I am looking to diversify my food chain particularly for my RES. I am getting ready to add grass shrimp in a couple weeks. I was also pondering adding clams. I know RES love snails, which this pond already has plenty of native ones.
The first species of clam I was thinking of adding are the non-native Asian Clam, Corbicula fluminea. It is a golden color on the outside with some chipping that is white. It reaches a maximum size of about 1.5 inches and will do quite well in ponds, even clay and mud bottomed ones.
Now I would be more concerned about using a non-native species but this species is already quite common in the watershed this pond is in, so I will not be adding something somewhere it isn't already... Here is a
Link about them for those not familiar with them.
I have heard RES love to eat them, particularly the smaller ones. My biggest concern is how they would affect the water quality? Remove too much phytoplankton and affect the zooplankton and reduce their numbers affecting the smaller sunfish which would be using this as a food source...
The second species would be the pond fingernail clam, Musculium securis. This is a native species, and as indicated in the common name is only attains a maximum size of about the size of a fingernail.
Collecting from wild sources, so that would be the method of stocking... Any thoughts on the matter?
