Freshwater Clam Help!

[rainydayz]

I just got a freshwater clam for my tank. I have done a little reading on them. The research said the gravel at the bottom should be no bigger than 3mm, and about 1/4 inches deep. They do not say if they fully submerge them selves in the gravel or partially. My clam is about 1 1/2 inches and it has not fully submerged itself. I do not know if the clam is supposed to and can't or if the clam only does it partially. Right now it is barely under the gravel and right up against a decoration. Is that normal?

 

[raptorrex]

I just got a freshwater clam for my tank. I have done a little reading on them. The research said the gravel at the bottom should be no bigger than 3mm, and about 1/4 inches deep. They do not say if they fully submerge them selves in the gravel or partially. My clam is about 1 1/2 inches and it has not fully submerged itself. I do not know if the clam is supposed to and can't or if the clam only does it partially. Right now it is barely under the gravel and right up against a decoration. Is that normal?

please take it back. a community tank is no place for a Clam, whatever you have read. it will, eventually, starve and die. and when it does it will cause massive problems in your tank.

it sounds like it is very ill now. a clam on the substrate, not completely covered is distressed. mind you 1/4 inch of substrate is pointless, as it is too shallow for the calm to bury itself with. (so much for the quality of the research advice)

.these need kept is an species tank. in there, the environment will not support other stock (except clams).

please, as i have said, return it. or, create a species tank. this is the only way you will be able to enjoy keeping them (if enjoy is the right word. because if they are happy, you wont see em.)

perhaps the words of a published expert might help here.

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

taken from linky

 

[hanny93]

I agree with raptorrex

Take it back ASAP. It will not survive, not many do, and do you think it is fair to confine a clam that can live as long as 100 years in the wild, to a tiny tank to starve to death in a couple of months?

It isnt fair and it isnt right, take it back and get some fish or plants instead,

 

[rainydayz]

Ah!!! I am so upset! I did not buy this clam in town! I asked the fish store owner if it would be alright in my tank! What the heck were they thinking telling me I could have it!! As I will not be going back to that store for a few weeks as it is in another town, do you believe algae wafers will be sufficient food until then! I feel awful just letting it die! Although if it dies in my tank I do not want the ammonia to hurt my other fish. What to do.... Thank you all for being blunt about the clams needs. This way I know that my tank is not a good environment. Please let me know what you think about the wafers.

 

[rainydayz]

And the book freshwater aquariums for dummies says they are compatible with with freshwater aquariums and says they are good for cleaning reducing nitrates, etc. Ahhh!!! I also Googled clams and did the info was really vague but did not say they would not go well with my tank, thank you for posting that published work for me to read!!!! Wish I had found that before I bought it.

 

[trianglekitty]

And the book freshwater aquariums for dummies says they are compatible with with freshwater aquariums and says they are good for cleaning reducing nitrates, etc. Ahhh!!! I also Googled clams and did the info was really vague but did not say they would not go well with my tank, thank you for posting that published work for me to read!!!! Wish I had found that before I bought it.

Don't feel bad, Rainydayz- I had a shop almost do the same thing to me. Luckily I went with shrimp instead, but the guy was insisting not only would a clam do well, but it would help the water quality. Then again, this shop also told me not to do a water change for the first four months after adding fish to a tank.

Point being, many clerks are trained quickly, and bad information just keeps getting passed now every time they hire someone new. I would never trust what one petshop employee told me until after I researched it in a few different areas.

Just yesterday I saw a shop clerk sell a bala shark, two black skirted tetras, and a common pleco to a girl with a five gallon tank. Well, they were all marked 'community', after all....

 

[rainydayz]

Thank you trianglekitty.

 

[rainydayz]

Will the clam lower the pH in my tank??

 

[raptorrex]

Ah!!! I am so upset! I did not buy this clam in town! I asked the fish store owner if it would be alright in my tank! What the heck were they thinking telling me I could have it!! As I will not be going back to that store for a few weeks as it is in another town, do you believe algae wafers will be sufficient food until then! I feel awful just letting it die! Although if it dies in my tank I do not want the ammonia to hurt my other fish. What to do.... Thank you all for being blunt about the clams needs. This way I know that my tank is not a good environment. Please let me know what you think about the wafers.

no, algae wafers will be no good, i am afraid. clams need suspended food. lol, i dont mean hanging the wafer from a bit of string! . in essence, the food needs to be dissolved in the water.
unless you can find someone who will keep them correctly. your options are:
create a species tank,
or, Euthanasia !
nothing in between, unfortunately.

And the book freshwater aquariums for dummies says they are compatible with with freshwater aquariums and says they are good for cleaning reducing nitrates, etc. Ahhh!!! I also Googled clams and did the info was really vague but did not say they would not go well with my tank, thank you for posting that published work for me to read!!!! Wish I had found that before I bought it.

it amazing just what you find out if you do a Forum Search! the vast majority of questions have been asked before, usually, many times. with a forum search you would have found out I, too, had fallen for the LFS spiel. backed up by google! , about 3-4 years ago. and the result of others who fell for the same.

you will get a lot more than ammonia, in the tank, if the calm dies. just think how they live and eat, then think of their digestion needs! a dead clams is not just bad, its BAD

Will the clam lower the pH in my tank??

interesting, but i have no idea. and would council its, kinda, irrelevant.

 

[rainydayz]

Returned the clam!!!! Hopefully the next person to purchase it knows more about it than I did!! Thank you all!

 

[colleen0309]

I'm glad you returned the clam. I have 2 asian pond clams in my shrimp tank. They have been in there for 2 years now. They were for my goldfish pond, but it sprung a leak and I had to rehome everyone for a few weeks. I originally had 8 clams. Six of them were temporarally put in a 46 gallon. They died after 4 weeks. What a mess!!! The two in the shrimp tank were burried in the sand and I forgot they were in there until I noticed the siphons sticking out from under my driftwood a few days ago. They seem to be doing well. I will be moving them back out to the goldfish pond soon.

 

[raptorrex]

Returned the clam!!!! Hopefully the next person to purchase it knows more about it than I did!! Thank you all!

hard lesson this, but well done!