Don’t be shellfish, what is your experience with clams?

[Scorpius]

I am receiving my an ultra maxima clam from Pacific in a couple of weeks. I am studying info on care. Any helpful tips would gladly be welcome.
take care everyone

Number one killer of clams for me is Pyramid snails and PMD. There are great articles on this forum on both. Pay particular attention on the Pyramid snails. They are absolute hell to deal with.

 

[rc4kinu]

What kind of snails should we be checking for at night? I just bought a Maxima 2 days ago. Looks happy so far. I did no dip or scrub. Straight into the tank.

Article regarding predatory snails “Pyrams are smaller in size than the predatory species mentioned previously, with the largest reaching about a quarter of an inch (6 millimeters) long (Cumming 1988 and Boglio & Lucas 1997) . They’re also light in color, and typically stay hidden on the undersides of a clam’s shells, or in the petal-like scutes present on the shells of some species, or buried in the sand/gravel substrate during the day. So, they can be very hard to spot and you have to look for them very, very carefully.”

This post is what to look for. Best description is a grain of white rice. Use a blue led flash light and you can see them more clearly. Don’t dip your clams in any pest remover for SPS’s it will kill your clams. Fresh water dip only if they show signs of pinched mantle. What you did is fine less stress on the clam and gives you opportunity to observe without undue stress. Btw remove snails with hair tweezers (go buy one don’t use your girlfriend’s).

 

[Scorpius]

Took me nearly a year to eradicate Pyramid snails.

 

[Sean Clark]

Btw remove snails with hair tweezers (go buy one don’t use your girlfriend’s).

Life lesson learned.

 

[Bitcoin Reefer]

H

Took me nearly a year to eradicate Pyramid snails.

How did you do it?

 

[RobMcC]

I've had mixed success with clams. The reason for the demise is not always clear. Pyramid snails almost always seem to be present on clams from any vendor, but they are fairly easy to deal with if you are diligent in scrubbing off the adults and eggs every day for a week or two then every few days for a few months. Harder to deal with are leopard polyclad flatworms, Pericelis tectivorum. I was trying my best to keep them out of my latest system but they made it in. They are devastating to clams and I haven't found any good natural predator. None of the dips appear to have any effect on them either. Currently, I only have T. gigas one of which I got a few years ago from ORA. It was 1.5" when purchased and is now about 20" across. It's in a system free of polyclad flatworms (dry rock start and only frags on plugs put into it). The second one arrived today! The bag burst during shipping, but it seems okay - touch wood.

 

[N.Kaos]

I added a small maxima clam to my 45 about a year ago. He's grown quite a bit (will eventually have to remove him to a larger home) but recently fell from his perch to the substrate, I imagine because of the size and weight increase. His beautiful blue mantle is getting a little white so I suspect he's not getting enough light down there (and possibly less flow), and I'll need to move him upward again.

Tank is LED lit, I use reef roids but rarely feed, but I do have a thriving pod population for my dragonette that probably keeps some amount of live zooplankton in the water. Parameters are very stable with undetectable nutrients and I've zealously kept pests out of the aquarium with pesticide dips (not on the clam, obviously, he got a vigorous brushing and inspection). I imagine no small amount of luck plays a part in my success with him so far as well, which I hope will hold out as I move him!

 

[vlangel]

I am batting 500 when it comes to clams. My first clam was a smallish Crocea, (just under 3"), that I got from a lfs. I had Clammy for years and it grew to a nice 6" clam before I sold it because I was getting seahorses.
After that I bought a clam from Live Aquaria and it looked good and then after a couple of months it just perished overnight. I never knew what went wrong but haven't tried any since.

 

[exnisstech]

I have tried twice unsuccesfully. That was before I bought a par meter. Now I know why I failed Par meter is now one of my most valuable tools in the hobby. I would like to try again but I have a CBB on the tank that has enough light to support one.

 

[RobMcC]

I have tried twice unsuccesfully. That was before I bought a par meter. Now I know why I failed Par meter is now one of my most valuable tools in the hobby. I would like to try again but I have a CBB on the tank that has enough light to support one.

I keep a copper band butterfly with clams. I’ve never seen the fish even remotely interested in the them. Prior to the current gigas the CBB was also with three nice crocea with no issue, so I wouldn’t rule it out. Of course, your mileage may vary.

 

[exnisstech]

I keep a copper band butterfly with clams. I’ve never seen the fish even remotely interested in the them. Prior to the current gigas the CBB was also with three nice crocea with no issue, so I wouldn’t rule it out. Of course, your mileage may vary.

Thanks
I have read of mixed results. I'll probably try a clam again if I find it a nice one locally. Eventually the CBB will be moving into larger tank once it grows some more.

 

[kevgib67]

Back in the late 90’s early 2000’s I purchased a maxima clam. Did great for 6 months and then declined rapidly. I then purchased a derasa, told it was easier to keep. Did great for 6 months and then rapidly declined. I gave up. Looking back I know now I had insufficient par for a clam, pre-led’s. I didn’t know what par was back then and assumed if my lps were growing like weeds that I could keep clams. My lfs’s were more than happy to sell me them.

 

[HudsonReefer2.0]

I know how to keep clams alive for years upon years and have some very large ones. The problem is it is hard to be able to find clams to buy, and if you do, they need to be in good condition health wise. You often buy clams that are very weak. They will look fine but have been starved or just not a good one, then they go down fast. I spent in the last year 600.00 trying to find another pretty Maxima and lost all of them. My system has five clams of all kinds. That kind of money adds up. Something I think that is pushing people out of the hobby, it is not only clams. You get weak fish, weak corals, and even snails that fail to thrive.

The quality of the clam is paramount to success

 

[Biota_Marine]

@Biota_Marine clams are very healthy from my experience. Also 5 clams does not equal all kinds.

Thank you for tagging us and kind words about our clams. We love them too and hope to bring more varieties to the hobby in the future. We actually just received our first 3 gigas ever produced at our Palau facility this past weekend which I'm very excited about.

Also with Maxima clams I've personally found them and squamosa to be among the most difficult to keep. Many sources of maxima clams tend to be on the sketchy and like mentioned above arrive pretty weak. Also I cannot state enough how helpful supplemental feeding is for them to have them grow quickly and keep awesome coloration. Light is very important but putting in some live phyto or paste every couple of days really keeps the growth consistent.

 

[Scottanne]

I would love to have a blue maxima clam but am intimidated in getting one. I have a 32 gal. biocube and just not sure it meets parameters for clams. Anyone else have experience with clams in small tanks to share? Thanks!

 

[kevgib67]

I would love to have a blue maxima clam but am intimidated in getting one. I have a 32 gal. biocube and just not sure it meets parameters for clams. Anyone else have experience with clams in small tanks to share? Thanks!

Ya, stock lights would not have enough par on the sandbed. You would need Steve’s turbo upgrade package that is specifically for Biocube 32g.

 

[Scottanne]

Ya, stock lights would not have enough par on the sandbed. You would need Steve’s turbo upgrade package that is specifically for Biocube 32g.

Thanks for info!

 

[Bitcoin Reefer]

Thank you for tagging us and kind words about our clams. We love them too and hope to bring more varieties to the hobby in the future. We actually just received our first 3 gigas ever produced at our Palau facility this past weekend which I'm very excited about.

Also with Maxima clams I've personally found them and squamosa to be among the most difficult to keep. Many sources of maxima clams tend to be on the sketchy and like mentioned above arrive pretty weak. Also I cannot state enough how helpful supplemental feeding is for them to have them grow quickly and keep awesome coloration. Light is very important but putting in some live phyto or paste every couple of days really keeps the growth consistent.

When people say live phyto, does that include the white cap phyto feast one? I think there are two, black and white? Black is live, white is phyto, but not live, and lasts much longer from what I understand? It says Tridacnid Clams as one of the things it feeds on the label.

 

[weave]

Tried it out couple months ago. I know they say small ones are tough. Got a darasa and max at a swap. The darasa kept trying to plant its foot and max never did. They both reacted well and closed up when shadowed and also ate well (phyto, roids ab) kept coming home to them knocked over. My hermits were always around them from the start to finish. One day I came home and something drug off the rock and down to a cave and was left empty shell

 

[oregon reefer]

I learned the hard way that keeping a clam Isn’t the issue it’s the inhabitants you have in your tank, I brought some live rock from a a website (not this one) and there ended being a crab that I don’t know the name but his house is s turbo snail shell. Long story short got a gold maxima and in the morning the crab was picking at the mantle, next time even though crab is gone I’ll be putting clan on a 3inch piece of pvc and a clam hammock on top. Live and learn.

I believe you are absolutely right about this. I bought two beautiful maxima clams which were doing fine and noticeably growing. Unfortunately one day my cleaner shrimp discovered they were delicious, and finished them off overnight.