacna gigas (sound familiar??)

Here is a link to it

 

 

http://www.thebeadsite.com/REC-PRL.html

 

Could we figure a way to pay for out hobbies with this one??

 

Please no flames I'm just doing some saltwater dreaming here.

[yankee boy]

I was just helping out my kid with her homework,"how pearls are made"

Anyway has anyone ever had a pearl oyster in their tank?? I recall many years ago when I worked in a restaurant we got in live pearl oysters for a special event. Each guest got to open their oyster to reveal a small pearl, sometimes 2 or three.

While doing some research I came across a reference to the biggest pearl in the world worth about 40 million dollars!!!! from a Tridacna gigas (sound familiar??)

Here is a link to it

http://www.thebeadsite.com/REC-PRL.html

 

Could we figure a way to pay for out hobbies with this one??

 

Please no flames I'm just doing some saltwater dreaming here.

I honestly dont think it could be done in a tank IMO, they are cultured in nutrient rich, clean water off the coast of places particularly Australia and that area. To grow an average size pearl it takes about 2 years. If you do plan on doing it you have to pry the oyster open slighty and cut a slit where the pearl is made and put a tiny piece of broken mantle in it to start off the pearl which is extremely stressful on the oyster. About half of the oysters that go through that procedure die shortly after. Remember pearls are formed from an irritation inside the oyster(pieces of dead coral that gets filtered inside the oysters cavity doesnt come out). To cope with this irritation the oyster produces that smooth shiny white rainbowish stuff called nacre to cover up the irritation. Slowly over time the irritation gets covered in so much nacre it becomes a pearl. Just telling you what I know. To find a perfectly round pearl in the wild is very rare and the wild ones you find are usually deformed.

-Daniel

[andykee]

that would be awesome though! a tahitian pearl would rock!