Question about clams

[Coldwater]

I have some questions about clams.

1. Are they hardy or sensative?
2. Are there any better ones than others?
3. Do they need lots of food?
4. What type of lighting do they need?
5. Will my fish pick at the clam?

I cant find much on the internet. Thanks for any help.

Matt

[Delphinus]

Well, the answer to all your questions are "it depends" but here's my stab at something maybe a little more helpful.

Assuming you are talking of tridacnid clams..

1. Generally they are not regarded as easy to keep, although some people have luck with them. I am not one of those, I've never been able to keep one alive more than 2 years or so. For me, inevitably, something happens, and they die. So personally, I don't think of them as particularly easy to keep. Tank got too warm on a hot summer's day. The clams died. Tank got overfed when I was on vacation. The clams died. My calcium reactor sprung a leak, and was offline for a little while, whilst I got it fixed, and the clams died. It was a cold winter's day when I got the mail-order shipment in, and the clams died. One of them got a disease, and died, and shortly after, all the other clams died. I dosed too little DT's phyto, and the clams died. I dosed too much DT's phyto, and the clams died. I got to the point where I believed if I were to so much look at the tank in the wrong way, I could kill a clam.

That being said, the species can make a difference. In order of "most picky/finicky/sensitive and least sensitive" to "least sensitive and most forgiving" the ratings seem to go: T. crocea, T. maxima, T. squamosa, T. derasa. I'm not sure where T. gigas fits in there, I'd guess to be closer to T. derasa, but they tend to be too large for most aquariums (most people don't really want a clam the size of an ottoman).

2. "Better" is a subjective term. If you mean "pretty and colourful" then T. maxima and T. crocea tend to be the favoured ones. For patterning, T. derasa can be exquisite, as well as T. squamosa. In terms of hardiness, T. derasa is probably the favoured one. If you want something that stays reasonably sized, then T. maxima, T. crocea and T. squamosa are good choices. If you want something that can conceivably get as large as a football, then T. derasa would make a good choice. I have seen, on rare occasion, T. gigas available, but they tend to be less interesting to look at, and these are the ones that you see pictured and they're 1m across. However if anyone in captivity were to actually grow one to that size from a juvenile, I would bow to their superior reef husbandry skills because that would be an extraordinary feat/accomplishment.

3. As adults, they tend to be mostly photosynthetic and rely more upon bright lighting. As juveniles, they tend to need phytoplankton feedings (in addition to lighting).

4. Bright lighting is best. I don't know of too many long term success stories under NO/VHO/PC lighting. Although it is possible that the less-demanding ones like T. derasa may do fine under such lighting setups, the usual ideal setup for them involves halide lighting.

5. It depends on the fish (species). Some fish, yes for sure. Others, no problem. I think butterflies and angels may be the riskiest ones (I don't really know). I've seen several tanks with pygmy angels (coral beaty, flame, potter's), and there were no problems with them picking at the mantles of clams. However I think with angels that it's hit and miss, you may get a "bad apple" and that's all it takes.

[Coldwater]

Are halide lighting thigamabobers expensive? Also I have a yellow tang, hawkfish, clownfish and two puffer fish. Sounds like this will be a little out of my price range though. :confused: .

[Delphinus]

The tang, clownfish and hawfish will be fine, they should completely ignore a clam. I don't really know about puffers, although if I were to guess, I'd guess they'd be fine too.

Halide thigamabobers ... uh ... probably expensive.

What's your current lighting setup? You may still be able to try a T. derasa (and they shouldn't be too expensive, but who knows). Without halides, I'd stay away from T. crocea and T. maxima for sure.

[EmilyB]

Puffers eat clams.

In fact that is what you feed them to keep their teeth from overgrowing.

:smile:

[Delphinus]

I learnt something new, thanks EmilyB! :biggrin:

[bulletsworld]

Yes indeed they will. They will pick at it till its dead. Puffers love all inverts! Shrimp, clams, scallops, crabs... you name it.

[Willow]

Yes indeed they will. They will pick at it till its dead. Puffers love all inverts! Shrimp, clams, scallops, crabs... you name it.

thats crazy! i like all the same kinda food as puffers :mrgreen:

[Marcus K]

Deb, I saw a puffer getting his teeth ground down the other night on daily planet buy a dentist. Now thats a house call. Same night as the Blue/Red lobster episode. I had Jayson from SWC ship me a Squamosa a few months back. Very nice clam, much more colourfull than a Derasa. I have close to 500watts of PC rather than metal halides.

Marcus

[Coldwater]

I currently have a stock lighting fixture with some light bulb I forget the name of :redface: . My puffers are really small though. Like barely two inches long. But they are extremly curious and will bite anything that looks wierd and colourful. With my new tank I also think I might get better lighting. :mrgreen: . Also all this lighting stuff makes no sense to me :question: .

Matt

[SeaHorse_Fanatic]

In terms of lighting requirements:

Derasa & Squamosa - think softies & most LPS corals

Maxima & Crocea - think SPS corals

I have a Derasa & Squamosa a few inches under 96w PC & two 3' T5 20000k fixtures & they're doing fine.

Hope this helps Matt.

Anthony

[Van down by the river]

Hello Matt,

eg;Are halide lighting thigamabobers expensive?

I cant find much on the internet.
:question: :question: :question:
I feel like a parent that asks "well did you look?"

Sorry, I think didn't try would be more accurate.

You are right, after the first 517,731 web sites I didn't find much more. :confused:

Google searches
Tridacna clams:8,230
Giant clams: 247,000
aquarium clams: 188,000
Caring for clams in aquariums: 901
Lighting for clams: 73,600 #1 item was wetwebmedia's FAQ about Giant Clam Lighting a highly recommended website.

http://www.wetwebmedia.com alone had 818 hits!
Canreef had 341 hits

Based on the type of questions you ask,
I think the best thing I can do for you is offer some suggested reading. It seems you still don't have a complete grasp of the basics yet. Any one of these books will benefit you greatly. I know you are a teenager so they may not be in your budget. That said, try your local library, I believe they can get transfers from other larger libraries. Vancouver library has many of these. Also Amazon.com used and ebay have many good deals.

Here is a good listing of books.
http://www.canreef.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=5213&highlight=algae
There are a few new books out there that I recommend such as Reef Invertabrates by Anthony Calfo

Reef Secrets Alf Nilssen is a good beginner book.
Here's a free online book:http://www.netpets.com/fish/reference/thielbook/thieltoc.html

Even reading one of these books will greatly improve your understanding of the hobby. You will also find that you will understand and benefit more from the information on Canreef when you understand it better.

I have no problems with people asking questions, but I do expect them to have made some effort to figure it out or research on their own. You will also find that you will gain a better understanding of the topic. Much better than any two or three paragraph posted answer.
Afterward, some well thought out questions will fill in the "experience" gaps. Plus, as you gain experience you will learn that many posts are based on "opinion" and individual experience not necessarily on fact. This can often serve to confuse you further if you don't understand the basics.

Canreef has many very knowledgeable and experienced aquarists as a resource to you. We are here to share and learn from each other.
We are here to help you, not do it for you.

[trilinearmipmap]

Just a related question as I am waiting to get my first clam which will be a Derasa.

I have read a fair bit about the ?pyramidellid snails which parasitize clams. What has people's experience been, are these snails a common problem, do I have to worry about them much? I was thinking of examining the clam carefully for these snail or eggs before placing it in the tank.

[Delphinus]

A sensible precaution.

IIRC,I think they say sixline wrasses may pick at those types of snail.

[SeaHorse_Fanatic]

I have yet to see these snails or their eggs, but what I learned this week (from Jack) while putting away a large shipment of clams is that you
should hold the clam inside your hand underwater & rotate it at least once to help it expel any air it might have "swallowed" while being out of the water. I guess ideally, never let the clam emerge from the water but that's tricky to accomplish. Just hold it with your thumb on one shell & your finger on the other shell & slowly spin it before settling it in the tank.

Anthony

[trilinearmipmap]

Any tips on the best place to look for Derasa clams in Vancouver this coming weekend?

[Dale D]

Snails are not a common problem. I have only ever seen snails on about 2 clams out of the hundreds that I have dealt with. They are easy to spot and get rid of.

I have only ever seen egg masses on 1 clam before and they too are easy to deal with. :biggrin:

[SeaHorse_Fanatic]

Have lots of croceas @ OA, but don't know how long they'll stay here.

Colin @ Coral Ocean on Kingsway, just west of Boundary, had some too.

Actually, most of the LFS in Lower Mainland got in a crocea shipment last week.

There's plenty to choose from right now. PM me for details.

Anthony

If needed, you can hold your clam in my tank, since it's only for a weekend. (only PC & T5 lighting, but new PC 96w bulb)

[Willow]

Any tips on the best place to look for Derasa clams in Vancouver this coming weekend?

knowone seems to have any from what i understand.

[Coldwater]

O.k thanks for all the help everybody. I will check out our local library here.

Matt