Clam Questions.

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StickyTuba

Aquarium Advice Activist
Joined
Dec 19, 2004
Messages
158
Location
Lansing, MI
Hey all,

I have had my tank up and running since December 22 and my levels have been decent. (Sorry, I am going to get numbers tonight and I can post them later).

I was at my LFS the other day and noticed that they had a small clam, (I believe it was a Tridacna Maxima). By small I mean maybe 3 inches along the "mouth".

I know that they will grow quite large, but my LFS will buy it back.
My question is whether or not they are difficult to keep and/or if my tank is too young.

Thanks for the help.
 
Your tank is not too small. I got two small maximas in my 14g tank. They don't grow that fast so I'm pretty sure you will have it in your tank for at least a year or two.

What kind of lighting do you have? Maximas are very light demanding clams and it's recommended to have MH lights. People have tried maximas with PC lights but they never seem to post again to give a status update of the clams health after the 6months or longer mark.

You might want to hold off on the clam for a few months to let your tank mature a bit more and to do more research about the husbandry required.
 
I have a 12 Gallon Nano-cube but it is the deluxe model.

Below is the description of the Nano lighting:

"Complete with a true 24 Watt Power Compact Lighting System. Installed with a splashguard for the pc bulb and ballast protection. Provides 3x the performance of traditional fluorescent bulbs. Power Compacts provide maximum light output with the least amount of heat production while being very energy efficient."

I could always upgrade and I do have daily maintenance on the tank, mainly water testing and water levels, etc.

Thanks for the help.
 
24 watts of lighting means that you have 2 watts of lighting per gallon in your tank. Clams are one of the more demanding reef intervertabres your can have, and they require Calcium levels of 450 plus, that do not fluctuate. They also require proper Iodine, Stronetium (sorry about spelling) and Magnesium levels.

In addition to that Clams require weekly feedings of some form of Photoplankton, and supplementing those feedings with Brine Shrimp is also recommended.

2 watts of lighting is no where near that required to keep a clam, and a wattage of 6.5 plus watts per gallon is recommended, as well as being sure you have proper spectrum, a mix of white light with blue actinic.

All in all clams are demanding animals that require a certain set of items to keep them in optimum health. My 2 cents, hold off until you have more lighting and are ready to dive head first into advanced reef keeping.

Also I would look at upgrading that lighting, 2 watts per gallon is barely enough to keep any reef animals, with the exception of a few corals.
 
Ok,
Thanks for the information. I definetly appreciate your comments macman.

I will look tonight into upgrading my lighting. Thanks again. :)
 
macman7010 said:
.

In addition to that Clams require weekly feedings of some form of Photoplankton, and supplementing those feedings with Brine Shrimp is also recommended.

I dont know if clams eat brine shrimps, first time i've heard of this. What is the size of the brine?
 
Edmonton,
Is there a light that is 5500k? or is there a watt conversion?

Thanks for the help.
I would really like to get it, but I would rather do it right and have the correct lighting and husbandry techniques before I get it. So I don't waste money on killing a clam.
 
You can buy Metal Halide bulbs that are 5500K. the "K" is for kelvin. lower the "K" the more yellow the light will be. So a 20000K bulb will have more of blue light compared to a 55000K which is on the extreme side of being yellow.
 
Thanks Lando.

I went to the LFS last night and they said that I should wait on it for numerous reasons.
I got my water tested and I needed to up my Kh and lower my salinity.
So I went home, (after purchasing some snails) and did a water change and added some Calcium buffer.

So I will research clams some more and then go check it out later.
Thanks for all the help.
 
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