Freshwater Clams

[smithy387]

My LFS has just got some Freshwater Clams in and i am thinking of getting 1 or 2. Has anyone got any advise on Clams? whether they would be a good addition to my community tank which contains 5 Rainbow fish, 8 Zebra Danios a Bristlenose Plec and a Upside Down Catfish. My tank is 180 litres and has a sand substrate.

Thanks

 

[CFC]

Clams are near impossible to keep alive in standard freshwater aquaria and generally die either from starvation or pollution over a matter of weeks and then rapidly pollute the tank as they decompose, i would recomend avoiding them.

 

[smithy387]

Thanks for the advise CFC. I'll not bother buying any Clams.

 

[Kevin_D]

Thats a shame that they dont do well in captivity, Im able to get quite a few Freshwater Mussels, including Anodonta species, do you know if any species are suitable to keep?

 

[dizzied]

Clams and mussels can do well in captivity, just not in the typical aquarium setup where water movement is too low and they might not get enough food. Naturally, people with river-style tanks have the most success keeping them.

 

[Fella]

I was of the understanding that they're very difficult to keep in home aquaria on the basis they filter feed, and you'd need nutrient rich (Eg, not clear) water to keep them, limiting their attraction in home aquaria?