Crocea Clam General Questions

[andrewt258]

Hello Everyones,

I wanna start by saying Im new to the hobby. I have a fluval 13.5 about 6 months old. I recently purchased a crocea clam from AlgaeBarn (1.5-2in). I did temperature acclimation and drip acclimation. The clam is on a clam holder on the bottom of the tank for light acclimation right now. I have AI Prime 16 HD running the Saxby setting with full intensity. I have couple questions for the experts.

1. How long should I acclimate the clam with the light? It opened up very nicely and very responsive to shadow.

2. Im going to feed it algaebarn phytoplankton. What other brand do you recommend and how often should I feed it?

3. Im going to attach couple photos. 1 showing the current location and 1 showing where I wanna move it up to. Can someone tell me if I move it up, will the light be too strong and bleach it? I do not know my par. The light is about 8-10in above water surface.

This is my parameters
1.025
Temp 78-79
NH3 0
NO2 0
NO3 3
PO4 0.03
Cal 450
Mg 1425
Alk 8.0
pH 8.0

I really appreciate any advices you may have. Thanks.

 

[LordofCinder]

congrats on your new clam.

Any type of phyto will do, it gets its food mostly/mainly from the light, so no need to feed too much at all, just a couple times a week is sufficient.

They can take a lot of light, much more than your hammer and candy cane, so I wouldnt worry about bleaching it. Mine is on the top rock 8 inches under 150 wats metal halide, they love light.

 

[Miami Reef]

Minimum 325 par needed for crocea.

The dilemma with about new clam owners is that they want to start slow, so they purchase a small clam, but crocea and maxima clams have a poor survival rate when they are under 3”.

I’m not trying to worry you, I just want you to understand that if you want to have the best chance of success, make sure this clam is acclimated to at least 350 par, and feed phytoplankton daily. They depend more on filter feeding than photosynthesis when they are under 3”.


So this is the dilemma part: new clam owners will lose the baby clam and give up, they assume they were the cause of the death, but it wasn’t even the reefer’s fault, since baby clams have a poor survival rate even in the wild!

So keep things stable, ensure your calcium and alkalinity is at a steady range to support calcification (the level is good where it is now), and definitely feed the phytoplankton.

 

[andrewt258]

congrats on your new clam.

Any type of phyto will do, it gets its food mostly/mainly from the light, so no need to feed too much at all, just a couple times a week is sufficient.

They can take a lot of light, much more than your hammer and candy cane, so I wouldnt worry about bleaching it. Mine is on the top rock 8 inches under 150 wats metal halide, they love light.

I got it couple days ago March 3rd to be exact. when should I move it up to the final spot? I heard many different opinion saying I should acclimate it to light for at least a week. Thanks for sharing your knowledge

 

[Miami Reef]

I got it couple days ago March 3rd to be exact. when should I move it up to the final spot? I heard many different opinion saying I should acclimate it to light for at least a week. Thanks for sharing your knowledge

It’s hard to tell without a par meter. Judging by the LPS corals thriving, I will assume that you don’t have enough light to support this clam. They are found no more than 10 meters deep in the ocean (they are very shallow water species). They smartest thing a person can do is design their system around the maxima/crocea, not the other way around!

Usually acropora are the corals that can housed similarly to croceas and maximas, they all have high demands of stability, alk, and light, while derasa clams are able to be kept at lower lights on the sandbed (with LPS).

 

[Sean Clark]

Good luck with your clam. Mine is still going strong after several years. My tank was much older when I added it though.

 

[LordofCinder]

I got it couple days ago March 3rd to be exact. when should I move it up to the final spot? I heard many different opinion saying I should acclimate it to light for at least a week. Thanks for sharing your knowledge

as you said, it seems happy in your tank, so no problem with waiting a week to give it a chance to get used to your tank. But put it in one spot and then leave it alone, dont keep moving it, you can kill it that way.

Try to borrow a par meter, AI Prime is a strong light and should support a clam in that small tank. But you have hammer and candy cane up top, so maybe your light is not turned on to max settings? something to check on...

In my own opinion and experience, clams are somewhat hardy, they can take parameter changes easier than corals can, just concentrate on good water and strong light

 

[andrewt258]

It’s hard to tell without a par meter. Judging by the LPS corals thriving, I will assume that you don’t have enough light to support this clam. They are found no more than 10 meters deep in the ocean (they are very shallow water species). They smartest thing a person can do is design their system around the maxima/crocea, not the other way around!

Usually acropora are the corals that can housed similarly to croceas and maximas, they all have high demands of stability, alk, and light, while derasa clams are able to be kept at lower lights on the sandbed (with LPS).

you think i might got lucky or it's a death sentence?

 

[andrewt258]

as you said, it seems happy in your tank, so no problem with waiting a week to give it a chance to get used to your tank. But put it in one spot and then leave it alone, dont keep moving it, you can kill it that way.

Try to borrow a par meter, AI Prime is a strong light and should support a clam in that small tank. But you have hammer and candy cane up top, so maybe your light is not turned on to max settings? something to check on...

In my own opinion and experience, clams are somewhat hardy, they can take parameter changes easier than corals can, just concentrate on good water and strong light

I dont know anyone that has a par meter. You know where I can rent one? I'm running the Saxby setting and not in the acclimation mode. I can check again but im sure it's at 100% intensity of that setting.

 

[Salty716]

I dont know anyone that has a par meter. You know where I can rent one? I'm running the Saxby setting and not in the acclimation mode. I can check again but im sure it's at 100% intensity of that setting.

The diffuser also blocks like 25% of intensity

 

[andrewt258]

The diffuser also blocks like 25% of intensity

so I guess high chance that the clam is slowly dying even though it's opening nicely ?

 

[Miami Reef]

so I guess high chance that the clam is slowly dying even though it's opening nicely ?

Not necessarily.

The clam looks healthy right now. That’s how most people start. It’s up to you to try your best at replicating what these clams evolved to. If it survives, excellent! If not, you tried your best with the knowledge you were given.

So your game plan is to place that clam as high as you can put it, start feeding phyto, and rent a par meter.

Some LPS can adapt to high lighting, but realistically, you’ll need to place most of them lower in the shadows if you will achieve the needed 350+ par.

 

[Sean Clark]

so I guess high chance that the clam is slowly dying even though it's opening nicely ?

This is hard to answer. I would give it as much light as it "likes" and observe over time.
Once it settles in it may be less responsive to lighting changes.

 

[Salty716]

Not necessarily.

The clam looks healthy right now. That’s how most people start. It’s up to you to try your best at replicating what these clams evolved to. If it survives, excellent! If not, you tried your best with the knowledge you were given.

So your game plan is to place that clam as high as you can put it, start feeding phyto, and rent a par meter.

Some LPS can adapt to high lighting, but realistically, you’ll need to place most of them lower in the shadows if you will achieve the needed 350+ par.

Euphyllia will adjust pretty well, the others should probably be kept down. A single AI prime in a 13.5 shouldn’t need a diffuser IMO so keeping the clam high in the tank under the eye of the light should be fine. I have an EVO and was getting 250-300 par without a diffuser w a single prime on such a small tank right under the eye, my rock was also higher placed than this though.

 

[andrewt258]

Not necessarily.

The clam looks healthy right now. That’s how most people start. It’s up to you to try your best at replicating what these clams evolved to. If it survives, excellent! If not, you tried your best with the knowledge you were given.

So your game plan is to place that clam as high as you can put it, start feeding phyto, and rent a par meter.

Some LPS can adapt to high lighting, but realistically, you’ll need to place most of them lower in the shadows if you will achieve the needed 350+ par

where can I rent a par meter? Im waiting for phyto shipment. hopefully it gets here asap

 

[Salty716]

where can I rent a par meter? Im waiting for phyto shipment. hopefully it gets here asap

LFS you can borrow/rent them usually.

 

[Sesty22]

where can I rent a par meter? Im waiting for phyto shipment. hopefully it gets here asap

If you have a hard time finding one to rent at an LFS like I was, you can always order a New one off of BRS and then return it. They offer the service, but charge you a restocking fee.

I think it cost me $100.

 

[Miami Reef]

If you have a hard time finding one to rent at an LFS like I was, you can always order a New one off of BRS and then return it. They offer the service, but charge you a restocking fee.

I think it cost me $100.

Yes, BRS sells them with a restocking fee of $100

It’s extremely worth the investment. I ordered it with the intention of returning it, but I decided to keep it because I’m getting corals in and out of QT and into the DT. It helps me plan exactly where each coral/clam should be at.

I currently have a maxima clam in QT, so my light is tuned to 400 par. As soon as it graduates I can easily tune it down and place something else in its place.

I never need to worry if lighting is an issue which crosses a headache off my list of things to worry about.

 

[andrewt258]

Yes, BRS sells them with a restocking fee of $100

It’s extremely worth the investment. I ordered it with the intention of returning it, but I decided to keep it because I’m getting corals in and out of QT and into the DT. It helps me plan exactly where each coral/clam should be at.

I currently have a maxima clam in QT, so my light is tuned to 400 par. As soon as it graduates I can easily tune it down and place something else in its place.

I never need to worry if lighting is an issue which crosses a headache off my list of things to worry about.

definitely top of my equipment list when I'm ready for full size tank