Mussels in Fish tank?

[Wackinator]

Yesterday I had a quiz in Biology 30 about populations and genetics and unfortunately the 4th question I think was about Zebra Mussesl, which got me thinking (throughout the whole test) can you keep mussels or clams in the tank? Arent they supposed to be great filters?

I tried searching online and found conflicting information, some say they are amazing and some say no, the people that say no say the biggest problem is feeding them?

I know this is most likely a stupid idea, but I asked out of curiosity, I was just curious if adding a couple of clams/mussels to a 5 gallon would improve its filtration?

Thanks guys

[JLake]

supposedly yes it would improve biological filtration. look on ebay there are sellers that sell large amounts of freshwater clams and mussels for fish tanks. I think pjs at west edmonton mall has some.

[Wackinator]

what about the clams or mussels that they sell at superstore? I was there the other day and you could see some of the clams had the filter straw things coming out of them.

[JLake]

They are most likely marine mussels, though I am not sure, if they can live in freshwater

[Wackinator]

Good point, if I knew how to tell if they were alive or not, I might buy a group and test it

[JLake]

If they close when bothered than they are alive, if they stay open a lil bit than they r gonzo

[Wackinator]

sweet, cuz I dont want to have them die and have an ammonia spike >.>

Ill probably search up how to setup a tank for them and then try them in a bucket or something, but what do I feed them? Do I have to feed them anything? or will they survive on microscopic organisms if I transfer some water from other tanks?

Thanks JLake

[JLake]

They are filter feeders i believe they feed on waste and micro organisms, to be honest the area of mussels and clams I know best is eating them

[Wackinator]

LOL I've never had one, and probably never will, but after all my schoolwork I will try this, I might be able to get some on Monday.

[Wackinator]

Woahh I forgot one major issue, compatability, can it harm fish? I want to put it in a tank with shrimps after I test to see if its lives or dies. Would that work?

[JLake]

it would if the mussel was parasite and disease free.

[trav]

hi ,i had mussels and oysters in my reef tank it worked for a few months till i think they starved,they required a lot of phyto plantion or food but they had a better life then they would of had for a while,i think if you can get some fresh water mussels or Zebra Mussels out of the river i don't see why it would not work if they had sufficient food

[jvision]

You can find fresh water clams for sale at BAs every once in a while. If you can keep them fed, they do a good job in the tank; but, when they die, you often don't realize it b/c they're burried in the substrate. You ever smell a dead, rotten shelfish? Big time gross! And, if you don't have a big tank, a dead clam will wipe it out.

[Wackinator]

lol thanks Jvision Jlake and trav for all your help, I am still curious what to feed it and yeah I dont think I should get one because the last thing I need is another wiped out tank, but what is the foamy white stuff that they release, I was seeing some on youtube and personally found it disgusting, if I saw that in my tank I would be intensly grossed out

thanks again

[nyb440]

If you can find a freshwater mussel (the ones at grocery stores are almost always saltwater), you can feed it very finely ground up fish food or algae wafers. As Jvision noted, you probably won't notice a dead mussel until it's far into decomposition (yummy!), so I don't know if I'd try it in my main tank, but it can be done.