reefkprz
Active Member
OK there is a LOT of misinformation flying around about cleaner clams and felt the topic could use a little clarifying for those that are interested in having them.
They are a great way to control nitrates BUT they do not consume nitrates directly.
The hard shell clam (Mercenaria mercenaria) often goes by many names, Quahog, littleneck, cherry stone, and chowder. Usually used in relation to size; smallest being littleneck, then cherry stone, then chowder. Quahog is the all encompassing name. Researchers estimate that the largest quahogs (4 inches or more in length) are as much as 40 years old.
They are populous all up and down the eastern seaboard from Canada's Gulf of Saint Lawrence to Florida. (I believe the ones found on the West
Coast are a different species of hard clam but on this I could be wrong). with the highest densities being in the middle due to predation in the southern regions and cold water in the north
They prefer salinities of 18 to 26 parts per thousand (PPT) where our reef tanks generally run about 35-36 PPT. they do well in warmer waters as opposed to cold.
This bivalve is a filter feeder and will not live with out particulate food, they DO NOT directly absorb nitrogen products like a photosynthetic clam can. they only consume the little organic particles that can lead to nitrates. They do so by sucking water in and passing it over their gills then expelling the filtered water, a large clam can filter about one gallon an hour.
While they can be an excellent thing to help keep nitrates low their best used in aquariums are being feed lots of particulate foods such as used on SPS and other filter feeder-based tanks. The chances of long term survival in tanks that do not contain or are not being fed particulate foods are pretty slim for the long term. Their mainstay in the wild is plankton. If your tank does not have or get dosed with this, an alternative route to controlling nitrates should be sought.
I hope this helps. I will probably be adding more facts about the quahog to this later.
They are a great way to control nitrates BUT they do not consume nitrates directly.
The hard shell clam (Mercenaria mercenaria) often goes by many names, Quahog, littleneck, cherry stone, and chowder. Usually used in relation to size; smallest being littleneck, then cherry stone, then chowder. Quahog is the all encompassing name. Researchers estimate that the largest quahogs (4 inches or more in length) are as much as 40 years old.
They are populous all up and down the eastern seaboard from Canada's Gulf of Saint Lawrence to Florida. (I believe the ones found on the West
Coast are a different species of hard clam but on this I could be wrong). with the highest densities being in the middle due to predation in the southern regions and cold water in the north
They prefer salinities of 18 to 26 parts per thousand (PPT) where our reef tanks generally run about 35-36 PPT. they do well in warmer waters as opposed to cold.
This bivalve is a filter feeder and will not live with out particulate food, they DO NOT directly absorb nitrogen products like a photosynthetic clam can. they only consume the little organic particles that can lead to nitrates. They do so by sucking water in and passing it over their gills then expelling the filtered water, a large clam can filter about one gallon an hour.
While they can be an excellent thing to help keep nitrates low their best used in aquariums are being feed lots of particulate foods such as used on SPS and other filter feeder-based tanks. The chances of long term survival in tanks that do not contain or are not being fed particulate foods are pretty slim for the long term. Their mainstay in the wild is plankton. If your tank does not have or get dosed with this, an alternative route to controlling nitrates should be sought.
I hope this helps. I will probably be adding more facts about the quahog to this later.