Freswater Clam Question

[Druid McGrew]

Hi

I have a 120 english litre tank with an angel fish, golden sucking loach and 5 zebra danios. About two days ago i introduced a freshwater clam as i was told they help keep the water clean. I am yet to nip the shop to buy some invertibrate food but as far as i have been told it will be quite happy living off the water itself. My question is this.

Since I put the clam in the tank it has not moved, not a muscle its just sat in the spot i put it in. Is this normal as im worried it maybe dead! Does anybody here know anything about this wonderfully strange creature. I want him happy as possible!

 

[ian]

they arn't a great idea...

have a read of NMonks post

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=216507&view=&hl=clam&fromsearch=1

 

[natalie265]

Ha ha, that's an awesome post. N. Monks rocks.

 

[drobbyb]

Yeah, home aquaria are too sterile to keep one happy. They are filter feeders, and thus need the correct amount of the correct food present in the water. Most often, they just starve to death in someone's fish tank. This takes months and gives the illusion that they are doing fine.

 

[Assaye]

Non-specialist tanks do not have enough food 'suspended' in the water to feed these guys. They need to be fed a specialist liquid clam food, such as the kind marine keepers would use. It is a total myth that they keep the water clean as one clam can make very little contribution to an aquarium. They are easily bullied and often poorly treated in shops (i.e. not fed properly) which contributes to a very high mortality rate.

A clam that is sitting on the surface and has not buried itself is not a happy clam.

Tbh, most 'pet' clams die. I saw an awful lot die when I worked for an aquatics shop.

N.Monks has the lowdown:

Freshwater clams come in two basic sorts: swan mussels and Asian clams.

Swan mussels (Unio, Anodonta, etc.) are basically impossible to keep alive in aquaria. They require lots of green algae (or some substitute) as well as cold, well oxygenated water. They are perhaps viable in ponds, but otherwise of no value to the aquarist. Wild swan mussels live for decades, even over 100 years; in captivity most die after a few months. Enough said really.

Asian clams are Corbicula fluminea. They are extremely difficult to maintain in aquaria. Again, they are filter feeders, and will need to be fed daily on a filter feeder food of the sort given to corals and tubeworms in marine aquaria. Otherwise they starve to death. They ARE NOT scavengers and THEY CANNOT survive without being given filter feeder food. They prefer (need) a sandy substrate into which they can burrow. When they are healthy and happy, they are hidden from view except for their fleshy siphons. If you can see the shell, then the animal is unhappy and likely to die. Asian clams usually die in aquaria quite quickly, and when they rot, they pollute the aquarium.

Bottom line, unless you are a very experienced aquarist willing to set up a dedicated aquarium just for filter-feeding animals, do not buy clams. Total waste of money. Do not release unwanted clams into the wild. Several species, including Asian clams, are notorious pests when released into the wild.

Cheers, Neale

Thanks So Far The Clam Seems Fine But Ive Only Had Him For A few Days So I Will Just See What Happens

"Seems fine" -- How do you define that with a clam? Do you know something about molluscan physiology I don't? For a start: what are you feeding it? At minimum, you could use liquid fry food, squirted into the inhalant siphon using a small pipette. That wouldn't cost much, and could work. I'd recommend expanding your range of foods to include marine invertebrate filter-feeder food.

If you plan on doing nothing and "seeing what happens" you will soon (a few weeks/months) have a dead clam polluting your aquarium. And poor water quality means sick fish. I'm telling you what you need to do right now to keep it alive; if you have no intention of doing anything, then you'll have a dead clam. You may as well save your fish from having to live in polluted water by taking a hammer and destroying the clam right now. It'll end up the same way regardless: one dead clam.

What do you imagine it eats without being fed filter-feeder food? Do you honestly think it can survive just by drinking water?

Cheers, Neale

 

[meganq]

i read about swan mussels and Asian clams..its very interesting....and informative....

 

[waterdrop]

Wow, quite interesting! Learned more about freshwater clams than I ever knew! I am reading (bits and pieces) of a book reviewing the life found in the Chesapeake Bay of Virginia along the east coast of the US. I will now understand better when filter feeders are discussed in the book. WD