Caught a clam and added it to my tank!

[Sluder4]

Well Sunday I went fishing in the lake not far from my house. I had caught a few brim and when I was about to leave I cast out and caught a clam(don't ask me how but I did,lol) so I decided to bring him home. I washed him off and made sure he wasn't covered in algae and then researched if he could harm my fish. The only thing it said was the larva they release when they release them and it hurts my fish gills. But it said that's only if I have more than three. The lake is also for drinking water so no raw sewage could be contaminating the tank. So I put him in my tank and he immediately dug through the rocks and is laying sideways with his tentacle (idk what else to call it) waving about catch food and particles. He seems fine and my fish don't bother him at all. Do you think I should keep him in there?

 

[bassbonediva]

I probably would quarantine him first. You never know what kind of diseases and parasites wild-caught (or even tank-raised) fish and invertebrates can bring into your tank. I'd hate to see you entire tank wiped out by one little clam.

 

[aakaakaak]

Before cooking, you normally keep a clam in some clean water so they basically poop out the bad stuff. They're muck dwellers, so they pretty much ingest gunk all day. You might have wanted to do that first. Not saying you should cook it though. Good luck.

 

[prsturm]

You should return him to his home. He misses his parents. You're making him terribly sad. The clams, they call you "the Stalker", and speak in hushed towns about how you come about and just kidnap their children!

 

[ryanoh]

You should return him to his home. He misses his parents. You're making him terribly sad. The clams, they call you "the Stalker", and speak in hushed towns about how you come about and just kidnap their children!

The other clams say to hide your kids, and hide your wives, even your husbands too.

But in all seriousness, I think its sort of cool if you can keep locally caught fish, just make sure they're clean first.

 

[brian1973]

You should return him to his home. He misses his parents. You're making him terribly sad. The clams, they call you "the Stalker", and speak in hushed towns about how you come about and just kidnap their children!

I realize this is a joke but never return any fish, inverts, etc to the wild regardless of where you caught or purchased them, this is illegal and can release foreign diseases and parasites into our native waters.

Now onto the clam, you should know what species you have removed from the wild since even FW clams can be endangered. I have heard of a single clam wiping out a tank because they burrow and go dormant for a while and you have no way of knowing if it is hiding or is dead and once they die they rot quickly and create havok on the water parameters.

If you are interested in NATIVE fish collecting and keeping please visit the NANFA.org website, the link is in my sig, they are the only website that I am cuurently aware of dedicated to the conservation, education and captive care of North American native fish.

 

[littletankbigworld]

the other clams say to hide your kids, and hide your wives, even your husbands too.

ahahahahahaha!

 

[ValRasbora]

I had a FW clam once. The tentacle is called a foot, despite that it looks nothing like a foot. They're really neat and fun to watch! You should QT it, especially because it's from a lake, even if the lake it clean.

you guys are all so funny about the "clam-stalker"

 

[phin]

Kind of late now to quarantine, no?

I've thought about keeping clams before, but the i think the question arose as to how I would provide it witht he proper food.

One tip I heard was to keep the clam in a plastic cup that has been cut off to only be as deep as the substrate, fill with the tank substrate and place in your tank. This way you will always know where your clam is and can check to make sure it hasn't died on you.

 

[Sluder4]

Thanks y;all, this morning he was at the top of the substrate with his foot waving about so I guess he was filtering. He was closed last night and so he hasn't died. But thank you for all the info

 

[aakaakaak]

The other clams say to hide your kids, and hide your wives, even your husbands too.

For those that aren't in the know:
Start with this: YouTube - (STEREO SOUND) Antoine Dodson warns a PERP on LIVE TV!
Then go here: YouTube - BED INTRUDER SONG. BEST REMIX & TRUE FACTS ABOUT YOUR RIGHTS. MUST SEE ASAP

Sluder4 - The Clam Intruder

MUAHAHAHAHAHA!

No seriously, I think it's sort of cool keeping a clam.

 

[Sluder4]

Well all he is doing now is laying torwards the glass...I might take some substrate from my dads tank and do the cup idea...I think mine isn't fine enough for him to really dig. But I can't put it in my Dads tank since he has a arowana and it would be a little snack for him :]