Asian Clam

Corbicula fluminea

Corbicula fluminea is a bivalve sold as a "living filter", capable of clearing green water by feeding on microalgae. The mortality rate in aquariums is very high: in overly clean tanks it will starve. It has burrowing habits and will completely bury itself (fine sand is mandatory). If it dies hidden under the substrate, its decomposition will trigger a lethal ammonia spike for the entire aquarium. It must be specifically fed with phytoplankton or suspended powders.

Family: Cyrenidae
Origin: Originaria dell'Asia orientale, ma introdotta e ormai infestante in molti fiumi di Nord America ed Europa.
Tank use: Used in 0 tanks

Temperature

15 °C - 28 °C

7 - 8.5

Water type

Freshwater

Ecological role

Filtro biologico vivente / Chiarificatore d'acqua

Copper

Estrema (Mortalità fulminea)

Description

Forced Feeding and the Suffocating Substrate (The Necessary Sand Futile Deaf Mute):

Don't even try to put a clam on a gravel substrate. If it cannot dig, it will stress and die. Fine and deep sand (at least 5 cm) is MANDATORY. For feeding, get liquid phytoplankton, turn off the filter for 20 minutes, and with a long pipette gently spray the green cloud a couple of centimeters from where the clam protrudes.

Care and observations

The Hunger in the Crystal and the Buried Bomb (The Silent Poison Futile Blind):

A perfectly clear aquarium is a deadly desert for a clam. Not being able to move to graze, it depends 100% on what floats in the water. If your mechanical filter catches all the debris, the Corbicula will starve in a few weeks. And herein lies the greatest risk: living buried, you will not notice its death. Its large soft body will rot in the substrate, setting off an ammonia bomb that will wipe out fish and shrimp overnight.

Invertebrate profile

Type: Bivalve Filtratore
Diet: Microfiltratore puro. Fitoplancton, zooplancton, detriti microscopici in sospensione.
Ecological role: Filtro biologico vivente / Chiarificatore d'acqua
Minimum group: 1
Adult size: 3 cm
GH: 10 dGH - 20 dGH
KH: 5 dKH - 15 dKH
TDS: 200 ppm - 400 ppm
Copper: Estrema (Mortalità fulminea)
Shock sensitivity: Alta (Molto sensibile ai farmaci per acquario)
Calcium and minerals: Alto (Richiede acque dure per mantenere lo spesso guscio striato)
Molting: Non compie muta ma accresce le linee circolari sul guscio come gli anelli di un albero.
Reproduction: Ermafrodita. Può rilasciare migliaia di microscopiche larve (pediveliger) che sembrano polvere fluttuante. Spesso non sopravvivono in acquario chiuso.
Compatibility: Pacifica per forza di cose. Vulnerabile a pesci specializzati nel mangiare lumache (es. Botia, Pufferfish) o grossi granchi.

Image gallery

Licensed images linked to the species or, when marked, to the closest representative taxon.

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