LanglandJoshua November 28, 2013 Share November 28, 2013 I've wondered for a while if grocery store bought clams could eat my left over coral foods, and help keep the tank water clean. After seeing some "live" littleneck clams at Giant, I did some quick research on bringing these guys into an aquarium. After reading some topics of reef central, I went for it. Now I have 24(one was crushed) little neck clams in two gallons of pre-mixed salt water. I chilled this water to 52 degrees, with crushed ice in zip lock bags. Soon I will drip acclimate them, and place them in a Tupperware container of rinsed sand. Hopefully I've gone the right way with this little project. My worry is this tank will not support 24(assuming none die) little hungry clams. Does anyone have ideas on this topic? If I have more than my system can keep alive, would anyone want a couple? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Origami November 28, 2013 Share November 28, 2013 Joshua, welcome back. I've heard of some people having them survive anywhere from a few days to a year or so. Their normal distribution, though, is throughout cold and temperate waters, so you may find that they fail to thrive in the warmer temperatures of a reef tank. Keep an eye on them so you can remove them quickly should they die. Also, I think their filter feeders - mostly phytoplankton, I'd assume, so you may have to supplement phyto to keep them going. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davelin315 November 28, 2013 Share November 28, 2013 They do not impact the system. I have kept them in both cold and tropical tanks with no impact on water clarity or nutrient load. They were fun for my zebra moray to chew on, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gmerek2 November 28, 2013 Share November 28, 2013 I don't think they help much unless you have 100s but anything that helps right!? They open up when they die so you can easily tell To remove before decay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LanglandJoshua November 28, 2013 Author Share November 28, 2013 Thanks Origami, I've had a coupe "events" with the system since I've posteD anything. But I've been checking in periodically. :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LanglandJoshua November 28, 2013 Author Share November 28, 2013 Also, does anyone have info on fusilier damsels? I just picked up four from Quantum Reefs. They seem to change color as they swim under my acan 600PA's, with their many colors it looks amazing as these fish school. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave w November 28, 2013 Share November 28, 2013 Joshua, I think it is a great filtration idea if they survive. Sometimes we are surprised that temperate creatures can last for quite a while in our tanks. The same species of common oyster is native here in the Chesapeake, up and down the east coast, and all the way south past Florida, so it would probably survive tropical temperatures in our tanks, I hope the littleneck clams do the same for you. In the wild their preferred food is phytoplankton - and a lot of it. I saw a video once of a tank so full of phyto that the water was dark green and the clams cleared the water in just a couple hours. But many people have grown clams on inert foods also, like ground corn meal. I'm not saying you should put corn meal into your tank, but there is a good chance that if you stir up much sediment that they can survive on it. Maybe there is a corner where you can put them and direct sediment there with a powerhead. Please let us know how it works out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bendeng November 28, 2013 Share November 28, 2013 Duke had a couple in his tank for a while. I think he ended up using them to cycle the 125... they looked like they were constantly sticking their tongue out on you lol Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LanglandJoshua November 28, 2013 Author Share November 28, 2013 Thanks Dave, I'm shocked that as of right now 16 have opened. Not that they will all survive. But I know these guys are going to eat the entire tanks supply of food fast. I'm hoping reef roids will keep them alive for a while. If not, boom anemone food! I'd rather share them though. After a week in my care I might just put many up for free. The whole lot was $9, which is great considering the price of any livestock in this hobby lmao... Bending, they really do look that way! Lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldReefer November 28, 2013 Share November 28, 2013 Joshua, I have played with a few of these as well. I acclimated in a similar way and they lasted for a few weeks. You are making me think about trying it again, only this time I would put them at the outlet of my pellet reactor, I bet they would really love that bacteria film that sloughs off the pellets. I get an explosion of little fan worms popping up where ever I point the outlet of that reactor. I have to think other filter feeders like clams would like that stuff as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LanglandJoshua December 2, 2013 Author Share December 2, 2013 Well, I have to report my water is crystal clear. After just under a week. I've noticed even the bottom of this Rubbermaid 150g tank is easy to view. Which usually is either tinted green, or a little blurry from particulates. So these little guys are working hard. At the same time I added the clams, I put an egg-crate box in an open area in my sump with a light for a quarter pound of cheato. I'm hoping the combination destroys my cyno algaes food supply. Now that the algae is going planktonic again(periodically breaks up and regrows) this is where hopefully it starts to dwindle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrn10 December 2, 2013 Share December 2, 2013 I have a little neck clam that had been in our tank for 4 months. It was one ice at Food Lion and spared from our dinner one night as an experiment.. He constantly filter feeds and has been doing great! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave w December 6, 2013 Share December 6, 2013 Well, I have to report my water is crystal clear. After just under a week. I've noticed even the bottom of this Rubbermaid 150g tank is easy to view. Which usually is either tinted green, or a little blurry from particulates. So these little guys are working hard. At the same time I added the clams, I put an egg-crate box in an open area in my sump with a light for a quarter pound of cheato. I'm hoping the combination destroys my cyno algaes food supply. Now that the algae is going planktonic again(periodically breaks up and regrows) this is where hopefully it starts to dwindle. Joshua, if your water is crystal clear from a combination of filter feeders and algae, then whatever you have done is perfect. Keep it up and let us know how long the clams live in your warm water. I've often wondered what a bushel of oysters would do for filtration, but when my tank is ready to fill I don't want to introduce wild organisms for a while. They would eat too many of the copepods which I want to keep for larval fish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LanglandJoshua December 6, 2013 Author Share December 6, 2013 Absolutely, I'm curious about the water being "too clean" I read on another site(forgot name) that one clam per 50g was a solid rule. So at 200g, and 24 clams I'm blowing that away. Which is why I may just give away half. Or more. As for clarity, I actually had some family tell me they were worried about my water being, "Suddenly too clear". In the short term I can attest this to being great for a quick clean up. But my only worry is about the long term survival of the clams. I doubt temperature will be an issue. Rather I don't believe my system will provide the enough to feed the clams. However they are still poking up out of the sand from time to time! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gmerek2 December 6, 2013 Share December 6, 2013 Look for cleaner clams on saltwaterfish . Com mine just died after a few months of living. I really thought it, especially just one, would be able to make it longer than that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trockafella December 6, 2013 Share December 6, 2013 How can you say with any certainty at all that the clams had any effect at all.? You also added a large amount of macroalgae that is known and proven to work very well. I think your findings are somewhat tainted bc of that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LanglandJoshua December 6, 2013 Author Share December 6, 2013 You have a good point. To be 100% certain the clams should be put in a tank without the cheato. However I would not expect the cheato to have such an immediate effect. Either way, the clams seem to be doing well for now. My tank looks better, and I'm happy! :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elbowdeep88 January 9, 2014 Share January 9, 2014 So I remembered this thread when I was in IC the other day. Clams/bivalves can be great filter feeders in large systems with heavy bioload and suspended organics. How are yours doing after a month? Seems the concern was that they werent tropical and might not do well long term. Anyway, I saw they have a handfull of misc scallops/bivalves from the Florida Keys for filtration. Some were cool-maybe in a sump or fuge. Who knows the exact species/care requirements but might be a better bet if you are adventerous given that at least you know they are from warm water... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LanglandJoshua January 9, 2014 Author Share January 9, 2014 I checked about a week ago, they were all fine. Which was surprising. I have fed relatively heavy with reef roids and BRS reef chilli. I don't want to disturb then too much by digging them up. But I've noticed dents in the sand bed. So I believe they are good. Since the sand in my little experimental tupperware container is about three inches deep, I don't expect to see them much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LanglandJoshua March 10, 2014 Author Share March 10, 2014 (edited) 4 month update, all are still well. I have some short videos of how I have them set up. And a couple photos for anyone interested. I'll edit them, and post tomorrow if I have time. Today I reorganized some corals and rock. In the process I caused a lot of nastiness and waste to be kicked up. Even after adding a filter sock for 45 minutes. Seeing the bottom of the tank was hard. Very murky, I cleaned my skimmer, and did a 5g water change. Still very murky, so I put the clams back in after counting them. Within 20 minutes the water was crystal clear. Those little guys seem to enjoy when I stir up a huge mess! Maybe I've got a new clam feeding technique, or a way to throw my chems way out of wack! Though, at least once a week I set my MP40's to nutrient export mode. I'm wondering if that is helping to feed these little guys. I have a bit of a dirty tank. All LPS, zoas, anemones, and softies. I'm also dosing a couple things weekly/ daily and will post them when I'm more awake tomorrow. gmerek2 - we're coming up to your five-six month timeframe. Fingers crossed that these guys keep up the good work! Waters super clear. Though some green can be seen in a clean white bucket. Trokafella - I was thinking on what you said, I agree. Since there is more than one variable changed, we can't attest which created the improvements. To be honest, I noticed particulates(floating dust, food, and waste) in the tank dropped exponentially. I'm not sure how cheato would or could cause that kind of change. There was also a noted change in the tint of the water when I pull it out for a water change. It's usually a bit green, now it is a far lighter green. Also, I've noticed my cheato is not growing much at all. It could be my small 6W LED light, could be the culture I'm dosing to my tank weekly to combat my cyno algae limiting food supplies. So again, multiple variables. But it's looking far nicer! Edited March 10, 2014 by LanglandJoshua Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharkey18 March 10, 2014 Share March 10, 2014 Thanks for the update. Would love to see the pics if you get some time to post them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crob5965 March 10, 2014 Share March 10, 2014 I have had about 6 of them in my tank for over a year, I really dont think they do much I did some re modeling a couple of months ago and accidentally buried one under about 30lbs of LR and he wiggled his way out about a week later. I have 3 or 4 in my fuge and 1 in my DT covered in coraline, I originally had 6 but some died, which really make your water cloudy if your not quick enough to catch it. they were 50c each at the local food lion and the fresh that day ones were 75c I bought the fresh ones, been over a year and most are still in my system, cant say that it's beneficial to my system but it's something different, if they die they make awesome frag shelves lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gmerek2 March 10, 2014 Share March 10, 2014 I recently added a little flow to my chaeto tank since I couldn't get any to grow ever since I moved the fuge to basement. It's now growing wildly. I never had my clam in sand, fuge is bare bottom. Also never tried to feed it and I have a very clean tank. Probably reasons why mine didn't last long. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crob5965 March 10, 2014 Share March 10, 2014 I recently added a little flow to my chaeto tank since I couldn't get any to grow ever since I moved the fuge to basement. It's now growing wildly. I never had my clam in sand, fuge is bare bottom. Also never tried to feed it and I have a very clean tank. Probably reasons why mine didn't last long. I was wondering how your fuge was so sparkly in the basement, I remember it really green and well kinda refugium looking when it was upstairs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now