Pets from your local food store?

bradleym · 01/25/2010, 10:28 AM

I have an asian market nearby that sells oysters, blue crabs, clams, and snails, etc. all as live food. I was wondering, aside from the obvious high death rate, if putting these kind of things in my tank would be dangerous. Specifically, I was thinking of a bag of periwinkles for algae control. I know I'll probably lose a bunch of them right off but would the survivors hurt my tank? Thanks in advance.

Chris27 · 01/25/2010, 11:20 AM

Bad idea with the periwinkles, they will figure their way out of the tank within a day and make their way under your couch. Some folks here at the beach have tried them since they are so easy to find in the marshes, only to return them a day or two later...

As for the other stuff, there is a possibility of introducing harmful strains of bacteria and pathogens to your system, as the east coast is full of them, foreign impurities that is - which is where most of the items that you're talking about come from.

bradleym · 01/25/2010, 11:32 AM

Fair enough. I figured it would be something like that but I would rather know than assume. Thanks for the info.

Juruense · 01/25/2010, 11:34 AM

I have little neck clams from the grocery in my sand bed, they are great!

Jagermeister · 01/25/2010, 01:57 PM

You could try Cherrystone clams as well. There's an online retailer who sells Cherrystone clams as "cleaner clams" for, I think it was around $5.99 per clam. The Asian market near me sells them for about $5.99/lb. The last time I was there, the clams were still bagged with their tag of origin still attached which identified them from Florida.

Octoshark · 01/25/2010, 02:02 PM

I have wondered about this as well. I have always wanted an octopus but not only is it hard to find a retailer with one currently in stock, but they are also very delicate shippers. Those asian markets sometimes have a bunch of live ones so I have always wondered about rescuing one

01/25/2010, 10:28 AM	#1
bradleym Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Shrewsbury/St. Louis, Mo Posts: 3,878	Pets from your local food store? I have an asian market nearby that sells oysters, blue crabs, clams, and snails, etc. all as live food. I was wondering, aside from the obvious high death rate, if putting these kind of things in my tank would be dangerous. Specifically, I was thinking of a bag of periwinkles for algae control. I know I'll probably lose a bunch of them right off but would the survivors hurt my tank? Thanks in advance.

01/25/2010, 02:02 PM	#6
Octoshark Marine Biology Student Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: California Posts: 1,366	I have wondered about this as well. I have always wanted an octopus but not only is it hard to find a retailer with one currently in stock, but they are also very delicate shippers. Those asian markets sometimes have a bunch of live ones so I have always wondered about rescuing one __________________ "Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal."

01/25/2010, 11:20 AM	#2
Chris27 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Virginia Beach, VA Posts: 4,452	Bad idea with the periwinkles, they will figure their way out of the tank within a day and make their way under your couch. Some folks here at the beach have tried them since they are so easy to find in the marshes, only to return them a day or two later... As for the other stuff, there is a possibility of introducing harmful strains of bacteria and pathogens to your system, as the east coast is full of them, foreign impurities that is - which is where most of the items that you're talking about come from.

01/25/2010, 11:32 AM	#3
bradleym Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Shrewsbury/St. Louis, Mo Posts: 3,878	Fair enough. I figured it would be something like that but I would rather know than assume. Thanks for the info.

01/25/2010, 11:34 AM	#4
Juruense Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Fort Wayne, IN Posts: 1,138	I have little neck clams from the grocery in my sand bed, they are great!

01/25/2010, 01:57 PM	#5
Jagermeister Premium Member Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Arvada, CO Posts: 1,003	You could try Cherrystone clams as well. There's an online retailer who sells Cherrystone clams as "cleaner clams" for, I think it was around $5.99 per clam. The Asian market near me sells them for about $5.99/lb. The last time I was there, the clams were still bagged with their tag of origin still attached which identified them from Florida.