Clams

[Jen]

Has anyone had clams for their tank? My LFS has some, and I'm not sure how to care for it.

Thanks

 

[ste2k3]

were they definatly freshwater? I have marine clams, which are delicate and need special conditions. i would think the ones you may have come across are mussles. like a longish shell with no ridges in it and smoth, normally brown? they are a cold water shellfish with will need algae/plankton to feed on. should be enough in an established, well lit aquarium but do better in ponds.

ste

BTW- moved to inverts.

 

[bulldog188]

I have seen fresh water clams [not mussels] on the internet but have not yet seen them in my LFS here in the UK.. they are very much like marine clams in appearance but I'd imagine they'd be much more difficult to feed in a FW enviroment as they are filter feeders they would need waterborne food sources small enough to take in.. I would imagine this would occur a lot more in a marine enviroment.. not sure what sort of conditions or perhaps additives you would need to look after them in a FW tank??

Why not ask the LFS where they are the best way to look after them??? they must be feeding them etc which would be the main concern for me.

 

[Perky]

Bulldog, Pets @ Home have tem in, don't usually go their though, just had to buy a course net as my LFS only had fine nets.

 

[De Plano]

I have read (tried a search and did not find where it was) that they are one of the invasive species that a number of areas are having problems with.

In other words don't release them into the wild if you get tired of them. (I doubt you would, just letting people know)

Ahh, just found the site I was thinking of
Freshwater Clams

They could be pretty cool, I must admit

 

[bulldog188]

Perky are you in the south west mate?? if so which pets at home did you go to?

 

[Dragonscales]

I have a freshwater mussel and my girlfriend's brother has several in his tank, if freshwater clams are anything like them then they are dead easy to look after, they eat nothing more than the natural waste provided by a lived in aquarium. I.E: left over minute food scraps, fish waste & algae floating around therefore being a great help to keeping your tank alot cleaner. They are also cool to watch as they tend to move around a bit. On the downside they tend to mess the heck out of your tank, tossing plants out of the way, knocking over ornaments, digging trenches in the substrate. The way they use their foot to pull themselves over the ground is utterly mesmorising though and reason enough to forgive them.