Do clams add to bioload?

[303travism]

Do clams add to bioload since they are filter feeders.

 

[dv3]

well i would guess they would add to the bio-load in some sense but they also help clean it up too ....good question
i have 3 in my tank and never considered that ..i assume the more the merrier in this case

 

[303travism]

Thanks for the info how close do you keep them to each other

 

[dv3]

mine arent attached to anything so they just roam the tank ...lol
yes they move around alot ...i dont think proximate to each other matters ....but im no expert

 

[303travism]

Have you ever had them breed?Or is that close to impossible?

 

[dv3]

nope ...there is a pretty cool video on clam hatcheries from the 80's on you tube ...illl look for a link

 

[dv3]

when i seen this there was 3 parts ...not sure if this includes them all or not ...if not the rest should be linked on the youtube page somewhere
[video=youtube;FSbrwwJCK6s]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSbrwwJCK6s[/video]

 

[Wicked Color]

Lol, of course they do.

 

[dv3]

Lol, of course they do.

well considering they are filter feeders ....do they add as much as an average fish and how much of their ability to "clean" the water contracts their presence?

 

[Wicked Color]

Cleaning is not a word I would use. They do filter feed, but that's a blanket statement, they might remove some organics, but when they get big clams are huge consumers of minerals, resulting in the need to dose additional Ca Mg, and trace, or do more water changes.
In the wild they would filter phytoplankton but that's not present in our aquariums, unless you dose it, then you are adding a large amount of organics to the water,and the clams only eat a small percentage of the dose, especially if there is a skimmer or reacter in use.
They also create waste.
So in a nut shell, yes they add to your bioload.

 

[dv3]

i think in general waste/organics is what we are referring to when talking bioload ...so do you think they create more waste than the organics they filter

 

[scchase]

Actually they use a large amount of Nitrate (more like the algae inside them) and in at least that respect are biological filters. Somewhere in all my junk I have a scientfic paper that was writen on the subject in the early 90s using control and test scenarios. A large clam can significantly reduce nitrate accumulation.

 

[ShelbyJK500]

Actually they use a large amount of Nitrate (more like the algae inside them) and in at least that respect are biological filters. Somewhere in all my junk I have a scientfic paper that was writen on the subject in the early 90s using control and test scenarios. A large clam can significantly reduce nitrate accumulation.

Very interesting indeed!

 

[mikejrice]

They are filter feeders because they can not live on only the food created by their symbiotic algae. To live they also need sources of phosphorous and nitrogen. When in captivity like wicked said, it's rare to find enough phyto to supply these, but in these conditions they can actually switch their biology to assimilate nutrients directly from the water. This means they can soak up all forms of nitrogen including ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. They can also consume phosphate. So if you are dosing phyto, I would say yes it's adding to the load, but if you are letting it fend for it's self, it will effectively take away from the load.

Michael Rice
Marine Engineers Aquarium Blog
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