Freshwater Clams

[stanleo]

I think I just screwed up. I have read a few things on FW clams. I knew they get their nutrients from the water, that they will stay buried in the substrate and i would need to watch closely because I can't leave it in the tank dead. I thought it would be challenging so I decided to get one online and I was going to feed a good invertebrate food. I already ordered it tonight and it will be here Wednesday and I just read an article about them and it stated that they need a high current. The article wasn't specific on species but just FW clams in general. The species I am getting is Corbicual sp. and the site I got it from said a lot of facts about that but didn't say anything about water flow.
 
Anyone have one? Any ideas about simulating a current over the clam when it gets here so i don't kill the poor thing?

 

[Chad]

I don't know the species I kept, they were just sold as "golden clams". They did pretty well in my tank. Keeping water clean is a must in terms of no nitrates as they are very sensitive to this. As for feeding them I didn't. They are filter feeders and they took care of themselves. They lasted around 4 years or so then died. I know that is short of the normal lifespan and I'm not sure what killed them. I didn't have any issue with the death though as the fish and ghost shrimp I had in the tank made quick work of them. 

 

[stanleo]

My nitrates stay around 20 when I test. Is that too high? Glad you brought that up cause everything I read said that they can't tolerate high levels but never stated how high is too high. Thanks, Tcamos

 

[Tongue_Flicker]

I kept a 4-inch wide freshwater clam that lived for about 8 months from late 2012 thru early 2013. It was supposed to be cooked along with its fellow clam but i decided to save one. Worth it! Lol

It can ruin a perfectly planted tank overnight when it moves as it drags along all the gravel. Take note this tank is unfiltered and unaerated but somehow manages to stay clean on its own.

Here it is with one of my ACFs from 2012 (sorry blurry lol)

 

[Doomchibi]

Your frog actually swam *into* the open shell of your clam? Aren't clams capable of closing very quickly when startled? I'd be terrified that something would move too quickly and next i'd be down one frog. I take it that never happened? Still, scary thought. 

 

[BerryAttack]

in the picture the clam is dead. they do not open that far, and if do are sick and dying or already dead and need to be removed from the tank as soon as possible or it'll affect your aquarium unless you have something that has already eaten it.. but better to remove just IMO.
 
they need moderate to fast moving water.. they have feelers that go out to catch food and nutrients. if you place it in the area of the tank where you get the most current then it'll do find, and most likely move to a location where it feels best, but in the mean time at least you have it in a area where it'll do fine. also they are know to be very sensitive to chemicals in the water.
 
also the clams that you saved from eating could be a salt water type, so just make sure that you have freshwater for freshwater.

 

[Chad]

Good point about the water type. I got mine from a LFS so I knew they were FW clams. I've also kept marine clams as well, which are quite challenging and a different monster all together. 
 
That's a good point about how they move around plants and substrate. Mine pretty much stayed put once they found the right plot of land but they are mobile. 
 
As for how low of nitrates, My goal was always to keep them undetectable by a standard test kit. 

 

[Tongue_Flicker]

It passed away sometime in February of 2013. Maybe it was sick then but it was surprising it lasted that long though? It kept ploughing the gravel every night. The only saltwater clams sold here are those penny sized clams caught by tons. The rest are from freshwater fish farms.

 

[stanleo]

So I got the clam. It's a little thing, less than 2cm. It went into the tank at noon yesterday. Didn't move the whole day yesterday or today. It did seem to turn on its side a couple times. Tonight just now I can't find it anywhere. You say they move, how far do they move? How deep do they bury themselves? I thought there would be some of the mantle still showing? I looked at the spot it was in for several minutes and I couldn't see any siphon or anything breathing.
 
Another thought I had is could my BN pleco have eaten it? I can't find an empty shell though either.
 
Thanks for the tips. I was planning on feeding it with crushed algae wafers and crushed shrimp pellets mixed with tank water and squirted over it. But if I can't find it I can't do that. So hopefully there is enough stuff in my water that he can fend for itself.