Asian clam (Corbicula fluminea) care guide

Group

Other invertebrates

Other names

Golden clam, Asiatic clam, Corbicula clam, Tellina fluminea

Family

Cyrenidae

Origin

Eastern and south-east Asia and Africa; invasive in the Americas, Europe, Britain, Ireland and New Zealand

Water

freshwater

Maximum size

5 cm

Care level

intermediate

Flow

Gentle flow over the sand to bring food

Care

The Asian clam is a small freshwater clam from eastern Asia, often sold in aquarium shops as the 'golden clam'. Its rounded shell, up to about 5 cm, is yellow-green, brown or black with neat concentric ridges, and pale purple inside. It is one of the world's most damaging invasive freshwater animals: it has spread through the Americas and Europe, and in Britain it was first found in the Norfolk Broads in 1998 and in the River Thames in 2004. It outcompetes native mussels for food, can strip most of the phytoplankton from a river, and clogs water works and power-station pipes, costing billions. The aquarium trade is one of the ways it spreads. Never release this animal or empty its tank water into drains or waterways. Dispose of unwanted clams humanely, not into ponds or rivers, and do not keep it in garden ponds. In the aquarium it is a filter feeder that buries itself in sand. It is hard to keep fed: most aquaria do not carry enough suspended food, and clams often starve slowly over months. A dead clam can then foul the water quickly. Our sources give no aquarium water figures; it tolerates a very wide range of temperatures, from cold rivers to tropical water (general guidance). Use a soft sand bed several centimetres deep, gentle flow, and hard, alkaline water for its shell. Check regularly that clams are alive (open shells that smell are dead). Copper-based medicines and some plant fertilisers are toxic to shrimp, snails and most invertebrates. Sources: Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corbiculafluminea). Checked October 2026.

Diet

A filter feeder that pumps water through its gills and eats mainly phytoplankton; when that is scarce it feeds on organic matter in the sediment. In aquaria feed liquid phytoplankton or green water and fine suspended foods, but expect it to struggle in a clean, well-filtered tank.

Breeding

It is a hermaphrodite that can fertilise itself, and broods its larvae in its gills before releasing them, up to hundreds a day and tens of thousands a year, once the water is above about 10 °C. This is why a single clam can found a new population in the wild. In tanks the tiny young are usually eaten or starve.

Compatibility and tank mates

Harmless to fish, shrimp and plants, and it slightly clears cloudy water. Loaches and puffers may eat it. Its main risks are to the environment if released, and to water quality if one dies unnoticed.

Last updated 8 October 2026. Community-edited care guide on Aquatic-Auctions.