Feeding fresh clams?

[Breakthecycle2]

My father in law went clamming with some buddies from work and gave me about a dozen clams. They are on the big side. Two questions.

1. I can feed my fish these obviously, right?
2. Whats the best way to open one up?

 

[melypr1985]

 

[redfishbluefish]

@Paul B feeds local cold water calms to his fish....and he is in Long Island. Hopefully he'll chime in.

 

[Paul B]

Open the clam like that chef demonstrates but you don't have to open it all the way like he did unless you want to eat it. (like I would do) Open it about a quarter inch and stick something in the space to keep it open. You can use your wallet, a bunch of credit cards, a pencil or anything like that. Freeze it like that. After it's frozen, open it the rest of the way by cutting the muscle like he shows but leave it connected to the bottom shell. Using a sharp knife, not the clam knife, make a little rounded dent in the meat. Then keep shaving paper thin slices out of that dent. Put the clam back in the freezer when you have enough. I use chowder clams which are huge and I can get a lot of meals out of one but I realize they are not available all over the country so you people just have to move nearer to the coast.
Besides blackworms, my fish get clams almost every day.

 

[thefuz]

Paul B strikes again with more awesome suggestions!

 

[Philt56]

@Paul B Resurrecting an old thread. Just picked up a half dozen littleneck clams from the store to see if my finicky copperband will eat it. So far it only takes live blackworms and some picking off the rock.

So I tried opening one and only succeeded in slicing my finger So then I got out my trusty hammerand whacked it (the Chicago way!) and half the top shell came off so I proceeded to rinse it and place in the tank. So far only the hermits and melanarus wrasse are interested. The copperband will swim over and look and go away.

So do I need to get them open before freezing or can I just freeze and use the hammer? They all are very tight and not sure I have the right equipment to pry them open. The video says not available.

They were just on ice in the fresh seafood area. But I think tight shell is good meaning still alive.

Paul, is blackworms enough as a diet? He seems not thin, and butterflies I think don't get fat guts. I feed about a tsp of worms a day. Is this sufficient? Assuming whatever else he gets off he rocks occasionally?

Thanks for the help!

 

[Paul B]

You should not use a hammer. Get a dull knife like a butterknife. Look at the picture of the clams above. The one on the top right of the picture. The part of the clam directly above the tip of the knife is where you stick the cutting part of the knife, not the point of the knife. Hold the clam with the "hinge" of the clam (the part facing the top of the picture) in your palm (near your thumb) and push the knife blade through the clam by squeezing your fingers. The knife should go right through. Then wiggle the knife back and forth to cut the adductor muscle that holds the clam together.
Freeze the clam then open it all the way and slice off (with a sharp knife) paper thin slices. Feed that to your fish.
Blackworms are great and provide fish the bacteria they need to stay immune but clams would be a better food.
Sometimes a copperband will not recognize a whole clam as food and they don't have any teeth so they can't rip off pieces.
Good luck, if all else fails, use a hammer.

 

[Philt56]

You should not use a hammer. Get a dull knife like a butterknife. Look at the picture of the clams above. The one on the top right of the picture. The part of the clam directly above the tip of the knife is where you stick the cutting part of the knife, not the point of the knife. Hold the clam with the "hinge" of the clam (the part facing the top of the picture) in your palm (near your thumb) and push the knife blade through the clam by squeezing your fingers. The knife should go right through. Then wiggle the knife back and forth to cut the adductor muscle that holds the clam together.
Freeze the clam then open it all the way and slice off (with a sharp knife) paper thin slices. Feed that to your fish.
Blackworms are great and provide fish the bacteria they need to stay immune but clams would be a better food.
Sometimes a copperband will not recognize a whole clam as food and they don't have any teeth so they can't rip off pieces.
Good luck, if all else fails, use a hammer.

Thank you!

 

[Philt56]

Got them all open. Guess I'm a real shucker now
But some were really rough. We'll see how the feeding goes tomorrow.
Those blackworms are getting expensive.

 

[jenjen]

You should not use a hammer. Get a dull knife like a butterknife. Look at the picture of the clams above. The one on the top right of the picture. The part of the clam directly above the tip of the knife is where you stick the cutting part of the knife, not the point of the knife. Hold the clam with the "hinge" of the clam (the part facing the top of the picture) in your palm (near your thumb) and push the knife blade through the clam by squeezing your fingers. The knife should go right through. Then wiggle the knife back and forth to cut the adductor muscle that holds the clam together.
Freeze the clam then open it all the way and slice off (with a sharp knife) paper thin slices. Feed that to your fish.
Blackworms are great and provide fish the bacteria they need to stay immune but clams would be a better food.
Sometimes a copperband will not recognize a whole clam as food and they don't have any teeth so they can't rip off pieces.
Good luck, if all else fails, use a hammer.

This is great! Thorough but also entertaining reply!!!

Good luck OP. Copperbands can be tricky. Be persistent! They're worth the efforts

 

[Paul B]

Once you get them eating, they are a big eater. Use the worms sparingly because they are expensive, a copperband and most fish can live on clams and clams are cheap. I eat them every week myself.

 

[Philt56]

Any difference in type of clams from fish perspective? I bought the littleneck because they were cheaper ($.59 each). I think the other type were Chesapeake? About $1 each. I'm guessing cheaper out by you on the east coast.

When I was checking out at the store, the young girl bagger was looking at the clams which were just on a clear wrapped styrofoam tray. I told her they were food for my fish. And she was astonished. "What do you mean? What kind of fish is it?"

 

[LobsterOfJustice]

Live ones, I give them one good tap with a hammer. This usually breaks part of the shell open and is better than prying the whole thing open because it makes them work a little for it and so it lasts longer. Also makes it harder for fish with short faces like tangs to eat the whole thing and helps give the copperband an edge since he has a long snout.

Live ones will open when you freeze them. Once the live ones start dying I freeze the rest and then thaw them in some tap water as needed and just pull them open with my hands since they are dead at that point.