"cleaner" clam lifespan

[nyyank]

How long do clams, which have buried themselves in a DSB, live?
Anyone ever dug a live one up after several months??

 

[candycane]

No. And they live about 4 hours. LOL
I don't use them simply becaue I did once, and because they are most of the time sitting on big blocks of ice around here.

 

[reefkprz]

they can live well over 40 years.

 

[alix2.0]

Originally Posted by reefkprZ
http:///forum/post/2646732
they can live well over 40 years.
wow. i wonder how big they get.

 

[reefkprz]

Ocean quahogs of about 100 years and older are common; a maximum shell length of 140 mm (5.5 inches) and a maximum longevity estimate of 225 years have been reported (Ropes 1985).

 

[sickboy]

So...the cleaner clam will outlive me? That's crazy. Do the filter clams need to be "fed" or do they just take whatever out of the water?

 

[reefkprz]

they are filter feeders, with out particulate foods they will starve.
check this thread out for some more information on them.
https://forums.saltwaterfish.com/t/264945/the-truth-about-cleaner-clams

 

[rara12]

Last spring i added eighteen cleaner clams to my 285g fish only tank. At first they all buried themselves. But over the course of two weeks the shells of two of them showed up. About two monthes ago i added more rocks and dug up fourteen clams. Figured that wasnt so bad. Recently, after the addition of a chocolate chip star they started to die off. Im not sure if the star is digging them up and eating them or if they just died and got eaten but i figure i still have about ten left. My sand bed is four inches at the shallowest part. Never added any filter foods so how they lived so long i couldnt say. Just my experience

 

[reefkprz]

A CC star will grab a clam and pull it out of the sand bed to consume it.