golden clams and shrimp

retardo · Post by **retardo** » Tue Feb 15, 2005 1:24 am

seeing "golden clams" popping up on aquabid lately and considering putting in a bid. just wondering if anyone out there has had experience with them, and know if they would eat shrimp if they had the chance... i know they're filter feeders, but are they opportunistic feeders as well. a shrimp could easily fit under and inside a clam. thanx.

rich

Post by **Mustafa** » Tue Feb 15, 2005 4:32 pm

It would be good to know aht those "golden clams" really are (species name would be helpful). Either way, their claim that it "filters" the water is pure nonsense. They need lots of microorganisms which an aquarium usually cannot provide. I can guarantee you that these clams will NOT make the aquarium water any cleaner or increase water quality. That's just nonsense sales talk. Also, such animals do not last all that long in the tank and slowly starve to death despite efforts to feed them. They might survive in really large aquaria, but I doubt they'll do well in most people's homes.

They will not "eat" shrimp since they do not have a mouth made for that purpose.

Mustafa

ronin · Post by **ronin** » Sat Feb 19, 2005 6:45 pm

Well according to the site I got them from, the clams are Corbicula fluminea. They advise putting them in tanks of at least 10 gallons and said you could supplement their diet with invertebrate food.

Funny thing is, once these clams get acclimated to your tank, chances are you're never going to see them again. They burrow right into the substrate and stay there so unless you manually clean your substrate or put them right next to the front tank wall, they're pretty much invisible.

Post by **Mustafa** » Sat Feb 19, 2005 7:04 pm

Thanks for the info.

badflash · Post by **badflash** » Sat Apr 15, 2006 10:26 am

I got a batch of these last fall and they are still going strong in my cherry and amano tanks. I can't be sure, but I even think they are breeding. I have a few of some sort of non-snail creature sticking to the glass. They have a foot sort of like a snail, but it is entirely under what looks like one side of a clam shell. I searched for asian clams (because that is what they are) on google and found that they have a life cycle that has two stages that are non-planctonic but I could not locate any pictures.

BTW- I see these clams all the time. They keep a little of their shell out so their siphon can stick out and filter. They also move around and leave trenches in the sand.

Newjohn · Post by **Newjohn** » Sat Apr 15, 2006 4:53 pm

Hi retardo

I have had the "golden Clams" for over a year.

They do alot better in my 125 gal, than my 10, 15, and 20 gal.

As Mustafa said, they starve to death, if not supplied with enough food, that can be filtered through there bodies.

AS badflash stated, he sees his all the time. I also see my 12 clams in my 125 gal all the time.
They move themselves ,to get in ,the best current in my tank,
I believe, it is easier for them to feed.

Have a great Day
John

bulrush · Post by **bulrush** » Tue Apr 18, 2006 5:06 am

I have 2 golden clams left in my tanks I got about 8 months ago from Aquabid. They do seem to starve to death. However you can feed them with a solution of yeast every other day if you want. Or make a separate tank of green water and feed them green water. They have not harmed anything as they are filter feeders. Though their shell opens up big enough for a shrimp their mouth is a small part of their shell. If you look closely you can see 2 openings when their shell is cracked open. One is for water going in, one is for water going out. That is their "mouth".

I put a clam in a shrimp tank with white cloudy water and it cleared it up in 24 hours, so it worked for me.

Then I put that clam in a green water tank with snails and it died within 7 days. Ammonia, nitrite, and nitrates were all 0 so there must have been some other chemical which killed it.

The biggest problem I had was with shipping. When I got them it was a freaky hot day which reached 86F in the mailbox and that day, about half of the 35 clams died. Over the next week all but 10 died. So you must plan to receive them when weather will be 60F-70F.

Shrimp&Snails · Post by **Shrimp&Snails** » Tue Apr 18, 2006 8:20 am

bulrush wrote: Then I put that clam in a green water tank with snails and it died within 7 days. Ammonia, nitrite, and nitrates were all 0 so there must have been some other chemical which killed it.

Was the tank fully cycled? Zero nitrate, nitrite and ammonia makes me think the tank was new.

A cycled tank will have a reading for nitrate.

YuccaPatrol · Post by **YuccaPatrol** » Tue Apr 18, 2006 7:52 pm

They are one of the most common invasive freshwater species in the United States. I collect them from local streams and keep them in my fish tanks and they live quite happily, but you don't see them unless they happen to be buried right against the glass. Certainly, they do filter some water, but don't expect them to take the place of an actual filter.

Considering that they are abundant across most the country, you should be able to go to a local stream and just pick them up out of the sand. Around here, I could collect thousands of them with a shovel and about 2 minutes of my time. . .

You can read a lot about them here:

http://nas.er.usgs.gov/queries/FactShee ... eciesID=92