Freshwater clam anyone?
- Thread starter Tleyton
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I have had one in the past. Can be difficult to keep alive. Needs alot of water bourn micro organisms for food.
bettaowner
Aquarium Advice Addict
+ 1. Freshwater clams are filter feeders and are nearly impossible to keep. In addition, the larvae of some freshwater clams can be harmful to fish.
Dubs1281
Aquarium Advice FINatic
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Wow. Was just going to post about a clam. Guess its a no go.
Dubs1281
Aquarium Advice FINatic
- Joined
- Jun 30, 2013
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What about the one on live aquaria?
http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=1075+1642&pcatid=1642
That one should be ok. I wouldnt keep them in an unplantee tank or a tank without high current. Make sure your tank is wel matured so they can eat the stuff in the water column.
we used to have them in the lakes back in Missouri and they did fine in tanks. i would feed mine infusoria or how ever u spell it and frozen bbs also i would take my filter out and dip it in the tank every now and then
Coyne
Aquarium Advice Addict
I was curious about these at one point also. The advice I was given was to not get one. Apparently the bury themselves in the substrate. If they die, you won't really know right away and your water will get fouled.
So a clam that I'll rarely see that has the potential to cause water problems if it died didn't seem worth the shipping cost... At least not to me.
So a clam that I'll rarely see that has the potential to cause water problems if it died didn't seem worth the shipping cost... At least not to me.
Pat James
Aquarium Advice Newbie
I have a couple questions... first: are freshwater clams edible? I have plenty of infusoria in my aquaponics system to sustain any number of filter feeders but I want something that I can use in the long run.
Second: somebody mentioned a problem with the larval stage. Is that due to some toxin or what? I also want to avoid anything that could pollute my system or the fish I am raising.
Second: somebody mentioned a problem with the larval stage. Is that due to some toxin or what? I also want to avoid anything that could pollute my system or the fish I am raising.
I can help with number one. Some are. I cant tell about all but google may help with specific species.
bettaowner
Aquarium Advice Addict
The larvae of freshwater clams can clog or block the gills of fish
Fishfur
Aquarium Advice Addict
I've kept two species of FW clam so far, with less than outstanding results. The one I have not tried to keep is the Golden Asian clam.. a local store has them, the owner is a great guy who knows a lot and says one clam, one inch diameter, is all he can keep in a ten G tank and have it survive. He says they are actually quite heavy feeders, for a filter feeding critter.
The clams I kept were the rounded black/white ones, and one called a sharktooth clam. The sharktooths lived only weeks, I suspect they were already starved beyond saving when I got them, but very interesting appearance, with a very large shark tooth shape protuberance on the shells. They did not dig out of sight, but that may have been because the substrate was not deep enough to allow this.. or because they were weak. I am not sure. I have video somewhere of them digging in though.
The round ones, well, one lived nearly 18 months. Two lived nearly a year, and that's better than most reports I've heard on them. They did gain some weight, which is the only real way to judge how they are doing unless they are putting on visible growth, and you have to dig them up to see how they are doing.
All the clams I've seen appear to prefer to bury themselves if they can. You might see the shoulder. Usually it's just the feeding/breathing tubes. If they die, they open up, and if you have snails or shrimp they will be cleaned out long before they mess up the water parameters. I could not say if they are edible nor how long they'd take to get big enough to eat.
I did find they needed supplemental feeding. I had my 3 rounded ones in a 30G tank. I fed them Golden Pearls in the 5-50 micron size, cultured green water [ single cell algae], and I weighed them monthly to see if they were doing ok. In light of what my local store owner told me, I think now I underfed them by quite a bit.
I think they prefer cooler temps than even my cool water fish. I had Danios, kuhli loaches, cories and shrimp in with them. You won't see them if they're happy and healthy as a rule. They dig back down pretty quickly if you dig them up to weigh them. They don't move much once they dig down, not more than an inch or two from where they went out of sight, so finding them is not necessarily that hard to do.
I would not recommend them for any small tank, but if you have a big tank, and it's cool, and you are sure of loads of infusoria being available, you might try one to see how it goes. Big golden clams are not cheap, at least not here. Maybe where you are they're not costly. I'm debating trying one of the little ones my local store has.. but haven't yet got one.
Edit. I've seen a recipe somewhere for a clam diet.. I think it's on my old crashed drive though. Had beef heart in it, I recall.. and had to be finely pureed to feed. Poster of the recipe was successfully keeping clams, so she said.
The clams I kept were the rounded black/white ones, and one called a sharktooth clam. The sharktooths lived only weeks, I suspect they were already starved beyond saving when I got them, but very interesting appearance, with a very large shark tooth shape protuberance on the shells. They did not dig out of sight, but that may have been because the substrate was not deep enough to allow this.. or because they were weak. I am not sure. I have video somewhere of them digging in though.
The round ones, well, one lived nearly 18 months. Two lived nearly a year, and that's better than most reports I've heard on them. They did gain some weight, which is the only real way to judge how they are doing unless they are putting on visible growth, and you have to dig them up to see how they are doing.
All the clams I've seen appear to prefer to bury themselves if they can. You might see the shoulder. Usually it's just the feeding/breathing tubes. If they die, they open up, and if you have snails or shrimp they will be cleaned out long before they mess up the water parameters. I could not say if they are edible nor how long they'd take to get big enough to eat.
I did find they needed supplemental feeding. I had my 3 rounded ones in a 30G tank. I fed them Golden Pearls in the 5-50 micron size, cultured green water [ single cell algae], and I weighed them monthly to see if they were doing ok. In light of what my local store owner told me, I think now I underfed them by quite a bit.
I think they prefer cooler temps than even my cool water fish. I had Danios, kuhli loaches, cories and shrimp in with them. You won't see them if they're happy and healthy as a rule. They dig back down pretty quickly if you dig them up to weigh them. They don't move much once they dig down, not more than an inch or two from where they went out of sight, so finding them is not necessarily that hard to do.
I would not recommend them for any small tank, but if you have a big tank, and it's cool, and you are sure of loads of infusoria being available, you might try one to see how it goes. Big golden clams are not cheap, at least not here. Maybe where you are they're not costly. I'm debating trying one of the little ones my local store has.. but haven't yet got one.
Edit. I've seen a recipe somewhere for a clam diet.. I think it's on my old crashed drive though. Had beef heart in it, I recall.. and had to be finely pureed to feed. Poster of the recipe was successfully keeping clams, so she said.
I just got 2 clams, 3 inches across x 2 inches. Fish store said Golden Freshwater clams. Still looking for a solid name for these guys.
They have a smooth golden tan shell, oval shape.
Anyone else have these still curious for more personal experiences/information about them as well.
They have a smooth golden tan shell, oval shape.
Anyone else have these still curious for more personal experiences/information about them as well.
Fishfur
Aquarium Advice Addict
How big a tank are they in ? You need to be prepared to offer them supplemental feeding, as they often can't get enough from the water column. Cultured Greenwater, Golden pearls in the 5-5- micron size, Pure spirulina powder, Spray dried algae or crustaceans..[ those last two are from Two Little Fishies, and not cheap].. or liquid phyto as is sold for feeding corals.
Get a big syringe or turkey baster and target some of these foods directly by the clams feeding/breathing tubes, at least 2-3 times a week. If possible, turn off the filter for an hour after feeding them. I keep a pump running for circulation as I have other filter feeders as well, so the pump keeps the food going around, and if the filter is off, the food does not get filtered out too fast.
The only way to know if they are making progress is to weigh them. A kitchen scale that reads in one gram increments would be needed. I used to weigh mine once a month, and write it down so you know if they are gaining, holding steady or losing.
They can last a long time with good feeding but sadly, many, many clams die within months from slow starvation, as they simply don't get enough organisms from the water column in the average tank.
Get a big syringe or turkey baster and target some of these foods directly by the clams feeding/breathing tubes, at least 2-3 times a week. If possible, turn off the filter for an hour after feeding them. I keep a pump running for circulation as I have other filter feeders as well, so the pump keeps the food going around, and if the filter is off, the food does not get filtered out too fast.
The only way to know if they are making progress is to weigh them. A kitchen scale that reads in one gram increments would be needed. I used to weigh mine once a month, and write it down so you know if they are gaining, holding steady or losing.
They can last a long time with good feeding but sadly, many, many clams die within months from slow starvation, as they simply don't get enough organisms from the water column in the average tank.
MikeWhitfield
Aquarium Advice Newbie
I had at one time ten of the golden clams. I kept them one per 2 square feet of substrate and fed them a commercial marine filter feeder food with a turkey baster. However, none lived more than two years or so and none reproduced - which might well have been a blessing as the young hitch rides on fish. While this is not a problem in the wild, in aquaria fish are held in close proximity and might well get enough to be stressful. Mine also moved around a lot, which might indicate that they were not getting enough nutrition from once-daily feedings. I had no problems with fouled water when they died, even the ones that died underground and never opened. The ones that did open had been picked clean by the time I found them. I also tried locally caught Asian clams I caught while sportfishing, when the shells clamped shut on a hook, but they only lived a few weeks. Possibly this is because it was winter, but I never tried again. Why kill something living in the wild? Asian clams live fairly well with native mussels from what I have read and they do clean the water.
Overall I was not as taken as I thought I would be. Seldom could I see more than the filter tubes and they take a lot of work for a couple tubes.
As far as eating them, clams and mussels concentrate a lot of contaminants, so I would not consider it without being sure they have always been in clean, healthy environments.
Overall I was not as taken as I thought I would be. Seldom could I see more than the filter tubes and they take a lot of work for a couple tubes.
As far as eating them, clams and mussels concentrate a lot of contaminants, so I would not consider it without being sure they have always been in clean, healthy environments.
72g tank and I have kept bamboo shrimp alive for 3 years and am familiar with spot feeding. You suggestions of new foods are great! Thank you for the info.
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