Got a clam question? We've got you covered right here.

[Ms. Mermaid]

Best to put it on a piece of rock rubble, a plug, a shell, or some reefers use tile (though I'd be careful to ensure you're not adding heavy metals with the tile route). If you set it on the glass bottom it will attach to it. Ideally your qt lighting should be as close to your dt lighting in par value as possible though there is no need to spend extra money to have fancy controls or rich color. The animals won't be in there long enough for those issues to really matter. In choosing a light focus on quality of light output vs color and features. I'd also look to find a dimmable fixture so you can accomplish your light acclimation in qt and avoid shocking your critters

Is there any light that you would recommend for a ten gallon tank? I have found a few Nano led light fixtures just don't wont to spend a lot of money on a small light fixture to go over a 10 gallon tank. I have over my DT the Tao Tronics and reef breeders led fixtures.

 

[reggaedrummin]

I use reefbreeders on mine. They are a good quality, full featured, customizable, economical fixture. Their nano-lite should do the trick

 

[Browncoat]

Figure id post here also since skinz seems to know what he is talking about lol. But it is pretty new to my tank all parameters fall into what you have listed. Was wondering if this is pinched mantel. Others have told me to let it adjust which I am but want to catch it early if it is pm.

 

[reggaedrummin]

Pm is tough to diagnose from a picture. Please post your full water parameters. How long have you had the clam? What are your lighting specs? How long has it been retracted as seen in the pic? Have you treated the affected clam in any way?

 

[Browncoat]

Alk 8.9
Calc 420
Mag 1350
1.024 sg
Nitrate 0
Lights 3w cree led diy
Been in the tank since tuesday, looks the same since then.
Have not treated it with anything

 

[reggaedrummin]

What is your temp? Was it fully extended at the lfs before purchase or bought online? Where is it in the tank?

 

[Browncoat]

77-78°
Not sure if it was open or not a friend brought it over. Its halfway up in the tank. Was @ the top but it moved. So I put it halfway. Hasn't moved yet now for 3 days. Reacts well to light/shadows.

 

[reggaedrummin]

Everything sounds good so far... did you light acclimate it? Do you know what lighting it was under at the lfs? I can't tell from the pic of it's pm or just an unhappy clam. It's not fully open. The little experience I've had with pm was with croceas and they remained fully open but had a noticeable defect in their mantle. My educated guess would be that its just adjusting but hopefully you will continue to update and some others can weigh in. If you are dealing with pm, you can do either fresh water or iodine dips once a week to treat it

 

[Browncoat]

Sounds good, it came from a led/t5 fixture so I'm sure it's somewhat use to it. Not sure what before that. Yes that's what others are saying to that it just needs to adjust. I was wanting a few ppls thoughts on the matter as it's my first one I've taken care of. I will for sure keep updating and I appreciate your redponse!

 

[leptang]

Why does a clam's colors look way more intense at the top of the water column than from looking through the side of the glass of an aquarium?

 

[Daniel@R2R]

Why does a clam's colors look way more intense at the top of the water column than from looking through the side of the glass of an aquarium?

Great question!

 

[leptang]

Why does a clam's colors look way more intense at the top of the water column than from looking through the side of the glass of an aquarium?

Feature Article: Coral Coloration, Part 9: Tridacna and Other Photosynthetic Clam Coloration, With Observations on Possible Functions ? Advanced Aquarist | Aquarist Magazine and Blog
This link expands it will

 

[reggaedrummin]

I know you should not let the clam out of water, but how do you know if you have it burped?

You can remove a clam from water without issue in fact some live in tide pools and are out of the water naturally. The issue is if they get air trapped in their bissel valve. That's where burping comes in. Submerge the clam fully and rotate it slowly on both an x and y axis then keep it submerged after that. If they have any air trapped, simply rotating it will allow the clam to release it. The more you can keep it upright while it's out of water, the better off it will be.

 

[reggaedrummin]

These phone pics don't do justice but here are my three

 

[EdansClownHouse]

I hear that clams help take ammonia and nitrites out of the reef aquarium. If this is true, can you help with an idea of how much they take out?

 

[wowkingjames]

Thanks for the info

 

[lyn.battles]

Please help.
I have a 3" maxima he does not open very far he has attached to a small rock so I moved him to the top of tank which is about 15"away from a 4bulb t5 fix. Dont think he is getting to much flow but there is really good flow but his mantle extends to the tip of the shell no farther. Didnt know if it was normal. Had him around a week. He turns around several times a day<br/>

 

[lyn.battles]

He may be getting too much flow but not sure. Should I put him back in the sand with less flow

 

[ehutchby]

Need some help..I've had the two clams pictured, in my SPS dominated system, for over 1 year. They both looked great until one week ago. The clam on the right stopped extending it's mantel. The clam on the left is firmly mounted to the bare bottom of my tank and looks like it's doing really good. The clam on the right is not. I gently removed it this weekend and looked at the bottom of the clam. It's partially retracted and is brown, not clear milky white like I've seen other clams.
I've done some research and I just don't know what could be the problem. It could be a worm, but I don't see any. I've wandered if it could be the small, mini star fish in my system. Thoughts? Many thanks for any help.
I keep a very clean SPS system. Check my Alk 5 times per week.
Tank: 120g, 48x24x24
Alk 8 to 9Dkh
Calcium 450
Mag 1350
Salinity 1.025
Temp 78 to 78.5
Phosphates .0 to .04 (currently at .02)
Lighting: Two Orphek Atlantic 2.1 LED fixtures.

 

[Sangheili]

Sadly I have never seen a clam that looks that bad recover. Usually a sign of impending (hours not days) death.

It could have been slowly starving, it could have been polyclad worms or pyramid snails. It could have been some unknown-to-us disease. Really hard to tell, but thats a classic case of "mysterious overnight clam death" so don't take it too hard.