Clams

Beautiful aquariums often have something about them that makes them special or unique. Sometimes it is a highly sought after rare fish or coral. Other times it is a massively large coral. It can also be an invertebrate that makes a reef tank stand out. One invert in particular is fascinating: the clam. First, they are incredibly stunning in color and shape. Their mantles display vibrant colors of blues, oranges, yellows, greens, or blacks. There are also many varieties of color patterns. These marine inverts will certainly catch the eyes of those who view your tank. While they are beautiful, they also have added benefits to a home reef aquarium. These creatures are filter feeders, which means they get needed nutrients by sucking in water and filtering out the nutrients to consume and then pushing clean water back out. This means your water will actually be filtered by it. They also add biological diversity because they have a calcium structure that organisms can live on, which is always a good thing for any ecosystem, including your reef aquarium. While it is advised that these filter feeding inverts are left to slightly more experienced reef hobbyists, it is possible for a beginner to successfully care for one with plenty of research. The difficulty comes from the high calcium and light requirements. At one point, certain species of clams were hunted to near extinction for both the food and aquarium industry. Fortunately, now they are being aquacultured, which means they are bred on land causing no harm to the wild populations in the ocean. You can by them captive-bred from AlgaeBarn. These creatures are amazing and you should consider getting one for your aquarium. It will blow you away.