# Freshwater Clams to cleanup after Goldfish?



## ZeeDeveel (May 11, 2015)

Hey Chums,

My Goldfish are extremely messy eaters, I can see the food spraying out of their mouths as they chomp. Would some Clams be effective in filtering out all that excess food and thus helping to keep the water quality high?

Cheers!


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## Method (Feb 13, 2011)

Freshwater clams really need a tank that is dedicated to them. How big is your goldfish tank and, more importantly, how is it filtered and what's the plant biomass like?


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## MissileBear (Aug 6, 2013)

They will help with water clarity, however you will most likely need to supplement food unless your aquarium is substantial in size. Clams/mussels filter particulate matter from the water, they do not reduce ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, phosphate, sulfate, or other dissolved waste (they actually produce waste like fish). They are animals.

The death of a clam could turn the water putrid very quickly. It could be difficult to notice if the clam died as well....it's not like they float when expired.


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## garfieldnfish (Sep 25, 2010)

MTSs would be better or if you have a large enough tank, corys will eat the dropped food. Barbatus corys like the water a little cooler then most corys and I can see them being a good match for goldfish even so I have never kept them together. Something you might want to check into. Good tank mates for fancy goldfish are dojo loaches or white cloud mountain minnows. Both would go after food the goldfish drop. But my goldfish always cleaned their gravel themselves. They might drop some food but later they will pick up the rocks of the substrate and suck on them getting whatever they missed the first time around. I personally would only add MTSs and nothing else.
Clams would not be on my list of critters to help keep a tank clean.


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## Method (Feb 13, 2011)

garfieldnfish said:


> MTSs would be better or if you have a large enough tank, corys will eat the dropped food. Barbatus corys like the water a little cooler then most corys and I can see them being a good match for goldfish even so I have never kept them together. Something you might want to check into. Good tank mates for fancy goldfish are dojo loaches or white cloud mountain minnows. Both would go after food the goldfish drop. But my goldfish always cleaned their gravel themselves. They might drop some food but later they will pick up the rocks of the substrate and suck on them getting whatever they missed the first time around. I personally would only add MTSs and nothing else.
> Clams would not be on my list of critters to help keep a tank clean.


Good call on the malaysian trumpet snails. Your local Petco or Petsmart will likely give you dozens for free. They know them as pest snails.


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## ZeeDeveel (May 11, 2015)

Ok this is all good info, appreciated and noted! Only thing I'll add is the reason I thought of clams is because when the goldfishs eat their sinking pellets, the food sprays out of their mouth in dust clouds. I don't know if they'd ever find it again, I think it gets sown to the 7 winds (seas).. Maybe the filter would just pick it all up and deal with it though, not sure!


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## garfieldnfish (Sep 25, 2010)

You could get a couple of bamboo shrimp. They are filter shrimp and take small particles that float in the water column. They should be large enough to be safe from most types of goldfish unless you have comets or commons.


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## ZeeDeveel (May 11, 2015)

garfieldnfish said:


> You could get a couple of bamboo shrimp. They are filter shrimp and take small particles that float in the water column. They should be large enough to be safe from most types of goldfish unless you have comets or commons.


Are they bigger than Amanos? The Amanos didn't make it...


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## garfieldnfish (Sep 25, 2010)

Yes they are. Google Bamboo shrimp or Singapore wood shrimp. They are about 2.5 to 3".


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## dzega (Apr 22, 2013)

vampire shrimp is even biger


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## mistergreen (Dec 9, 2006)

Most animals don't eat fish poop. You'll have to clean that out yourself. The goldfish will eat any food in the tank. You don't worry about that.

Clams eat food suspended in the water column like plankton.


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