mmenz22779
New member
Anyone have experiance with cleaner clams. I dont have a sump, just a 29 gal bio, that I like to keep as natural as i can.
Cleaner clams as a addtion?
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Guygettnby
Well-known member
i used to buy them all the time. save yourself some money though and go to your local grocery store. they are called cherry clams, just make sure to ask them if they are still alive. dont buy any that are already open and try to buy the ones that look wet still.
take each clam and acclimate it in a seperate small container of water for about an hour or so while replacing the water about every 10-15 minutes. the ones that make it will spit out some very nasty stuff into the water. when this happens and you can see them open up change the water 1 more time. now you can simply acclimate it to the tank tempature and drop them in.
they do however bury themselves into the sand so dont expect to see them very often if at all. but this proccess does work for me pretty well. i used to buy 6 every other week for my peacock mantis shrimp to munch on. he would dig them up for a late night snack :lol:
take each clam and acclimate it in a seperate small container of water for about an hour or so while replacing the water about every 10-15 minutes. the ones that make it will spit out some very nasty stuff into the water. when this happens and you can see them open up change the water 1 more time. now you can simply acclimate it to the tank tempature and drop them in.
they do however bury themselves into the sand so dont expect to see them very often if at all. but this proccess does work for me pretty well. i used to buy 6 every other week for my peacock mantis shrimp to munch on. he would dig them up for a late night snack :lol:
greenbean36191
Premium Member
There is no point in adding them to a tank unless you intend to use them as a food source. They don't "clean" anything. They feed on phytoplankton and excrete nitrogenous waste (ammonia) just like any other animal. Most tanks don't have nearly enough phyto to support them so they die and pollute a tank. If you supplement phyto to keep them alive you're just adding more nutrients to the tank.
The term "filter feeder" doesn't imply anything about the effect on water quality.
The term "filter feeder" doesn't imply anything about the effect on water quality.
mmenz22779
New member
Guygettingby and Greenbean, thanks for the update. If they wont help my tank then i wont get them.
Why the hell do they name them Cleaner clams then? shesshh
thanks for the education.
Why the hell do they name them Cleaner clams then? shesshh
thanks for the education.
Guygettnby
Well-known member
"Cleaner Clams" is just a marketing term used to make a sale. just like many others in this trade. dont feel bad about it though. before i knew about this site i bought some from saltwaterfish..... after that they were simply a food source for my peacock.
mmenz22779
New member
been there done that, like my feather dusters any my crab that i found out eats them. LFS forgot to tell me that one until anouther one told me, that the crabs are not starving they will kill feather dusters.
3 of 4 gone, MMM nice $45 lunch for him, heck the crab ate better than I did.
3 of 4 gone, MMM nice $45 lunch for him, heck the crab ate better than I did.
Guygettnby
Well-known member
:lol: thats about as bad as when i very first started keeping saltwater many years ago. the local fish store sold me 2 small cowns and a lion fish. said they would all live together perfectly fine. yea right... first day i came home 1 clown was gone, second day i got home and i saw the lion fish eat the second clown right in front of me. went back to the fish store and they wanted to know were the clown bodies were... i told them in the lion fishes belly :lol: eventually they ended up refunding my money.
