Asian gold clam

Care at a glance

Overview

The Asian gold clam is a peaceful, burrowing filter feeder for the bottom of a mature freshwater tank. It is a clam for experienced keepers.

Caring for the Asian gold clam

Keep the Asian gold clam on its own in a tank of 29 gal (110 L) or larger. Give it a deep bed of fine sand or very small, smooth gravel so it can dig in. A gentle, steady flow carries food past it.

Keep the water at 64 to 84°F (18 to 29°C) with a pH of 7.0 to 8.0. Keep it on the harder side and very stable, with ammonia and nitrite at zero to protect the shell from erosion. The clam is extremely sensitive to copper, which is fatal in trace amounts. Some medications and plant fertilizers carry copper, so avoid those entirely.

The Asian gold clam strains phytoplankton and detritus from the water. Most clams starve within weeks to a few months unless the tank carries a steady supply of suspended microfood. Most tanks are simply too clean to feed one. Only a mature, biologically rich tank holds enough, so put one only in a well established, food rich setup.

It is peaceful and harmless to tank mates, though it can disturb plant roots while it burrows. Check it often. A clam that dies buried will rot, spike ammonia and can crash the whole tank, so pull out any dead one right away.

This species is a serious invasive pest in many regions. Never release it to the wild, and check your local rules.

Good to know

Corbicula fluminea is a filter-feeding freshwater bivalve in the family Cyrenidae. Occasional claims of much larger sizes refer to extreme wild growth, not to clams in the hobby. Even in a good tank, about a year is a fair lifespan, and three years is unusual.

In the wild

Asian gold clams come from rivers and lakes across eastern Asia, including China, Korea, Japan and parts of Southeast Asia. There they burrow into sand and fine gravel and filter food from the moving water.

Common questions