Information On Clams

[Kevinmc]

I am looking for someone that has knowledge and, or experience with a variety of clams. What I am looking for is sand filtering clams.

 

I have seem a type of clam that will burrow in the sand and "assist" in filtering the water, these are similiar to calms that people dig for at the beach or bay. They have a shell like a scallop and are different then the clams the are so popular and colorful.

 

I you have any knowledge or experience with this type of clam, please contact me, as I am looking to put some in my sand bed in my refugium.

 

Thanks

 

Kevin (scratch)

[Nyles]

Typically clams that burrow in the sand (like in the northwest) burrow to protect themselves from the elements. Those that burrow still extend there siphons to the water column to pull in food to their gills to filter water for food.

 

As for sand filtering I would look for sand sifting snails like Cerith snails and possibly sand sifting stars. These should do as good of job or better without the high cost of a non traditional sifter, if it exists and if you can even get it.

[wegotjs]

Nyles is are resident Clam expert.

[JeffP]

I got some from IPsF.com and once they got in the sand I haven't seen them very often, unless I accidentally stir them up.

 

http://www.ipsf.com/sandbedclams.html

[Nyles]

Interesting, sounds like something I could dig up next time I go to the Caymen Islands off the shore, I may give it a go. Never know, there is some cool stuff there, I took some interesting video last time I was there.

[dsoz]

I got some from IPsF.com and once they got in the sand I haven't seen them very often, unless I accidentally stir them up.

 

http://www.ipsf.com/sandbedclams.html

 

I got some from IPSF as well. They did OK until I got a sand-sifting star fish. Now the clams are dead, and the starfish is starving... I should have not got the star. I learned my lesson the hard way.

 

I also got a large one from Patrick at Saltwater FantaSeas. It did well for several months, then one day I had a HUGE algae bloom. Doing some detective work, I started digging around in my sand, and found the large sand-bed clam dead and decaying. It was probably the cause of my algae bloom. For the near future I am going to stay away from sand-bed clams.

 

dsoz

[Nyles]

You need to treat them like a pacific clam, it requires lots of phyto, as it gets all it food from filter feeding the water. I don't see a benefit from this clam in the hobby, your better of with SSS sand sifting star, but Im not a fan of them either as they will eat anything they come across. Good luck.