The clams at the store that they sell as food on ice are not dead. They are dormant. Yes you put them in room temp water so they can burp. You can add them to your tank as food for puffers, eels, etc. They also help reduction of nitrates if they manage to burrow into your sand. The aren't like the clams that you see as decoration in most SW fish tanks. I don't know if the fish stores would be willing to take them or not but it couldn't hurt to ask. You can also keep them in your tank if they don't get eaten. You should never buy clams like that if they are partially open. This means they are dead so it also means that they shouldn't be eaten. Hope this helps. There are several threads on here about "burping" them.
