Where would be the best place to order clams if you don’t live on the coast? Do they have to be shipped live?
Clams, The Best Food for a Reef
- Thread starter Paul B
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Clams, the absolute best food for salt water fish
The title says it all. If I could only feed one type of food, it would be regular, common, cheap, (near the coasts of the US) available, clams.
I myself feed clams almost every day to all my fish and have been since the 1960s. Virtually all the fish eat it, including mandarins, pipefish, queen anthias, moorish Idols etc. All invertebrates also eat it such as crabs, urchins, shrimp, anemones and coral.
Not only do they eat it, but it is probably the best thing they can eat just short of eating tiny fish which are hard to come by in the quantities we need. I have spoken to fish food manufacturers about this but apparently they are unavailable to them to make fish food out of, which is surprising as the sea is loaded with them.
Another great thing about feeding clams is that as the fish are chewing them, tiny pieces and juices come off and spread around the tank feeding the corals and filter feeders. I have never directly fed my corals, the clams do that for me. The microscopic particles also feed the pods, and I want as many pods as I can get. My tank is always filled with them which is how I am able to keep so many mandarins, pipefish, scooter blennies etc.
I copied this from an online source on shellfish nutrition:
5. Shellfish
Out of all the wonderfully nutritious organisms found in the sea, shellfish may be the most nutritious of all. Commonly consumed types of shellfish include clams, oysters and various others.
Clams are among the best sources of vitamin B12 in existence, with a 100 grams of clams supplying over 16 times the RDA! It is also loaded with other nutrients, including Vitamin C, B-Vitamins, Potassium, Selenium and Iron (25).
Oysters are also incredibly nutritious… with a 100 grams supplying 6 times the RDA for Zinc, 2 times the RDA for Copper, along with large amounts of B12 and Vitamin D - along with a plethora of other nutrients (26). Really, shellfish are among the most nutritious foods in existence. Unfortunately, people rarely consume them.
I buy the biggest clams I can find and here in New York; the bigger clams are the cheapest which is good news. I get the clams live and freeze them myself. Usually I buy them for myself to make clam chowder out of, and I keep some for the fish. A large chowder clam, about 4" long will last me a week or two as I also feed other things. A clam of that size is less than fifty cents. After the clam is frozen, I shave off paper thin slices depending on what I am feeding.
Most fish can handle a rather large piece of clam if it is shaved very thin. Copperbands especially love this food and try very hard to smile while they are eating them but the shape of their mouth makes it difficult for them.
When we feed clams we are feeding an entire animal, organs and all and being clams are filter feeders, their organs are loaded with the things fish are supposed to eat. If we feed table shrimp, fish fillets, octopus, scallop or squid, we are just feeding the muscle which is the least nutritious parts of those creatures. We as humans eat those parts, but fish need the guts.
Most of us also feed mysis and that is not a bad food but most of the frozen mysis we can buy are shell and that shell is not calcium and is not digestible so it just goes to waste. Looking closely at a single mysis, you can see more shell than anything else but a clam is all nutrition and will keep your fish in spawning mode. If you keep a natural tank, and if you can get your clams fresh, it will also keep your fish immune.
I eat them all the time myself which Is why I seem to be immune.
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Last edited: Today at 7:47 AM
Paul,
After reading your article I tried your "recipe" on both of my tanks. The fish in both tanks literally went into hysteria. But my BTAs expanded to twice their size. (These are 8 year old BTAs who are fairly large to start with)
https://wholey.com/seafood/shellfish/
Try this place on Penn Avenue. They have expensive live oysters at $2 each. I visited Pittsburgh last month. It is a great city to play tourist. Apparently, Austin is rich in good seafood. I can get live oysters shucked for $1 each and during happy hour $0.25 each.
I completely forgot about Wholey’s. I work a few blocks from there and on a Saturday it’s only a 20 minute drive. Hope you enjoyed your visit to Pittsburgh and the weather was decent for you. I’ve never been to Austin but that sounds like a great price.
Paul, can you maybe take a picture of what the piece of clams you feed the fish look like? When I try to feed them clams it either is a large chunk more than a thin filet. do you chop a few pieces up and feed in the tank to disperse for everything or how do you do that?
I am not sure how nutritious invasive zebra mussels are. But if they tasted like M&Ms, the problem would be solved.
Paul, I know you are a good Italian cook. You could try mussels linguini with the wine & sauce. I like mine with garlic.
I am not sure how nutritious invasive zebra mussels are. But if they tasted like M&Ms, the problem would be solved.
Maybe no one has been brave enough to try them!
I have done quite a bit of research into the nutritional value of different foods, while trying to produce a healthy, and economic food source for my clownfish brood stock. While looking into clams, I found this.
http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/abs/10.1139/z92-005
In the link, it says, "The digestive coefficient for lipid was lower for the clam diet", and "this is likely an artifact due to the low lipid content of the clams"
This link suggests that herring may actually be a better food sours for SW creatures than clam, as one of the main determining factors for nutritional value, is lipid/fatty acid content.
Just something to think about.
Peace
EC
http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/abs/10.1139/z92-005
In the link, it says, "The digestive coefficient for lipid was lower for the clam diet", and "this is likely an artifact due to the low lipid content of the clams"
This link suggests that herring may actually be a better food sours for SW creatures than clam, as one of the main determining factors for nutritional value, is lipid/fatty acid content.
Just something to think about.
Peace
EC
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I did think about it and herring would be better. But you would have to feed the entire herring, Bones, guts, eyelashes and all.
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Please check this thread.
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/how-i-make-my-fish-and-coral-food.473909/
So I purchased some live clams today, didn't have the proper knife so I used a butter knife. That worked ok on most of them but the last few were really tough to open so I decided to use my pocket knife to open the last of them (very poor decision lol). I got the first 3 open just fine but slipped on the last one...3/4" deep cut straight into the base of my thumb. Lots of blood and 4 stitches later I'm back at home lol.
I blame you @Paul B! :mad:
Let's just hope the fish appreciate it lol
I blame you @Paul B! :mad:
Let's just hope the fish appreciate it lol
So I purchased some live clams today, didn't have the proper knife so I used a butter knife. That worked ok on most of them but the last few were really tough to open so I decided to use my pocket knife to open the last of them (very poor decision lol). I got the first 3 open just fine but slipped on the last one...3/4" deep cut straight into the base of my thumb. Lots of blood and 4 stitches later I'm back at home lol.
I blame you @Paul B! :mad:
Let's just hope the fish appreciate it lol
Watch very carefully for infection...
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Ouch! I used to shuck clams at my father's restaurant back in the day, there's a technique to it and once you learn you can do it in your sleep. If you never shucked clams before use a dull knife and a glove.So I purchased some live clams today, didn't have the proper knife so I used a butter knife. That worked ok on most of them but the last few were really tough to open so I decided to use my pocket knife to open the last of them (very poor decision lol). I got the first 3 open just fine but slipped on the last one...3/4" deep cut straight into the base of my thumb. Lots of blood and 4 stitches later I'm back at home lol.
I blame you @Paul B! :mad:
Let's just hope the fish appreciate it lol
Paul, what do you think of Sandworms? I don't know how good they are nutritionally but once cut up they are an oily bloody mess that gets a crazy feeding response from the fish. I use them Porgy fishing the Sound and I'll get hits before the sinker hits the bottom. I'll feed them to my fish when I have extra from a fishing trip.
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Sandworms are fantastic food. Too bad you can't get tiny ones. I have been looking for tiny ones for years but all I find are the ones that want to take my arm off. You can freeze them and chop them up or they may bite you requiring a trip to a doctor and requiring 4 stitches.
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