Quick Question About Feeding Live Clams to Fish

[JumboShrimp]

I've been buying fresh clams at the grocery store down the road; usually I buy about four (4) at a time, feed one to the fish, and put the other 3 in the refrigerator. I'm not too sure that by day 2, 3 and 4 the remaining clams are actually still "alive"--especially if they were just hanging on at the grocery store.

My question: Does anyone see any problem with holding the clams in my sump (where the fish can't get to them) and take one out each day from there, for feeding my fish? I'm assuming an aquarium's sump would keep "live" clams "alive" for a few days, right? Almost seems like a no-brainer question... but are there any downsides to this? Thanks!

 

[tzabor10]

Live clams might carry parasites. Most reefers freeze them to keep that down. There is no problem keeping critters in the sump. Many do that

 

[JumboShrimp]

Good point. All my fish have been quarantined-- so maybe I don't want to risk that. Any idea on how long (2 days? 5 days?) to keep them frozen to kill the 'bad things' without sacrificing the 'beneficial things' that come from the fresh clams in the first place? ( @Paul B ?)

 

[tzabor10]

Freezing overnight is fine. Not sure what you might want out of live ones.

 

[W31Olds]

I also have fed Live Clams from the Seafood Store near me. I would also buy 4-5 at a time. They can last up to a week of so if kept refrigerated and not in a sealed container, and the water doesn't foul. I would not keep them in a sump mainly because the ones I was getting were cold water from Maine so might die in a sump in warm water. I figure these had less parasites.

 

[JumboShrimp]

I think keeping them in a sealed container might have sped-up their demise; thanks for the tip.