# Freshwater Clams



## WateraDrop (Nov 16, 2008)

Yarr, hello thar mateys! Sorry lol, yesterday was talk-like-a-pirate day!

Anyway, was wondering if anyone has kept freshwater clams before. I hear they're great for keeping your water clean because of their filter feeding.

Also, my 55g, after years of clarity and stability, suddenly took a dive and is virtually opaque....well no, it's just really foggy. I've done water changes and cleaning the filter and it's still foggy....yet the fish seem to be unaffected lol. Any suggestions?


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## E-J (Aug 27, 2009)

About the clams, I heard that they are good for filatration...but.. when they die it's hard to tell if they are still alive or not. Also, they have to be removed right when you notice that it's dead. 
I wanted them too but I changed my mind. 

About the cloudiness..Use a cloudy water solution to help. How many hours a day do you keep your aquarium lights on?


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## Ciddian (Mar 15, 2006)

Yea I heard the same thing about the clams... that and sometimes its hard to find them LOL 

I saw some people using gladware with gravel in them so you can place them there and they should bury into it. You can tell if they are dead by the smell or sudden change in the water. 

They do move around too though so you might loose track of them. I've read that if they don't change spots from time to time thats another sign of death but I am not sure on that.

I would actually feed the tank with some sort of filter feeder food from time to time once you've had them for a while so they don't starve on you.

I'd love to try them one day.


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## E-J (Aug 27, 2009)

Ciddian said:


> Yea I heard the same thing about the clams... that and sometimes its hard to find them LOL
> 
> I saw some people using gladware with gravel in them so you can place them there and they should bury into it. You can tell if they are dead by the smell or sudden change in the water.
> 
> ...


Big Al's at 1295 Kennedy Rd. has them.


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## WateraDrop (Nov 16, 2008)

E-J said:


> Big Al's at 1295 Kennedy Rd. has them.


oh is this the one in scarbs by finch?


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## WateraDrop (Nov 16, 2008)

also, with regards to my lighting, i don't think it's an algae growth problem. but i doubt it's a bacterial bloom...there's no particular thing that's happened that would've triggered that :S


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## Darkblade48 (Jan 28, 2008)

WateraDrop said:


> oh is this the one in scarbs by finch?


There is no Big Al's at Kennedy and Finch, as far as I know. It's between Ellesmere and Lawrence.


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## WateraDrop (Nov 16, 2008)

all i know is that every time i take the YRT, we go by the place where there's a honda dealership lol and next to that is the big al's.


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## ameekplec. (May 1, 2008)

Freshwater clams usually die in captivity as there is not enough suspended particulate matter in the tank to properly nourish it - they require tremendous amounts of food, and in a typical aquarium, you really can't provide it effectively.


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## Hitch (Apr 26, 2009)

Not to beat at a dead horse, but ya clams are a bad idea, unless it's a tank dedicated to them (even then it would be a challenge).

As for the foggy water, most likely it's a bac bloom. But it's hard to tell without knowing what happened. Have u tested the water?


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## gucci17 (Oct 11, 2007)

green foggy or white foggy?

sounds more like white foggy water which is probably just a bacterial bloom.


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## bluekrissyspikes (Apr 16, 2009)

did you stir up the subterate? sometimes that can cause it. so can a fish death that goes unnoticed or rinsing you the biofilter/changing any carbon filter too much.


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## Zebrapl3co (Mar 29, 2006)

Yeah, white foggy usually is a sign that your tank when through a cycle due to various reasons. If you have a high light environment. You'll eventually end up with green water as the end results. Sometimes that is a pain in the butt to get rid of. Only option is to run a UV unit against it.

As for the orginal topic. Clam is bad for you. Not sure where you get the idea that clam filters water. They may eat microbs and algea, but clean your water? Not sure how they do that. But one thing I do know that scares me from having clams in my tank. When they breed, they release stuff that will attach to your fish's gill and feed off your fish. That's how most clam migrate! It's good enough to make me stay well away from them.

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## bluekrissyspikes (Apr 16, 2009)

not all clams do that. most wild species do but the species that are sold for aquarium use dont.


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## WateraDrop (Nov 16, 2008)

Zebrapl3co said:


> Yeah, white foggy usually is a sign that your tank when through a cycle due to various reasons. If you have a high light environment. You'll eventually end up with green water as the end results. Sometimes that is a pain in the butt to get rid of. Only option is to run a UV unit against it.
> 
> As for the orginal topic. Clam is bad for you. Not sure where you get the idea that clam filters water. They may eat microbs and algea, but clean your water? Not sure how they do that. But one thing I do know that scares me from having clams in my tank. When they breed, they release stuff that will attach to your fish's gill and feed off your fish. That's how most clam migrate! It's good enough to make me stay well away from them.


well, we have done research with clams and mussels in the labs (i'm an undergrad bio specialist at u of t) and the filter feeding does clean up particulate matter that ends up in the upper to lower portions of the water column. i was looking to get one just for the sake of trying that and then feeding it with infusoria alongside what it might already be filtering from the tank. but again, i'm just considering getting one....i honestly don't want to have to deal with it dying because ..it's hard to tell if it's dead lol and if you don't notice it and deal with it fast enough, you end up with disgusting consequences.


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## ameekplec. (May 1, 2008)

WD, if you've dealt with them in a lab, you'd know that they're enormous filter feeders, not typically suited to the community aquarium. Now, if you want to do a green water pond tank, then they might do ok.


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