[deleted_user_12]

ok i really want to get a freshwater clam
reasons cleaner water, lower nitrates, uncommon aquaria inhabitant.
so there are my reasons but hear are me troubles.
one the are cheap but the only place i can find them is online so im not paying $50 for a $4 creature because of shipping. so i was thinking of getting one from a pond are there any concerns with this.
and if you know of any stores who sell clams in the new haven county are in Connecticut.

 

[mordalphus]

They don't live long, when they die they poison your tank, they INCREaSE nitrates, they have special feeding requirements. They're not good overall.

I can think of many reasons not to use one from a local water body. They're probably full of parasite and djsease for one, which are more difficult to treat in invertebrates.

 

[GeToChKn]

I thought they looked neat when I saw that at my LFS and was going to add them to my planted tank/shrimp/dwarf frog tank at the time but read that they die and you have to constantly check to make sure they're not dead or they can really foul up your water.

As morph said, they can bring all kinds of things from your local lake to your tank. If you want to do that, test your local water and start up a local-stuff-i-found tank where you only put local stuff that is already used to the parasites and whatever else they may have already.

 

[HypnoticAquatic]

longest i could keep them alive was a year they didnt fair as well as i wanted and i havent seen anyone have great luck with them, ive read they need temp change for the seasons but never could do it due to other fauna.

 

[astrosag]

I've heard the best way to keep them is to put them in some sort of container, punch holes to let water in. This way when it comes time to check up on them - which you have to do frequently to make sure they don't die and kill all your fish along the way - you don't have to go digging through your substrate and uprooting plants.

Sounds like a good idea, but probably doesn't look so good in a tank.

I'm not sure what diseases the wild ones may carry but remember that this tank is in your house - wouldn't want to spread anything to you or anyone that comes in contact with the tank.

 

[jreich]

im sure they are full of disease, they are filter feaders, not to mention all the fecal matter thay have in them. :icon_eek:

 

[vespers_]

clams/mussels actually live a long long time (depending on species obviously) but die in aquariums because they don't get what they need to survive. they are very difficult to keep in aquariums and there's almost no research on how to keep them properly (FW especially). closest thing i can think of to keeping these is keeping a non-photosynthetic reef tank. it's extremely hard to do.

you also have to get a tropical species or be prepared to have a cold water tank as most are temperate.

they are filter feeders, which means they need really good flow and will travel around to find better places of flow. most of the problems in the aquarium is they have nowhere to go. some species just stick to rocks, but some need a sand and mud substrate to move around in.

they also need to be spot fed multiple times a day. non-photosynthetic corals also need multiple feedings and the people that keep these often automate feedings so they can actually have a life. fish food and flake just won't work. the food needs to be the right size for them to filter it and eat it. there are lots of foods available for SW varieties (including live cultures of phytoplankton and such), but almost nothing for FW. idk if you could feed the FW ones the SW foods either. they need a ton of food as well, so maintaining even one of them

i was considering getting some zebra mussels in a native tank and see how they do, but decided to go with something that i know will be successful. imo, if you can give it a try, go for it and tell us how it goes.

 

[astrosag]

These guys aren't true filters. They're filter feeders. They consume algae and other particulates in the water. Most die because they starve to death - clams can last a while without eating giving the false sense that they're doing ok. They do not take out nitrates and ammonia from the water but in fact contribute to it.

 

[asukawashere]

^ some good words of advice in prior posts. Clam keeping is tricky. They're tough to feed and, as if you've ever encountered rotten seafood, they reek and foul up the water when they die.

That said, if you're desperate to get your hands on one and try for yourself, try All Pets Club in Branford, CT. Last time I was there they had a tank full of golden clams. No guarantees on their health, of course.

 

[A.M. Aquatics]

If you've seen exactly where freshwater clams live, you'd understand exactly why they usually don't do well in aquariums. There's a natural pond way out in the country where I have been a couple times. I've found clams about 2 feet deep in that muck in the bottom of the pond. They don't just need a well established tank, they need NATURE. I have yet to see an aquarium that simulates how clams live in the wild.

 

[jasonpatterson]

I'd be very surprised if Connecticut allowed the collection of freshwater clams and mussels. I could be wrong of course, but it's pretty common to forbid it entirely because of the large number of threatened/endangered species that we've got due to our poor care of rivers. Keeping nonnative mussels (zebra mussels, for instance) is also usually completely forbidden. Call your DNR for more info, of course.

 

[jreich]

I'd be very surprised if Connecticut allowed the collection of freshwater clams and mussels. I could be wrong of course, but it's pretty common to forbid it entirely because of the large number of threatened/endangered species that we've got due to our poor care of rivers. Keeping nonnative mussels (zebra mussels, for instance) is also usually completely forbidden. Call your DNR for more info, of course.

keeping zebra mussels for instance is forbidden because there invasive. besides certain species being invasive, clam and mussel fisheries are usually shut down due to polution.

 

[vespers_]

keeping zebra mussels for instance is forbidden because there invasive. besides certain species being invasive, clam and mussel fisheries are usually shut down due to polution.

which is something of a joke when you actually get in the water and look around lol. the things are literally everywhere in the st lawrence and great lakes and so are round gobies.

regardless, nobody is going to arrest you for taking them, so if you want them, go ahead, just don't throw them into a nearby waterway if you don't want them anymore. pretty much common sense, not to throw anything you've had in a tank back into the water but it seems people do it anyway... although i guess that's a joke too when the city dumps millions of gallons of raw sewage/chemicals from plants into the water.

 

[metallicanick78]

I work for CT DEP fisheries, and I believe that collection of FW mussels is illegal... New england in general was one of the coolest places for FW mussel a long time ago. We have the largest number of endemic spp. due to the glacial activity that created long island sound in the last ice age. It wiped out all the mussels that are found in other parts of the country and left perfect stream habitat that was devoid of all large filter feeders, which is the ideal conditions for a speciation event. Unfourtunatly, we also have the highest number of endangered and threatened FW mussel spp. in the country due to dam creation and invasives... Its too bad because there are some really cool feeding and breeding stratagies in mussels and it would be cool to have a full stream tank with all kinds of inverts and bugs! But like everyone has already said, its super hard.
We dont have zebra mussels east of the Hous. yet in CT as far as I know. But if they keep moving this way then you can certaintly kiss more than a few endemic (not found anywhere else on the planet) mussel spp. goodbye forever... I woulden't recomend zebras for aquaria anyway, the reason most non-biologist hate them is because they clog water intake and exhausts on water treatment facilities and nuclear power plants! Shouldent be hard for them to burn out an HoB or a canister lol!

 

[Abrium]

this is very interesting..

 

[deleted_user_12]

I work for CT DEP fisheries, and I believe that collection of FW mussels is illegal... New england in general was one of the coolest places for FW mussel a long time ago. We have the largest number of endemic spp. due to the glacial activity that created long island sound in the last ice age. It wiped out all the mussels that are found in other parts of the country and left perfect stream habitat that was devoid of all large filter feeders, which is the ideal conditions for a speciation event. Unfourtunatly, we also have the highest number of endangered and threatened FW mussel spp. in the country due to dam creation and invasives... Its too bad because there are some really cool feeding and breeding stratagies in mussels and it would be cool to have a full stream tank with all kinds of inverts and bugs! But like everyone has already said, its super hard.
We dont have zebra mussels east of the Hous. yet in CT as far as I know. But if they keep moving this way then you can certaintly kiss more than a few endemic (not found anywhere else on the planet) mussel spp. goodbye forever... I woulden't recomend zebras for aquaria anyway, the reason most non-biologist hate them is because they clog water intake and exhausts on water treatment facilities and nuclear power plants! Shouldent be hard for them to burn out an HoB or a canister lol!

that is a good point they could clog filter intakes, but i saw ones at the pet store and i dont know if i can resist, they look small and my tank has a lot of floating debris i think the clams could take out the only concern i have is my rainbow fish, would they eat them?

 

[metallicanick78]

Im not familiar with rainbow fish personally, but what was your lfs selling? Zebra mussels, FW mussels from CT or FW mussels from out of state? Did it have a spp. name?

 

[deleted_user_12]

it had no name but was definitely a clam