using clams to reduce nitrate

[jellyfish]

Hi all, I visited LK aquarium at Yishun today and saw the owner add in 40+ clams 4" " clams in his aquarium. It is not maxima, squamosa or any other usual clams that we keep in our tank. It looks like those clams where we use to cook soup..... i observe the clams for quite a while and it seems that the clams doesnt open up very much. I ask the owner what is the clams for as it doesnt have the colourful mantle that is attractive enough for plp to buy and display. The owner told me that it is actually use to reduce the nitrate level in the tank..... I know clams does reduce nitrate but consider the bio load that it produce, is it worth to keep these creature to reduce nitrate?

[DeepBlue]

Those Freshwater-turned-half-Marine wannabe LFS always have interesting ways of doing things....you are right to raise the question about bioload and all.................

I doubt it will work....

[weileong]

I was told to leave the tank fishless for 2 weeks in a few LFS, was told this will kill off all the ich.

I think 2 weeks maybe true for freshwater ich which life cycle is around 3 days.

For marine ich we still need min of 6 weeks.

[bubble_gum]

Hi all, I visited LK aquarium at Yishun today and saw the owner add in 40+ clams 4" " clams in his aquarium. It is not maxima, squamosa or any other usual clams that we keep in our tank. It looks like those clams where we use to cook soup..... i observe the clams for quite a while and it seems that the clams doesnt open up very much. I ask the owner what is the clams for as it doesnt have the colourful mantle that is attractive enough for plp to buy and display. The owner told me that it is actually use to reduce the nitrate level in the tank..... I know clams does reduce nitrate but consider the bio load that it produce, is it worth to keep these creature to reduce nitrate?

could they be h. hippopus? they look like hums

[SharkBait]

Clams can indeed lower nutrient levels in the aquarium but its the photosynthetic tridacnid clams works.