[cal1112333]

I have a 55gal freshwater setup with about half of the bioload used so far, the community is about 6 guppies, 2 ghost shrimp (about to hatch babies not that that matters tho) Siamese algae eater, 5 oto cats, 2 bamboo shrimp, 2 ghost glass cats, 1 African dwarf frog, and some small snails that im not too happy about.

I definitely want some clams and havn't found many downsides to them (with the exception of the parasitic breeding process) And when i cant confirm or disafirm the bad points im afraid of unpleasant surprises.

I would also like some crabs that arent going to eat anyone (except maybe the snails though i doubt crabs love snails. Just that i dont want the snails but no longer care about eradicating them)

Any sudgestions or advice would be helpful

 

[sciencebuff93]

I have had clams in my freshwater aquariums and would highly reccomend them. They are interesting, easy to feed (I primarily used brine shrimp) and will also reduce the tanks nitrate concentration by filtering some of the water. They are basicly a great inhabitant (especially with your setup). I never researched the pasrasitic breeding process, but if you're that concerned about it, only put in a few. Anyways, you won't see much of them anyways, as the like to bury themselves as far as they can while keeping the "siphon" out.

If you want a crab for in your tank, I would reccomend the red-clawed crab. They stay small. However, if not fed enough, they will nibble on any live plants. Oh yeah, and make sure that any tall decorations are not leaning directly against the side of the tank. The are suicidal and will escape through tight spaces easily. That's how I lost mine.

As for the snails, what kind are they? If they are from the family Physidae, I would just squish them and your guppies should eat it.

Here is a good ID site:
Various freshwater snails

Good luck on your tank

 

[Ulli Bauer]

There are clams that do not breed parasitically, like e.g. Dreissena polymorpha or Corbicula fluminea.
They filter their food from the water, so feeding powdered food is a good idea. Most clams actually die from starvation. You already have filter feeders in your tank (the bamboo shrimp), so the food competition might be too high.

If you only have a few snails just leave them. They are actually beneficial to the ecosystem - eat algae and leftover fish food that might otherwise spoil your water.

Red-claw crabs need a land part, so they're not a really good idea for a water-only aquarium. Crabs and also crays might actually tear the bamboo shrimp apart, they do not combine so well with these.

Cheers
Ulli

 

[Nature neil]

Clams will go well with the set up and can be very interesting so if you can get some go for it. The only risk is if one dies unnoticed it will very quickly poison the water and kill the other and possibly the fish. There is a small red crayfish that don't eat plants and are very interesting. But please if the snails are the thin pointed malaysian sand snails let then live, they do wonders for tank ecology and don't cause any harm

 

[brandeeno]

Why not try smaller shrimp species as well? red cherry shrimp are lovely and great additions to most community aquaria.

-Brandon