Why are all of my clams dying???

[doch]

Well, it's official... The new Crocea didn't make it. My remaining 2 clams will be coming up to fort Mac on Sunday. Freshwater dip for both and into a totally separate tank. Man I hope this works. How long of a dip should I give? Just fresh water, no coral dip or anything?

[whatcaneyedo]

Giant Clams in the Sea and the Aquarium by Fatherree recommends 30 minutes in freshwater that matches the temperature and pH of your tank.

[doch]

Thank you!

[PoonTang]

Just a quick question from a clam newbie. Are you feeding your clams, perhaps when you get a lot of big clams in a tank there just isnt enough food for them? I dont know, ive had a squammy for a few months and even with a few pyramid snails it seems to be doing nicely.

[whatcaneyedo]

I don't do any supplemental feeding to directly feed my clams. Everything I've read states that it is unnecessary especially considering my high bioload.

[daniella3d]

How is your bioload helping your clam? clams eat phytoplankton, not fish waste.

Originally Posted by whatcaneyedo

I don't do any supplemental feeding to directly feed my clams. Everything I've read states that it is unnecessary especially considering my high bioload.

[whatcaneyedo]

Originally Posted by daniella3d

How is your bioload helping your clam? clams eat phytoplankton, not fish waste.

Yes they do. Does this little game we play ever get boring to you?

Fatherree explains in his book how clams can feed on a variety of things such as phytoplankton, dissolved organic matter, detritus, nitrogen and phosphorus aka. fish waste. I'm not going to copy the whole thing out for you but here is a good paragraph:

"Want a second opinion about feeding? How about Delbeek & Sprung (1994), "...the effort required to feed these items is not worth it in our opinion. Tridacnid clams have been grown successfully in both culture systems and home aquaria for many years without supplemental feedings." And you can get a third opinion from Knop (1996), "Altogether the food requirements of clams is so small that a special feeding scheme for them is superfluous if the tank is populated with a fair number of fish, especially if corals are regularly fed, In such a case a special food destined for the clams would even unbalance the whole system." And here's a forth opinion from Calfo (2001), "Many clams have been maintained years in aquaria without any deliberate feeding, but rather dependent upon light and dissolved compounds." If you're new to the hobby you might not know who the heck these guys are, but I assure you that you'll eventually become familiar with them if you read much. So, there you go."

p176 Giant Clams in the Sea and the Aquarium the biology, identification, and aquarium husbandry of tridacnid clams by James Fatherree. 2006

[TimT]

Is anyone dosing Iodine to their systems? Clams and corals need it to detoxify radical oxygen produced by Zooxanthellae. Iodine is rapidly depleted in a reef system.

Has anyone checked for copper in their water?

If your Ca drops below 380 your chance of issues becomes huge.

Phosphates over .16mg/l and they begin to have issues as well.

[ALang]

I thought that weekly small water changes would take care of iodine?
I really hate to add chemicals to the tank that I cannot measure, how does one know if we add enough? How much should we be adding?
I am looking forward to antoher clam this next little while, and I really want to make sure that the fella will be OK in my tank.

[doch]

Yes, I dose Iodine... I don't test for it, but I does the 'beginner amount' that is stated on the bottle... this on top of my weekly water changes. I do feed phyto on occasion... maybe a bottle every month or so... just kind of when I happen to remember to pick it up. I also dose KZ sponge power. ALang, I'm waiting on the same shipment, and in the same boat! I'm thinking that my tank in Fort Mac will be a better clam tank anyways. I can actually see past the penant on the top to see the clams glow. In Edmonton my fixture is so big I can't see anything from the top except during water changes.