# FreshWater Clams



## FishCrazy1234 (Jun 23, 2005)

I just wanted to know if anyone ever owned a FreshWater Clam because I thinking about getting some...


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## blixem (Jun 13, 2005)

I currently have a dozen in one of my tanks. They are great for filtering green water, as well as turning the substrate if you use sand.

I have heard that when they spawn the little clams attach to fish gills and then drop off when they are old enough, supposedly it doesn't hurt the fish but can cause marking if they attach to the skin and not the gills? Either way I haven't had them spawn so wouldn't know.


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## ALFA WOLF (May 24, 2005)

thats pretty cool how much woudl clams run.


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## Guest (Jul 15, 2005)

i can get them free from lakes. i had 2 i got while on vacation to this lake in NH. they were great...i also gave a ton to my grandmother for her pond. they do a nice job with extra filtering.


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## shev (Jan 18, 2005)

Clams are pretty cheap. check aquabid. I am going to get some too, they filter stuff like green water, debris, single celled organisms and other organic matter out of the water. you can feed them crushed up flake food, or even some frozen foods like brine shrimp. the parasitical larval stage is a myth. in fact Im pretty sure the larva arent even free swimming, they crawl around. I'm pretty sure any of the fw aquarium mini clams are Corbicula fluminea. clam larvae are brooded in the gills of a clam, not in the gills of a fish.


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## blixem (Jun 13, 2005)

shev said:


> Clams are pretty cheap. check aquabid. I am going to get some too, they filter stuff like green water, debris, single celled organisms and other organic matter out of the water. you can feed them crushed up flake food, or even some frozen foods like brine shrimp. the parasitical larval stage is a myth. in fact Im pretty sure the larva arent even free swimming, they crawl around. I'm pretty sure any of the fw aquarium mini clams are Corbicula fluminea. clam larvae are brooded in the gills of a clam, not in the gills of a fish.


Would be a good reason why I haven't had a problem with them yet. =)


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## j55 (Apr 25, 2005)

do they move around?


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## shev (Jan 18, 2005)

Yes, they have a foot like snails do.



> Would be a good reason why I haven't had a problem with them yet. =)


haha. yeah.


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## FishCrazy1234 (Jun 23, 2005)

I saw some FreshWater Clams at my LFS for around 2.49$ a clam.


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## FishCrazy1234 (Jun 23, 2005)

I was wondering do the clams like special water condtions. And also do they get slong with almost any fish...


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## shev (Jan 18, 2005)

Some fish like lungfish will eat them. I'm guessing some loaches may shuck them and eat the meat. starfish eat them, but I doubt you have to worry about them.

They prefer harder water, obviously for their shell. but they can live in an array of temperatures. very cold to very hot. and even slightly brackish water. They've become a problem here in the US because they are so able to out compete native clams, they were introduced from asia in the 1800's or something. maybe the 1700's. I think aquatic dynasty sells them on aquabid for pretty cheap. crayfishshop.com also does.

They like to burrow, so make sure there arent any dead ones int he substrate. you do have to feed these guys unless youve got a lot of infusoria or debris or green water. there is specific food for filterfeeders that comes in a bottle, but that may be for SW.


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## ALFA WOLF (May 24, 2005)

thats very cool going to look at buying some.


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## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

The larval stage of the clam is called the Glochidia. It IS parasitic on fish, this is NOT a myth, and in the close confines of an aquarium fish WILL often die. Luckily, most clams will never spawn in an aquarium, because most keepers barely manage to keep them alive, let alone help them thrive.
As for Aquatic Dynasty on Aquabid, well, his reputation is not exactly sterling. Buyer beware.
Good call on the loaches, Shev. They are pretty good at killing and eating clams, but unlike the snails they also kill, clams can fight back by clamping down on the loach's snout. It's important to pay attention to their relative sizes.
All in all, clams are okay in aquaria. In fact, I've seen some systems which were primarily filtered by clam-power. The clams were concentrated in a separate refugiumlike chamber, and they did a bang-up job of keeping the water sparkling.


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## shev (Jan 18, 2005)

> The larval stage of the clam is called the Glochidia. It IS parasitic on fish, this is NOT a myth, and in the close confines of an aquarium fish WILL often die. Luckily, most clams will never spawn in an aquarium, because most keepers barely manage to keep them alive, let alone help them thrive.
> As for Aquatic Dynasty on Aquabid, well, his reputation is not exactly sterling. Buyer beware.
> Good call on the loaches, Shev. They are pretty good at killing and eating clams, but unlike the snails they also kill, clams can fight back by clamping down on the loach's snout. It's important to pay attention to their relative sizes.
> All in all, clams are okay in aquaria. In fact, I've seen some systems which were primarily filtered by clam-power. The clams were concentrated in a separate refugiumlike chamber, and they did a bang-up job of keeping the water sparkling.


really? oh I'm sorry bout that then. I read Corbicula fluminea were pediveligers. how could they be parasitic if theyre not free swimming to attach onto fish? or does that not have anything to do with being a parasite? I suggested aquatic_dynasty because I saw him on this site. well crayfish.com, aquadreams on AB is a good seller. Ive talked to him on another forum.


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## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

Pediveliger is only the final larval stage, with a foot ( pedi ). Before that they are freeswimming, and even the pedi's can swim if they try. Before growing their foot they are called simply veligers/glochidia. In clams they are called veligers while in mussels they are called glochidia, but they are essentially the same things. Both are parasitic on fish. In all fairness, mussels are a lot worse than clams. Clams you can maybe get away with, but mussels are a huge risk.


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## j55 (Apr 25, 2005)

it would be good if you could get perls!
lol


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## ALFA WOLF (May 24, 2005)

lol thiers a thought.


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## j55 (Apr 25, 2005)

would it be possible?


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## ALFA WOLF (May 24, 2005)

uhuhuhuh i dont know need to cheack that i dont think it is.


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## fish_doc (Jan 31, 2005)

I like that you guys are developing a unknown Humor. No you need to learn to word it like this. - How many clams do clams run?


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## BlackArchFish (Apr 29, 2005)

lol. Clams do not produce pearls. Oysters do. ^_^ I would know lmao.


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## ALFA WOLF (May 24, 2005)

your more confusing then i am lol.


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## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

So all those Kentucky Freshwater Pearls come from freshwater oysters, then?


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## Lydia (Feb 6, 2005)

i dunno....i guess so

alfa wolf: i think blackarchfish is the one who got a 7 3/4 mm pearl from an oyster at a fair or something like that....im not sure though


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## ALFA WOLF (May 24, 2005)

i meant to put my post before blacks post but he posted his before me. mine was meant for fish docs.


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## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

There are no freshwater oysters. Freshwater MUSSELS, though, make pearls.


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## Cichlid Man (Jan 19, 2005)

Also, If one of your clams dies, do a 100% water change immediatly as they produce a toxin and pollute the water.


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## Huugs (Apr 25, 2005)

Well CM that sounds like a pretty big con of having having clams in the tanks then. I think I Ill stick with the normal plastic filters for now!


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## Cichlid Man (Jan 19, 2005)

Good choice.


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## shev (Jan 18, 2005)

oldsalt, i dont wanna second guess you. but is there more than one FW clam? cuase all I have found is that Corbicula fluminea is not parasitic to fish,and that they have free-living larvae, and that they are veligers. but the sperm of one clam is parasitic to another clams eggs. and that they are internal brooders.

http://nis.gsmfc.org/nis_factsheet.php?toc_id=128
http://www.bio.utexas.edu/grad/shedtke/Undergrad.html
http://www.bio.utexas.edu/grad/shedtke/Research.html

The asian golden clams use a very wierd (kinky?) way of reproducing. the sperm of a clam using the entire paternal genome enters an egg and kicks the eggs dna out. making a complete copy of the father clam. and even the sperm of one kind of clam can enter a different species of clams eggs and force that clam to carry the other species eggs. so it is a parasite to other clams eggs. they do this because since the clams produce internally the eggs are more valuable.

still could be wrong.


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