Squamosa clam questions (1 Viewer)

[oguzman]

Hi all, I have a mixed reef 75g and wanted to give clams another shot. I was looking at the Squamosa clam since you can place it on the sand bed where I have space. Now let me be upfront, I've tried 3 clams before and had all 3 die after a couple months. Since then I've made the change of upgrading my lighting and shifting the cycle, I've also began testing alkalinty every other day and maintaining it between 7-8dkh. I've also been carbon dosing and have been keeping nitrates around 2ppm (I want to get them around 1ppm). Now I have the following questions:

Do I have to look for a minimum size? The articles that I read said never buy below 4''.

If I buy a clam around 2-3'' do I have to supplement the photosynthetic algae with feedings? If so how do I feed?

I have a Coral Beauty in the tank who have seen ravage some newer corals I've brought in A jack-o-lantern that it decimated. I've started feeding twice a day and adding in nori every other day to mitigate this behavior. Am I asking for trouble by getting a clam?

My system is a 75gallon mixed reef with Alk=8-9dkh Ca=450ppm Mg=1350 No3=2ppm Po4 < .05ppm for lighting I have 4xT5 ATIs and 2X Kessil A360Ws. Let me know if you guys have any suggestions, and if any LFS's were good for purchasing hardy clams.

 

[reeftopia]

You want keep a clam with any angel period.

 

[Matyas]

I agree with reeftopia, if you have that angel who has previously eaten corals then you will have a rocky road ahead of you. Otherwise you should probobally try getting one greater than 4” as the survival rate of the babies in average reef tanks is slim. And yes you would have to feed to ensure health, as their mantle has not fully developed as a primary nutrition source. Your parameters are perfect for clams, but watch that Alk and Calcium! Clams will drop your levels like no ones business. either remove the angel or dont risk the clam. FJW has nice squamosas and derasas. Good luck.

 

[Tangs]

I was into clams a couple of years ago. I had no luck with Squamosas clams. I think they are more reliant on water quality and my water quality for them was not so good as a guess. I did have better luck with Derasas clams. On average I could keep them for over 2 years.

 

[oguzman]

Hmmm, interesting points. I have to check one of the sqimosas out in person, I love the idea of having an organism that can help out the filtration of the water, I may acutually be able to back off on some of the chemical filtration for that reason. As for the Coral Beauty I've only ever seen it attack orange corals. I have no idea why it is obsessed with color orange.