# Clam?



## Sarahlydear (Feb 21, 2011)

Hello everyone, I was just wondering if anyone had tried keeping freshwater clams with their bettas? 
If so what do you think?
I have a 10gal tank and I can't get any bigger but I can easily, readily, and happily meet the other requirements for the clam. 
I'm curious if anyone else has tried this and what y'all think, it'll be a while before I get it (at least a year or more), and the only thing I'm worried about is the tank size. 
Just doing research before hand and seeing what comes up. 

Thanks.


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## SassyBetta (Aug 1, 2011)

omg lol i wana clam how cute  then maybe one day befor it gets old and passes , it will make me a fresh water pearl.


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## Sarahlydear (Feb 21, 2011)

I know! I thought it'd be pretty cool.  If not now definitely in the future.


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## BetterBetta (Jun 13, 2011)

http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=1075+1642&pcatid=1642

^Check out this link! The minimum tank size is ten gallons, I might get one myself!


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## roarsirroar (Jun 16, 2011)

how do you know if its eating or not?


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

I seriously wanted a clam, considered it just like you. The only thing with them is they are filter feeders and eat leftover food and junk in the water column. Because you only have one betta, you won't have enough for it to eat so you will need to feed it. Foster and Smith Aquatics and other LFS carry phytoplankton and zooplankton formulas that I believe will adequately feed it. But before you get a clam, I would definitely talk to someone at a knowledgeable LFS (not Petsmart or Petc but a tropical fish store) and ask how to feed a clam. I've heard they're really cute when they move around the tank.


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## ChelseaK (Oct 23, 2010)

Oooohhh! A clam would be pretty neat in a community tank. Any opinions on how it would do in a 55 gal NPT community?


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## betta dude (May 22, 2011)

that would be awesome


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## crezelda (Dec 17, 2010)

my clam just passed after 8 months=[
i figured there was enough gunk in a cycled tank with algae to feed him...apperantly not -.-;


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## shinybetta (Jul 3, 2010)

Clams are cool, but not good betta tankmates, and don't really do good in tanks smaller than 30 gallons, and that is usually too small, depending on your tank.


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

Shinybetta, you seem to know a lot about them, can you tell us more? Like why they're not good betta tankmates and how to feed them?


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## shinybetta (Jul 3, 2010)

Clams require a decent current, which would disturb the betta. Also they need lots of organic material to eat, so they need a fairly large tank. If you want to keep one, it is best to keep them in a container buried in the substrate (sand), so they don't burrow into your substrate and die where you can't find them. I have never owned a clam, but I have read stuff online and seen wild ones.


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

You know a lot more than me. Thanks for the info, shinybetta.


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## Kaoru (Jul 28, 2011)

I have a lot of clams in my tanks, but I wouldnt advise you not to. The main reason being that there isnt any current like shinybetta has pointed out. However, if you have a ten gallon with a good filter that supplies a pretty decent current, it should be fine. It would only work if you have other fish that eat flakes or if your betta eats flakes. The freshwater clams I have are fine eating tropical flakes that are small or crushed by the time it is near them to siphon up. It almost always is in my tank because the fish get the flakes first causing them to crush, then falling to them. Either way, my bettas are strange, they are fine with current(very short finned plakat) and they get along with other fish, therefore, I have successfully been able to keep them with clams


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## BetterBetta (Jun 13, 2011)

Sometimes its funny to forget what you have around you, as far as natural resources go. Shinybetta said:


> but I have read stuff online *and seen wild ones*.


. I go to my friends backyard and *shablam *we go canoeing into the back water flats and their everywhere with fiddler crabs on low tide


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

Haha, that's the beauty of living on the coast. I'm about 30 minutes from the Sacramento delta so I have to travel a bit further to get to water.


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## ChelseaK (Oct 23, 2010)

Boo to all of you! The most I got is a creek that you can sometimes find clams in but it's illegal to move them.


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

Haha, I've never tried taking so much as a piece of driftwood from the delta let alone any clams or fish. I'm actually not even sure if there ARE clams in the delta.


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## Sarahlydear (Feb 21, 2011)

Sorry everyone moved to college and their internet was down.  I'm actually seriously thinking about not getting anymore bettas and having a regular community tank once all these die. (Horrid thought I know!) I have 3 in a divided 10gal. One of my males only likes a few gallons so the other two have plenty of room. 
Alright I'll probably wait until I get my own place and a bigger tank; also I understand about their eating needs and I think I could adapt. I make sure all my pets are WELL fed. No hungry anything here. (I dislike Rosie and Alfonso because they are such pigs and make me feel bad about limiting them. ) 

Thanks for the tips.


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