was serving fresh clams for dinner

[Damsel13]

decided to crack open one for my tank. My fish have never seen one before but took to it pretty fast. They knocked it off the rock work and now it is on my shallow sandbed (2:20 Pacific S Time).My question is can I leave it in there overnight so my clean-up crew can eat or should I take it out before lights out tonight?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Scooterman]

I'd maybe leave a small chunk but really they won't need much, JMO, I have lots of Opinions, not necessarily the best but I have & give them freely LOL!

 

[Damsel13]

Thanks Scooty, will keep an eye on the skimmer too.

 

[Reefergeorge]

Thanks Scooty, will keep an eye on the skimmer too.

When I feed my puffer clams. My skimmer level drops for a few hours. Never has overflowed.
I would only leave it in for an hour at most.

 

[bobt2]

in the summer i clam all the time, but i never put fresh clams in the tank.i,m affraid of what i may introduce into the tank. i freeze them for a few days first, then use them in my tanks.

 

[Damsel13]

thanks BobT...yes I remembered LeeB's advice now. Too late this time however so far so good. The fish, A. Ocellaris, Coral Beauty and even the Chromis picked at it a little. Then.......... the Scarlet crab moved in. Took it out an hour after he/she had it's fill.

 

[leebca]

Always wash and freeze and thaw the clam before serving.

Like most answers in this hobby, "It depends." Test one out. Much depends upon the size of the clam and the number of fish and crew that will eat it. If by morning the meat is totally gone, then it is okay. If by morning the meat is still lingering in or somewhere outside the clam, don't do this.

 

[Damsel13]

Thank you Lee. The clam was a little neck from a good fishmonger. I washed the outside with Ro/DI water but not the actual clam...left it on the halfshell. It was almost all consumed except for the muscle. Looks like I got lucky this time. Time will tell. I must say my fish Really! enjoyed it! Except for the Tang of course. In the future I will follow your instructions.

 

[leebca]

You can 'adjust' the size of the clam meat. Either using a smaller clam (or saltwater mussel), or by just cutting some of the meat out of the clam you have. Adjust the amount of the clam so that it is all consumed by all your aquarium lifeforms (that eat it).

I find that my Tangs (I think more out of feeling like they are being left out!) nip at the clam too. It's obvious that it isn't their 'fair.'

 

[Snowboarda42]

Just make sure you don't do this with your angel if you have a Tridacnid clam in your tank. Otherwise you might find that they really like clams more than you'd like...