Clams replacing refugium as a nutrient export

[Dr. Dendrostein]

I scraped some tiny clams off of oysters we have here in Louisiana. Not sure what type of oysters they are but a majority of them have tiny clams growing at the edges of their shells. If these are young oysters it’s hard to tell because their shells look completely different so I assumed they’re a type of hitchhiker clam or something like that. Either way, I dropped them in the display, they were open with a few minutes and scooted around until they found a spot to perch up. A couple made it to the edge of my rock work and have been there for a couple of months now. They’re open pretty often and have grown considerably. I’ll try to get some pictures soon.
I do have a derasa clam and it’s been growing a lot since I put it in. Depending on the size of the derasa, how much could I expect it to help with nutrient export on a 20long running a small skimmer.

Your guess good as mine. But should be a benefit than a nuisance

 

[c-horse]

Thanks for this thread! Especially Dr Denrostein. Something new to try, since I would like to feed more than five times a day to keep all my corals happy.

 

[Mark Gray]

Curious I am interested, I have a Phosphate problem, very low nitrate. Would oysters help?

 

[Dr. Dendrostein]

Curious I am interested, I have a Phosphate problem, very low nitrate. Would oysters help?

Like I say, your guess good as mine. Bummer

 

[Tim340]

I believe on clam for export some nutrients I have my clam over 6 years

 

[Mark Gray]

I believe on clam for export some nutrients I have my clam over 6 years

I have 2 small maxima's wish they would suck up my PO4. I know they like NO3 both of mine seem to perk up when I dose NO3

 

[Dr. Dendrostein]

Did you see my clams,nps, got recently from Baja.

 

[LacViet]

Where did you get those clams Dr. Dendrostein? I live in Garden Grove/Anaheim area and couldn’t find those. I can find live manila clam which i have one buried under the sand, and oyster.

 

[Dr. Dendrostein]

Where did you get those clams Dr. Dendrostein? I live in Garden Grove/Anaheim area and couldn’t find those. I can find live manila clam which i have one buried under the sand, and oyster.

It's called Aquarium Arts, Gardena CA, wholesaler. For aquarium trade. Can be eaten, but I chose for filtration.

 

[LacViet]

Thanks! I just went to local H-mart for oyster and manila clams. Will check that place out.

 

[Markxc]

if i put oysters in the sump should i get rid of filter socks or does it not matter?

 

[Dr. Dendrostein]

if i put oysters in the sump should i get rid of filter socks or does it not matter?

Read all my replys on this thread, to have better success.

 

[Dr. Dendrostein]

Got these about 1 month ago. 24 Pacific oysters. Still kicking. 84 Pacific oysters in sump
600 views and counting

 

[GeoSquid]

What are the signs of an oyster not doing well or dying? I've been poking them to see if they close or if I can pry them apart easily.

 

[Dr. Dendrostein]

What are the signs of an oyster not doing well or dying? I've been poking them to see if they close or if I can pry them apart easily.

If they don't close, they're dead. I try to remind everybody to read all my comments on this thread, if you want to have success with them. I have 60 oysters at this time that are over a year old they can live up to 30 years. At least Pacific oysters we're talking about.

 

[LacViet]

I put 5 oysters in my DT and observed in first few days. Any oyster opens but not close or slowly close when tap at, i remove. Those are the weak one. End up just one healthy! Maybe i acclimated too fast (45min) since the oyster in the market I bought kept in very cold water.

 

[Lady of Babylon]

That's great you're going to try it, clams I would have gone with as assistance to filtration and of course that means exporting organic nutrients. The number one reason I went with Pacific oysters is they filter more water per day than any other mollusk. Trying to fine-tune it since 2017 at this time with oysters I usually go with one oyster for every three gallons of water( for nps system, SPS alot less). Also oysters produce pseudo feces which will feed the corals and when they spawn they will also feed corals. Some reasons why I went with oysters and these are the ones you can eat. But Pacific oysters can withstand water temperatures regularly up to 95° Fahrenheit. When you acclimate them in the first few weeks you will lose some oysters possibly. But just keep an eye on them. for the first few weeks I would put them in a plastic mesh bag like the video shows.

Ok, where can I get my hands on some oysters? I WANTS!

 

[Fastball16]

Question, I live in the middle of oyster country South Carolina. I literally, can get oysters at the end of my dock. Do you need to clean the shells? Qt? Etc. I’d love to add to my 20 gal fug. Ug I’d hate to mess my equilibrium. Thoughts?

 

[Aquatican]

The Isognomon ephippium or saddle tree oyster is ultimately what you should try and get.

 

[radiata]

Question, I live in the middle of oyster country South Carolina. I literally, can get oysters at the end of my dock. Do you need to clean the shells? Qt? Etc. I’d love to add to my 20 gal fug. Ug I’d hate to mess my equilibrium. Thoughts?

I think there are issues with our use of wild caught versus farmed for food oysters. Per a YouTube video I previously mentioned in this thread, the oyster farmers purge their oysters to clean out their guts with fresh seawater. Knowledgeable oyster and clam eaters ingest the water left in their shucked shells along with their mollusk contents in order to get a taste of the sea where their particular appetizer came from. (There must be a shellfish related word that corresponds with a wine afictionado's use of the French word "terrior".)

Would you rather ingest an oyster from a seafood market or an oyster from the end of your pier? Which would your tank prefer? While it is theoretically possible for an oyster to be a vector for marine ick or worse, I think the possibility is remote, and I wouldn't/didn't quarantine my market oysters.

FWIW, I tried toothbrushing algae off my oysters, but some of their associated algae got in the tank anyway.