Not a clam but sorta

http://www.liveaquaria.com/diversden/ItemDisplay.cfm?ddid=22560&siteid=20

i saw these on dfs today and i though hmmm..... could you keep mussels bought at the grociercy store in your tank? they are alive until you cook them or at least you are supposed throw out the ones that stay open(or dead). are the ones from dfs a special species that tolerates warmer water or do all mussels thrive in any temperature?

 

well i think i figured it out the ones that dfs have are these:

The New Zealand green-lipped mussel, also known as the New Zealand mussel or the greenshell mussel, Perna canaliculus, is an economically important bivalve mussel of the family Mytilidae endemic to New Zealand. It is also an introduced pest in Australian waters. It differs from other mussel species in that it has a dark brown/green shell, a green lip around the edge of the shells and only has one abductor muscle. It is also one of the largest mussel species growing up to 240 mm in length. The green-lipped mussel is found sub-tidally and inter-tidally throughout New Zealand.

Green-lipped mussels contain high levels of glycosaminoglycan which assist in the repair of damaged joint tissues.[citation needed] (from wikipedia)

all of the other mussels i have read about seem to only thrive in cold and temperate waters.

 

IMO, I would spend the $100.00 on a nice Tridacna clam instead, or one of many other forms of filter feeders instead!

 

$100 ?

Get a baby and let it grow
You'll become attached like you would a fish after awhile. I know I <3 my gigas!

 

i wouldn't want to keep these in the display tank but in my fuge to help with nitrates. i found this article on advanced aquarist :
Aquarium Invertebrates

it sounds like since the advent of commercially availible live phyto that it might be possible to keep in the long run. You wouldn't need the intense light needed to keep the tridacna. also the price i'm sure i can find some of these mussels pretty cheap at a fish market. If anyone knows where to find these guys in the chicagoland area let me know.

 

If you can eat them I'm sure they will be okay for your tank...I used to pull them up buy the 10's and 20's when my hook would get stuck on them.
I did put a fuw in my tank, how ever the only thing in that tank was cought by me hook and line in the Tampa bay gulf, I can't say how long they would live, I put them in for a 7 inch Puffer that loved to eat...

 

i've seen the subject of keeping cleaner clams to help the water quality come up before.i think they determined that they were'nt that affective and did'nt live long and dirty the tank when they die.

 

I would think that domestic mussels would not do well in the high temps of a reef tank. I also think that they would require a TON of planktonic food and that might affect water quality. Not something I would want to do. I'd rather use my nitrate coil and refugium to their full advantage.

 

^^^^would you happen to have a link to that discussion?

 

The problem with mussels is that they have a very short life span.