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| Bitterling | ||||||||||||||
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The bitterling is a small European fish of the carp family with a symbiotic relationship with the freshwater mussel. The bitterling lays her eggs in the mussel, where the fry feed on the mussel's blood. The mussel, in turn, releases larvae called glochidia, which attach to the gills or skin of the bitterling, or other freshwater fish, and grow in a cyst until they are ready to break forth.