• Why not take a moment to introduce yourself to our members?

chris_h

Advanced Reefer
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I would go with a crocea or a maxima. They are smaller and more atractive. Clams do better for me in higher nutrient systems, so I would not worry about a crocea or maxima being hard to keep. In my opinion the aquacultured ones are extremely easy to keep, but the imported ones are very difficult. In a ten gallon tank, a clam will probaly aid in the filtrations of nitrates.

Here is a picture of my aquacultered crocea clam in a bristle worm infested 20 gallon. This tank uses 2 55watt pc's so your lighting will be adequate
smalleditedclam.jpg
 

Lunchbucket

Advanced Reefer
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
ok, i am looking into getting a hardy clam for my 10gal nano. it has 2x36w PC's on it. 1-10,000K and one actinic. i am thinking a dersa or squamosa.

someone just mentioned that if i have bristle worms they are problemse w/ clams. i thought this was an "old wise tale" so am i wrong?

any suggestions where to get clams and information/tips would be great.

thanks
Lunchbucket
 

pcragg

Experienced Reefer
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I've never seen bristle worms messing with my clams, I wouldn't worry about it. I bought mine from Inland Aquatics. I highly recommend them.

P.S. You do know that Tridacnas are giant clams, right??? I guess it would be kind of interesting to see a nano with nothing but a huge clam in it.
 

Lunchbucket

Advanced Reefer
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
thanks for the info!

i thought Tridacna Derasa or Tridacna squamosa were ok? so what clam should i get if they get super huge? i would get a 2.5" to start and let it grow and grow. bye the time it gets big i am sure i will have my 20L tank up or my 55gal again....good excuse to get a bigger tank!!

thanks
Lunchbucket
 

Lynn

Advanced Reefer
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
awesome clam!! Could a person set it up higher in the tank (20) and have 1 55 watt pc on it?
 

chris_h

Advanced Reefer
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I have had it for less than a year. Probaly about nine months. It has grown from 2 inches to 4 inches. I have never feed it. It is located about six inches from the surface.
 

2poor2reef

Advanced Reefer
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
If you're going to go with a crocea or maxima make note of chris' "aquacultured" clam. There is no way a wild caught t.max or crocea is going to survive under 2x36w pc lighting. I know this from personal experience. You need one that has been reared under lower lighting and has adapted to that environment.
 

THillson

Advanced Reefer
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Definitely stay away from the T. derasa. I bought mine when it was about two inches long, he's now almost a foot and weighs close to 10 pounds. Under good growing conditions it could outgrow your tank in under a year. Crocea and maxi clams grow much slower and would be better suited to your size tank. I've seen maxi's in LFS that are only one inch long, you could have two!
 

Lunchbucket

Advanced Reefer
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
thank you all very very much!!! you have given me very valuable information! i will get a maxima or croecia...i just didin't think i could keep these! i am glad because i like them better.

so, do you order them online or do you get them through your LFS? tips on getting a new one or where?

also, could i place it on the sand? it would be about 11" from the 10,000k bulb?

thank you all for the good info!
Lunchbucket
 

chris_h

Advanced Reefer
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I got mine from the LFS for $30 becouse they thought it was a squamosa. They thought it was a squamosa becouse they have scutes, and imported croceas dont have scutes, but the aquacultered ones do have them.
icon_wink.gif


I plan on getting a few more from either etropicals or tropicorium. I am not sure if tropicorium's clams are aquacultered, and if they are not I will not buy them from them.
 

Lunchbucket

Advanced Reefer
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
can anyone point me to information on clams? like scutes or whatever i have no idea about.

i NEED to learn about them before i buy so i don't mess them up.

thanks
Lunchbucket
 

npaden

Advanced Reefer
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Chris,

Could you take a picture of the clams shell? It really looks like a squasmosa from the pattern of the mantle rather than a crocea. If it is a squasmosa it is by far the prettiest one I've ever seen and I would be very interested where it was imported from. Also a crocea is the slowest grower of all of the clams and growing from 2" to 4" in less than a year would be a phenomenal growth rate for a crocea clam. 1" growth per year would be a very fast grower even in the wild.

I'm very curious on this as the patterns really do look like a squasomosa.

Please let me know or post a pic of the shell.

Thanks, Nathan
 

chris_h

Advanced Reefer
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
The tank I have it in was set up to breed clownfish so it is feed very heavily. It was never intended to be a reef. My reef has strong halides. When I went to the LFS I could not resist buying it becouse of the price and color. The LFS had it under only one NO so I was afraid it would bleach under my halides, so I put it in my clowns tank to aclimate. I was surprised when it did well so I just left it in there. I think the reason it does good is becouse of the high nutrient levels. Well what I am getting at is the clams shell is covered in enough algea that I can no longer see the scutes.

The picture is not very good. The clam is actually a slightly darker blue with a few golden areas.
 

chris_h

Advanced Reefer
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by Lunchbucket:
<strong>can anyone point me to information on clams? like scutes or whatever i have no idea about.

i NEED to learn about them before i buy so i don't mess them up.

thanks
Lunchbucket</strong><hr></blockquote>

I got most of my info from sprungs two volume set. It is a nice book with a lot of info about clams, corals, and anemones. It also describes how to set up a tank using the various methods available.
 

chris_h

Advanced Reefer
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote
If it is a squasmosa it is by far the prettiest one I've ever seen and I would be very interested where it was imported from.
It was aquacultered, so are you asking what farm it came from? I never thought about it being a squasmosa. I cant imagine its colors in a 16 inch clam. I am planing on getting some snails from ISPF so if I they clear off the shell I will email you a pic.
 

Lunchbucket

Advanced Reefer
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
i have Fenner's: concious aquarist book, and bornemans: corals book.

i will look in there. i really need to get another book.

so what one has good clam info. where to get and $$..

thanks guys
you rock!
later
Lunchbucket
 

Super Len

Advanced Reefer
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Giant Clams, by Daniel Knop.

I agree that T.deresa and T.squamosa are bad choices for an nano. I'd opt for a T.crocea or T.maxima, as they usually only attain a size of 6" in captivity.

From the pic, the mantle display and pattern looks more like a T.squamosa (a nice blue one at that!). I doubt it's an crocea. T.maxima is a possibility. Of course, a picture of the shell will go a long ways in clarifying it's ID.

Differences between clam species are readily apparent to me. Mantle shapes and shells differ enough to differente species. In general, T. maxima is more elogated then T.crocea and T.squamosa. T.squamosa has the most prounounced scutes, followed by T.maxima then T.crocea. The mantle is most fleshy with T.squamosa, folloed by T.maxima then T.crocea. Color and pattern can also be used to ID a clam, as each species have common characteristics.

Concerning polycheates disturbing/consuming clams: I've found that this problem only occurs if the clam is situated on the substrate. When placed on rocks, the clam will anchor itself to the solid scruture via byssal threads, and bore itself into the rock. On the sandbed, the possibility of polycheates attacking the clams byssal (foot) opening is more likely since it is fully exposed. It's not a common problem, but it's also not unheard of.
 

chris_h

Advanced Reefer
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
It has been a while, but I finally have the shell pics. My gutter-style algea filter leaked and the 20 gallon tank crashed after few weeks without the algea filter. The clam lost some color and the fish were very slugish and I lost a few fish, but no corals or inverts died. THe clam is now in a new 55 gallon with a DSB, clean water, and metal halide. It has not yet regained its color or started growing again but the algea died off when I put it in the 55 so I got a pic of the shell today.
scutes.JPG

scutes2.JPG
 

Sponsor Reefs

We're a FREE website, and we exist because of hobbyists like YOU who help us run this community.

Click here to sponsor $10:


Top