Freshwater Clam

[adammichael]

just bought one. does anyone know anything about them & and how can you tell if they're alive

 

[bluedollars]

i have three...50% of the time i dont seen them...its a good thing...thats the way u tell there not dead is if they stay down in the sand...(gravel might be to tough for them to move through...yes they move...a lot)...they are great filterers and u will occasionally see them moving about and maybe even show up on the surface...no need to worry about feeding them they get everything from filtering water through there bodies...because of their movement u will often see depressions in the sand from where they were digging...its a great means to keep the sand turned...because of this be sure all plants, *rocks*,and ornaments are anchored down

the thing that sucks with clams is if u have to medicate your tank...you either need to move the infected fish out of the main tank into a hosp. tank or dig for clams as most medicines will kill the clams because of it passing through their bodies...if u get some that pop up out of the sand and have their clam open and if something sudden goes by them they shut instantly...

if ya have any more questions about them let me know

 

[three-fingers]

No, you do need to feed them. If you don't feed them, they will be slowly dyeing (or possibly already dead).

Read these posts:freshwater mussels and clams, freshwater mussels and clams 2 and 3.

 

[adammichael]

mine hasnt moved yet but thats probly cause ive got gravel

 

[jimw13uk]

I've got 2 of them in gravel and they move around - they arent like lightning I have to admit but you can tell on a day to day basis that there position has changed.

 

[bluedollars]

i have never given my clams any food and they are happy and growing....i just took them out to check to see how there doing and as far as i can see they are fine and healthy bigger then when i had them...but i do have a lot of aglae so thats got to be what they are living on because i only clean the glass of the algae not rocks or anything and my water is slightly green...so in short you have to have algae in your water to keep them i guess...sorry if i mislead you...but i have never fed my clams and i have had them for months

 

[severum boy]

I am vagely interested in getting some of these, is a pipette and powdered food a good idea to feed them with?

 

[fatboy]

Read these posts:freshwater mussels and clams, freshwater mussels and clams 2 and 3.

*sigh*

This is why I should research things before buying them. Thanks for the links. I bought a couple of asian clams when I got my nerites and thought I could just leave them to get on with things.

Well, at least I'm used to feeding my gabon shrimp by pipette.

Anyone know what they're doing when they sit on top of the gravel and open up a bit. In the 5 days I've had them they've been either digging around, bum in the air, or sitting upright. They're in a red cherry shrimp grow-out tank so they're lots of little bits of food, stuff the shrimp shred, but I don't think it's little enough to filter.