Anybody have experience with Golden Clams?

[Guest]

I came across these on a website and they interested me.

I have PFS in my tank, and an AA member is sending me some MTS to move the sand around. I am a little worried because I got two Yo Yo Loaches if they will eat them all.

I came across these clams and it says that they move the substrate around and will not hurt your plants. Does anybody have any experience with these?

I wonder if fish eat them, or if they die how would you know do they don't decompose in your tank, do they release a lot of waste? Play into your stocking considerations?

 

[Devilishturtles]

I've never kept clams before, but here is what I've heard about them. They mostly stay in your substrate and are huge filter feeders, feeding off the particulate matter in your aquarium. When you see it above the substrate for prolonged period of time, that's not good. To the best of my knowledge, fish don't eat them.

Again, I've no first hand experience.

HTH

 

[Shelby_Tempo_GT]

Funny you should ask.

My wife just brought home 3 from Big Al's last weekend.

2 haven't moved, but the 3rd is in a different place every time we look at the tank.


The fish leave them alone.


I will let you know if I see anything significant coming from them.

 

[dskidmore]

I'm also curious about freshwater clams. I'm considering using one as a filtering unit for a small powerless aquarium.

I read that invertabrate eating fish like puffers may snack on the clams.

 

[YuccaPatrol]

These "golden" clams are simply the invasive Asian Clam (Corbicula fluminea).

They originally came from Asia (of course) and have spread throughout most of the United States. You can find them in most any stream or river.

I pick them up from time to time and toss them in my tanks. They disappear into the substrate. If they do not go down, they are either dead or dying. Healthy ones will almost never be seen. One thing I can tell you is that a dead one STINKS! Worse than most anything I have ever smelled coming out of an aquarium.

Why anyone would actually pay for something as common as a cockroach boggles my mind. Maybe I should start selling "Golden" Roaches for $3 apiece!

 

[YuccaPatrol]

I'm considering using one as a filtering unit for a small powerless aquarium..

They survive best in running water, so they might not be an effective filter in a tank without any water movement.

Read more about them here: http://www.sgnis.org/publicat/nespp_4.htm

 

[dskidmore]

Hrm... perhaps the "freshwater clam" I was reading about was a diffrent species.

It seems there are some species that prefer rivers, and others lake bottoms? A deep water clam would suit my purposes better. Unfortunately most of the places selling freshwater clams are not specific about the species they are selling.