Clam tips... (1 Viewer)

[rxonco]

I'm thinking about trying out a clam of some sorts in the near future. I've never kept one though. For those that have, here's your chance to shed some knowledge. What are some of the A,B,C's of keeping clams?
I know I could spend all day doing research on them, but I like to get anecdotal experience more than what some article will tell me.

Thanks to anyone who participates.

Forgot to mention...standard 90gal tank with 6x54 T5's.

 

[DustinB]

What fixture/reflectors/bulbs are you using?

 

[Llama]

Be sure you have strong enough lighting. Keep it on the sand unless you want it on a particular rock FOREVER! They are nearly impossible to remove once they are dug in.

I've put one in a tank as young as 6 months and it did very well. I've kept two clams now and both did great!

 

[rxonco]

What fixture/reflectors/bulbs are you using?

6x54 retro with individual reflectors.

Bulb arrangement is still subject to change as I'm figuring it all out. Right now, it's:
Blue +, Aquasun, Aquasun, 10k, Super Actinic, Aquasun.

My tank is only about 5ish months old right now.

How do they do with flow? I get pretty good flow throughout the tank.

 

[Llama]

I think you'll be fine if you have your water in check. Lighting is more than enough.

My 90 has 2 Evo 1400's in it that really flow across the sandbed. The clam does fine as long as it's not pointed right at it. My clam moves like crazy though, so be prepared to watch the tumbling act.

 

[crvz]

depending on the species, it may be better to place them in the rocks. Crocea and maxima clams are more likely to be found in rock, and they're also more light demanding. Because of this, I typically recommend placing them in the rock work. Derasa, gigas, and sqaumosa clams are larger and don't have quite the light demands of the other two, so they do better in sand. These three also won't use they're byssal threads once they get to a certain size, so moving them around is a lot easier.

regarding flow, clams arent going to like a lot of direct flow, so if you can place it such that the mantle isnt being blown about you should be good.

 

[Llama]

Crazy. Without any knowledge of what CRVZ just said I had my crocea in the rocks before selling it. Then I added my current derasa keeping it in the sand. I'm the man and I didn't even know it! Kidding

 

[rxonco]

Thanks guys. I appreciate the input. If you come up with anything else, I'm all ears.

 

[Llama]

That's about it from me. In my experience clams seem to be a set it and forget it item in my system.

 

[rxonco]

That's one of the things I was looking for. Whether or not there was anything needed once they're in the tank.

 

[Ostentum]

Before the Ike related tank crash i would target feed them some microvert, zooplankton etc while feeding the sps. They liked it. But like the above nothing really special besides what has already been stated. One thing to keep in mind is that once the maximas and croceas attach to the rock, thats it, either you move the rock or pretty much kill the clam. Getting them to release is damn near impossible without cutting the byssal threads which has a very high probability of killing the clam slowly.

 

[crvz]

One other thing to remember is happy tank mates. If you have an angel or butterfly in the tank, it can be a non-starter. They may bother the clam, which will close up, and then you'll have to make a choice between the fish or clam.

Finally I'd consider pests and disease. Just like with coral and fish, it's wise to know what to look for and how to treat. For clams, usually a freshwater dip is the solution, but you have to look out for pyramid snail pests (white, 1/4" long snails that are similar in shape to cerith snails) and pinched mantle disease primarily. If you buy from a great supplier, though, you're unlikely to have these problems.

If I were you, I'd get a derasa as your first clam. While they may get to about 14", I've found them to be least likely to suffer from any problems. Matter of fact, I just got one from liveaquaria that got delayed 4 days (over the weekend) and it survived, whereas the other clams did not.

 

[Tnconcept]

Clams are pretty nice to have I got 4 in my tank. I have them in the sand. One thing to know is they tend to move a lot in sand my max move left to right and but the crosea stays still...Thats just what I notice. The derosa moves a lot too, note this is when they were juvenile. And my sand is about 1" thick..

 

[rxonco]

Well, I stopped by CP on my way back from the Med Cntr yesterday to get some water and ended up with a gold Maxi. We'll see how it goes. To think I was just talking to my wife over the weekend about her "impulse shopping."
I put it higher up on the rock work (which, in my tank isn't terribly high). Within about 30 minutes, it was anchored in. Opened up right away, and seems to be a-ok so far. Like I said before, we'll see how it goes.

 

[padanky]

I just got my first clam about two weeks ago, looks great. Derasa from Corals2Go was only $42ish with our Member Discount. I'm running 4x54 T5HO, Aquablues and Actinic's. It turned itself the first night, I guess to get more flow. It's doing great though.