Clams?

[ilyreef]

I have a 30 gallon freshwater tank and i just ordered some fresh water clams to add to it. It was a impulse buy ill admit. Now that i am reading more about it allot of people don't think they are a good idea for a aquarium because they don't clean the water and usually end up staving. I also saw that if they die and are not taking out (because they cant be found) that it could cause a ammonia spike.

Does anyone have clams? What do you think about them?

 

[Aqua Pro Builder]

I have golden clams before, mine gave birth to some news ones. If you feed your tank as usual, they should be OK. They come up to the surface of the tank at dusk to suck up whatever in the water. Do they clean the tank well, I am not sure. Mine clamsa re small so even if they do clean the water, they won't be as dramatic as a filter. I had heavily planted tank at the time.

 

[e.muehlbauer]

If there are any Asian markets near you, look for "thin shell clams". They sell for $1.99/lb at most of these places, $1.99 each at pet shops. They are lousy eating...freshwater clams are awful. (Apparently they are usually soaked in a soy sauce mix before cooking to give them flavor.) I've kept them alive in my tanks over the years. You may want to QT them for a few days in your tank water to make sure they'll make it, and to purge anything that may be inside them that's not good for your tank.

 

[ilyreef]

I actually bought the clams on ebay they worked out to only 50 cents a piece. They should be clean since the person selling them says that they are for aquarium use but i will probably quarantine them anyway just to be sure. Thanks for the advice everyone. I was starting to get nervous after reading some horror story about people having clams.

The tank i plan on putting them in has a green spotted puffer (he is small under 2 in, and will eventually be moved to a marine tank) i suspect that he will end up eating some of the clams, especially if they have baby's. Did anyone have the clams in with a puffer before?