mussels in my tank

So after setting up my tank with the base rock that came with the tank I purchased, I went down to the LFS and bought 15 lbs. of LR. On 2 different pieces were large mussels, and or a clam. But I believe they are mussels because of the shape of its shell. Anyways, I read a thread where it seemed to be everyones experience with them that they are filter feeders, and eventually will starve to death and die.

Well, it's been almost 6 weeks, and they are still alive and kicking. I see them move ever so slightly and their shells open up a bit most of time. They survived the initial cycle and seem to be doing okay.

So I guess if there is a question here it's, if they are starving, how long does it take for them to die?
And given there size, I probably don't want them in there when they do...

Just thought I'd share and see if anybody has experience on this.

 

They are probably like clams in the respect and it could take months.

 

I agree with 2in10. Some people can keep a flame scallop alive for quite awhile in their tanks, but it seems like most people loose them in a few months, and it seems like a slow starvation IMO. I imagine they might actually like some nitrates.

 

Well as of the moment they got some. I would like to keep them alive, but not at the cost of water qaulity

 

I had a lot of clams & such on my original live rock. They lived until I broke the tank down (4 years).

 

See, that's what I wanna hear!

 

I have also had some mussels/clams that I had found in some live rock. I have one that I think is indestructible. I have it in a frag tank with softies that I rarely rarely feed and only have two T5's over. It has been alive now for over a year and has been moved three times with no ill affects. Everytime I put my hands in the tank it slams shut and that is how I originally noticed it.

 

See this makes me think if there is enough nutrients in the tank there is no reason why they can't live. I know for a fact that a lot of mussels and clams live and grow near very nasty water in the wild. It's almost like they prefer it. So if that's the case, an aquarium with perfect water quality might be the reason they starve....