BEACH CLAMS!!!!! Want to start a SW clam tank. Help.

S

SeaBear

New Member
Hello to all. :)

I live close to the beach and love digging for clams, just to watch them dig back in the sand. My loaded question is how do I go about taking them from beach to a tank? I've read alot about sw tanks and all the maintenance and only came across a article that talk about taking them from their natural environment, saying it was possible but time consuming. Would I start the water the same way any sw tank starts or would have to bring gallons of ocean water home? Should I just buy them instead and just go about the usual process of starting a sw tank?

Any help is great!!!!
 
pegasus

pegasus

Well-Known Member
I prefer to buy my clams, and put them in established tanks. It takes a long time for an aquarium to develop the proper environment to sustain clams. Clams are filter feeders, so they require nutrient-rich water, which is normally in direct conflict with what most saltwater hobbyists strive for. While it's fun to dig up clams to watch them bury themselves back in the sand, this isn't something you would want to attempt in an aquarium. It takes a deep sand bed for clams, and disturbing an established bed by digging up clams could result in killing all your livestock. Hydrogen sulfate forms in the sand, and if released into the water column can be fatal to tank inhabitants. While I enjoy seeing a clam with it's tubes extended, they really don't do much as far as visual appeal goes. I never get see them (partially) come out of the sand, or see them go down. They're just "there".

I have put beach clams in my tanks before, but they never seem to last very long. Not long at all. Even bought clams have a fairly short lifespan in my tanks... :(
 
S

SeaBear

New Member
Ok thats good to know if i start a tank. No one has stated that once they're 'established' in the sand that i couldn't disturb the sand for any reason. And they have so many pics of established clam tanks, with bright big colorful clams. I just want to get all my info right before i go about putting a tank together, so I don't have to backtrack to fix anything.
 
S

SeaBear

New Member
Now if someone could post a list of all the possible equipments and elements to starting a sw tank without the all abbreviations and side notes that trail to other topis that would be nice.
 
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