Cryptic Zone - Oysters/Clams/Mussels

[GARRIGA]

Seems like a no brainer. Anyone running oysters to filter their water? Only concern being they spawn and attach to pipes which might require scraping at some point.

Considering they can deal with varying salinity and staying high and dry between tide changes then likely hard to kill.

 

[GARRIGA]

Fascinating

 

[paintman]

I believe most people have problems with this method because the clams, oysters and Mussels that are readily available in the stores are not of the warm water variety. You would need something from the tropicals waters where the waters are close to what you run a reef tank at.

 

[GARRIGA]

I believe most people have problems with this method because the clams, oysters and Mussels that are readily available in the stores are not of the warm water variety. You would need something from the tropicals waters where the waters are close to what you run a reef tank at.

We have oyster beds in south Florida therefore finding tropical species shouldn’t be an issue. Although legality on harvesting changes by region. Don’t believe mollusks of these types restricted to colder climates.

 

[Nano_Man]

And more live plankton it can be done in a cold water tank but you have to watch them if they die and you don’t realise they will pollute your tank. Mussels and other bio values don’t last long maybe because in nature they are out of water the same time as in . If you pull the beard away from the muscle they die with in hours so never remove their beard . But oysters seem to manage better in a tank and yes they are brilliant filler feeders

 

[X-37B]

I have around 20+ at last count of bivalves in my system. They all came in on 150lbs of GLR.
Various types.

 

[GARRIGA]

Here’s practical application in my local waters. Going to contact the Mote Aquarium for sourcing. Might be labs that can provide to avoid inadvertent illegal harvest. Try it out in a HOB where I can periodically check their health.

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

Anyone running oysters to filter their water?

People do sometimes, yes:

This question pops up every now and then:

Dr. Dendrostein did filtration using oysters (discussed in the first thread below): https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/how-helpful-would-you-say-clams-are-with-filtration.777605/

Clams replacing refugium as a nutrient export

Hi, In a video (can't remember which one) Randy said an employee at BRS swears by the use of clams for nutrient export - keep adding clams until the desired nutrient drop is reached. Is there an experiment planned to prove/disprove this idea? Thanks and love the videos

www.reef2reef.com

For tridacnid clams (gigas specifically):

YES, to all the concerns about keeping a Gigas this large. From spraying water out of a 60"x30"x31" tank daily, spawning multiple times a year, and the clam's massive weight and movement. Which I found impossible to support, and because of this it caused the hinge to separate, and its eventual demise. Also the 550+ gallon system became a parasite to it's needs. It would strip all NO3, PO4, CA, and ALK. This one I had for 14 years and at it's death in October it was 30" long and 140lbs. I will never keep another Gigas and I recommend other do the same. I enjoyed it. But I am done with it! Check that off the bucket list.

There are a few others, but these are ones I remember how to find easily.

 

[mousehunter]

In some respect, oysters are remarkably durable critters. In Texas, they generally don't spend much time out of water. But they do plump up to go months with little to no food. Other states have oyster farming where the oysters are pulled out of the water for the winter, stored in a cool and damp place, and survive the winter out of water without food - simply because they plumped up before hand.

I think the largest issue would be how clean we tend to keep our aquarium. We want very clear water - I have to wonder if a bunch of oysters would end up starving themselves. I fear they might be too good of filters. The other issue is dying. Would need to be diligent to make sure none die and nuke the tank.

In Texas, wild collection is legal in season, in unrestricted areas (the last few years most of Texas bays have been restricted) with a salt water fishing license. That said, we can also simply buy commercially collected live oysters - I don't have a clue about their long term viability. Plus like any other wild caught livestock, never know what bonuses you might be putting in your tank. I have purchased quite a few over the last few years (probably 1-2 thousand). Some slender red worm like thing has not been all that uncommon. That said, doa is a lot more common than the worms.

 

[GARRIGA]

Could be placed in a large mesh sock for periodic inspection although as with anything in a tank that goes and hides death isn’t always noticed. Some form of ammonia alert would help.

Hadn’t considered the minimum nutrients required to sustain mollusk although I run my tanks dirty absent skimmers or any other mechanical filtration and just let filtration solve it and why looking at additional polishers. Sponges and clams perhaps an option.

One current consideration being a small tank nursery where I’d keep oysters fed phyto and periodically placed into system as a polisher if fear of unnoticed death a critical concern. Not yet fully understanding their dietary needs I’m assuming phyto an option but do they also remove inorganic such as ammonium. Understanding they do remove larger particulate detritus. Still learning.

 

[JohnCol]

It would be do able if you could collect. If purchasing cleaner clams in the saltwater pet trade would be stupid expensive. Not to mention you ha e one clam die off in that pile it could cause a chain reaction. Than my 3rd problem is filtering. Yes they filter the water but are they out competing other things like corals for nutrients?

 

[GARRIGA]

Collection plausible for me. Our backcountry has oyster beds and there’s collection seasons. I’m in south Florida therefore tropical species would be collected. Also have access to barnacles and other filters.

System will be 200 to 400 gallons and mollusks would be placed prior to the return water running through a larger refugium therefore die off would be somewhat mitigated.

Main focus is using mollusks to remove particulates thereby reducing the need for sediment filtration that would have been requiring maintenance. Sponges incorporated as well in same cryptic zone.

Still learning on what exactly mollusks and sponges remove as well as their needs for upkeep.

 

[JoJosReef]

Why would a dead oyster nuke a tank? Wouldn't the CUC polish it off overnight?

 

[GARRIGA]

Another application being can mollusks filter out pathogens. Can’t see why those wouldn’t be considered food. Assuming they can filter down to an appropriate micron. Something in nature must keep that in check.

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

Another application being can mollusks filter out pathogens. Can’t see why those wouldn’t be considered food. Assuming they can filter down to an appropriate micron. Something in nature must keep that in check.

They can indeed - Pacific Oysters were found to filter out ~12% of the viruses in the tank over 24 hours:

Marine virus predation by non-host organisms - Scientific Reports

Viruses are the most abundant biological entities in marine environments, however, despite its potential ecological implications, little is known about virus removal by ambient non-host organisms. Here, we examined the effects of a variety of non-host organisms on the removal of viruses. The...

www.nature.com

 

[GARRIGA]

That’s an I treating article as it implies so can sponges remove pathogens.

Reason I originally came to the assumption for mollusks, because if they can filter out single cell algae then likely pathogens at least that big.

This would be an interesting approach to pathogen maintenance vs eradication which for most will be futile since every introduction regardless, if pebble or coral plug or fish might harbor an issue.