Clams

[PETsMARTchick]

I've seen sites that sell freshwater clams? Are they really good for your tank? Is there any downside to having a clam? How would you care for one?

 

[n00bie]

http/www.aquabid.com/cgi-bin/auction/auc...ails&1088049423

There's a link to them on aquabid. I'm not sure what the downsides are, but the upside is they help out with bottom waste and some of the other garbage in an aquarium.



...could try contacting him and pry some more info out of him. I'm sure he'd be more than willing to help us out giving the fact we are such a large community of fish people.

 

[dixaisy930]

I had them awhile ago, but got rid of them after I read that they can release toxins into the tank if they die. However, I'm not sure if that's 100% correct.

With clams, all you really have to do is drop them in the tank. Be warned you won't see them much (if at all) after you put them in there. They bury themselves in the substrate.

They are filter feeds, so you don't need to but any special food for them. I'm not sure if they help with the waste and garbage, since they are filter feeders. They could possibly help an algae problem by taking in some of the nitrates, but I think you have to have quite a few for that to happen.

 

[Teelie]

Downsides I've heard are they often carry parasites and disease that can kill your fish and aren't as healthy for your tank as they may seem.

 

[FishDan]

I have 4 of them in my tank, clams (unless caught at your local lake) don't generally carry parasites but if they spawn their young are often parasitic to the fish. That being said, I've had mine about 2 months now and no problems yet. It may just depend on the type of clams. They are serios filter feeders and do a fairly good job filtering out nitrates, though not good enough to reduce water changes. When I clean my tank they open up like they were starved people at a buffet line. More often than not you do not see them, just their syphin when they are eating, or sometimes if you are lucky enough to see them move about, usually after dark. Or, if your sand substrate is very shallow (under .5 inch). I enjoy mine despite not seeing them very often.

\Dan