Freshwater Clams

Cornelius1208

There is an old thread about freshwater clams on here, but I thought I would start a new thread inquiring about them since I have question were not answered in the previous thread. I've bought two freshwater clams (Corbicula fluminea) almost two weeks ago and they seem to be doing well so far. But I am concerned if they are actually feeding or not. I did have a little case of green water, but it has seemed to have cleared up and I'm not sure if my clams are eating now or not. I have read that using invertebrate foods, such as ones offered from Kent, can be fed to the clams and works very well. Is there anyone that has or has had luck with freshwater clams and can offer some good advice?

kitten_penang

i only eat them jk good luck in getting advice.not many of us keep clams here

Melody

I had a friend who did very well feeding her freshwater clams cultured green water, plankton, & a bit of powdered seaweed with spirulina. I don't remember if she used a commercial supplement or not. A good commercial supplement is a standard recommendation though.

The risk with supplementing is overfeeding, which results in conditions that clams don't tolerate (such as ammonia and nitrates). Green water algae & phytoplankton will stay alive in freshwater aquariums and assist in keeping the water clean while it's waiting to be eaten, so I'd suggest that as the ideal.

Good luck!

Cornelius1208

I don't really want anymore green algae in my tank because of it's unkempt appearance, but I would love to culture phytoplankton in my tank. Would you happen to know the best way of doing that?

Melody

Phytoplankton and green water is basically the same thing, the latter being used to describe the green haze that many fishkeepers don't care for, and the former being a purposefully cultured food that often contains, or is used to feed, other tiny creatures (zooplankton). The term 'Phytoplankton' encompasses more than one type, from green algae to diatoms, just as zooplankton can refer to many species. 'Plankton' covers both, at least in Melodese .

My friend kept a separate culture in a sunny window, started with aquarium water. She fed some of the culture to the tank periodically. Without high light levels, phytoplankton doesn't live forever in the tank. However, it can last long enough to ensure that it's eaten, as opposed to it beginning to decompose right away. The accompanying zooplankton will survive for as long as they can find food and not become food.

If you'd rather try a product, the Rainbowfish community often uses one called Phycopure to feed tiny fry. There's another one but I can't recall the name.

My understanding is that plankton is a big part of your average freshwater clam's diet, which is probably why she was so successful at keeping them. She was also one of the most diligent fishkeepers I've ever known, which gave the clams the environment they insist upon.

aefree

Cornelius, I was thinking about getting freshwater clams for my tank too. I thought they were bottom feeders, guess I need to read up more on them before purchasing any. Hope you find the infor you are looking for. I did read an article in Foster and Smith aqauatics about fresh water clams, but no longer have it. Look at foster&smith.com if you are interested.

kitten_penang

i have found baby crabs inside clams before.

aefree

that would be neat. do you house freshwater clams in your aquarium?

kitten_penang

nope i stir fried them and when i tried to eat them i found baby crab bodies inside

Castro235

I don't have much experience with feeding them, but I actually was fortunate enough to find a freshwater clam in a local river almost 6 months ago.

I acclimated him and put him in my 55 gallon tank(6 Goldfish and one -temporarily housed- chinese Hillstream Loach, and a ton of malaysian trumpet snails)

I don't have much for algae in the water that I'm aware of as it's quite clear, but I do have many plants and a good amount of algae on the glass and decor(I leave it for the snails and fishies to eat)

The clam has been doing good as far as I can tell, he is still alive after all, I don't ever see any signs of him eating, as he's always buried in the sand, but I occasionally find him when moving plants and I pop him somewhere on top of the sand just to be sure he isn't dead, since I wouldn't know how to tell, but he just digs right back into the sand, and as I mentioned I haven't fed anything, and he has been in the tank for at least 4-5 months and seemingly doing well.

I couldn't find too much info on clams in the aquarium when I was looking, other than them being filter feeders or whatever and eating the goodies in the sand, so i wasn't too concerned about it.


Hopefully you have good luck with yours.
:)