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

[Aswswild]

So I have a question I have a T crocia and @1 year or more it has never attached
Here is a pic
Can u look at it an see if u can tell if it is doing good it has been a slow grower an I have noticed some white on tip of mantle

 

[eidels]

I've lost 3 clams over the years. June 2020 I bought a 21/2inch crocea from Your Reef. Now its about 3".
Lighting is radion gen3 which gets 150par to the bottom and some direct sunlight for a couple hours. I make my own phyto and dose a generous amount daily. I dose strontium and iodine once a week and have checked levels with Triton. It was doing great, so I thought. A couple of days ago it was on its side. In pic 1 you can see the dense fibrinous tissue attached to 2 pieces of rubble separated from the clam. Pic 3 shows the injury with what appears to be healthy tissue otherwise and also what could be bite marks. Not seen is one of the many huge bristle worms leaving the scene. Pic 4 is several days later on a clam hammock looking ok for now. To say the least it's distressing , I would think it would take weeks or months for this to heal and I don't have another system on standby. I'm convinced bristle worms are not just scavengers, much like hyenas, or African wild dogs. Help?

 

[OrionN]

I've lost 3 clams over the years. June 2020 I bought a 21/2inch crocea from Your Reef. Now its about 3".
Lighting is radion gen3 which gets 150par to the bottom and some direct sunlight for a couple hours. I make my own phyto and dose a generous amount daily. I dose strontium and iodine once a week and have checked levels with Triton. It was doing great, so I thought. A couple of days ago it was on its side. In pic 1 you can see the dense fibrinous tissue attached to 2 pieces of rubble separated from the clam. Pic 3 shows the injury with what appears to be healthy tissue otherwise and also what could be bite marks. Not seen is one of the many huge bristle worms leaving the scene. Pic 4 is several days later on a clam hammock looking ok for now. To say the least it's distressing , I would think it would take weeks or months for this to heal and I don't have another system on standby. I'm convinced bristle worms are not just scavengers, much like hyenas, or African wild dogs. Help?

What you see is just a byssus thread bundle that was sheaded by the clam. He will grow another one.

 

[OrionN]

So I have a question I have a T crocia and @1 year or more it has never attached
Here is a pic
Can u look at it an see if u can tell if it is doing good it has been a slow grower an I have noticed some white on tip of mantle

I am not entirely sure on the ID. Better top down picture and picture of the byssus opening is needed to ID it for sure.

 

[Aswswild]

I am not entirely sure on the ID. Better top down picture and picture of the byssus opening is needed to ID it for sure.

Ok will do today it has the big byssus opening. Do you see the edge of the mantle any idea why it’s looking faded.

 

[Aswswild]

Ok will do today it has the big byssus opening. Do you see the edge of the mantle any idea why it’s looking faded.

Here is top

 

[Acroporakiller]

Do clams just up and decide to die? I got a small wild derasa about 2-2.5 years ago, and it was awesome. It went from about 1.25" to about 3" i never really had any issues with it. However when I was preparing to move about a month ago I noticed it was closed up and tipped over from its normal spot. I righted it and it opened up halfway, but within 24 hours I pulled it out and scraped the remaining tissue from the shell to keep the shell. Nothing changed, my sps were all happy and growing.

 

[Phildago]

Has anybody ever placed a maxima clam on top of coral? I assume it's okay since the Maxima's grow on top of reef... And I have a maxima that is dealing well with montipora overgrowth.

I want to know if it's okay to place a brand new maxima on coral. And if not which types of coral are the ones to avoid

 

[RobB'z Reef]

Just curious, how can you tell if your clam is in too high of a flow area within your tank? How much should it be opening up?

 

[OrionN]

Just curious, how can you tell if your clam is in too high of a flow area within your tank? How much should it be opening up?

The clam mantel often lifted and fold under too much current sideways. Some clam open a lot and other does not open as much. How much is good for certain clam, you just have to have observe and decide. If you post a picture we can give you our opinion.
These are very subjective questions, no clear cut yes or no.

Has anybody ever placed a maxima clam on top of coral? I assume it's okay since the Maxima's grow on top of reef... And I have a maxima that is dealing well with montipora overgrowth.

I want to know if it's okay to place a brand new maxima on coral. And if not which types of coral are the ones to avoid

I had picture of my Maxima on a Montipora Cap somewhere. If I find it, I will post.
you can place the clam on any plate SPS, it you don't mind the coral shaded and died underneath the clam.
The clam will attach and use the coral to seal it's bysal opening.

 

[RobB'z Reef]

The clam mantel often lifted and fold under too much current sideways. Some clam open a lot and other does not open as much. How much is good for certain clam, you just have to have observe and decide. If you post a picture we can give you our opinion.
These are very subjective questions, no clear cut yes or no.

I had picture of my Maxima on a Montipora Cap somewhere. If I find it, I will post.
you can place the clam on any plate SPS, it you don't mind the coral shaded and died underneath the clam.
The clam will attach and use the coral to seal it's bysal opening.

Thanks for the response. Apologize for the subjective nature of the question. Here is a short video of the clam as it's currently placed. The internal tank flow is left and right from the clam as it's orientated (two vortechs on either sidewall of the tank). Let me know if you need a longer video or a different angle. Thanks!

 

[OrionN]

Thanks for the response. Apologize for the subjective nature of the question. Here is a short video of the clam as it's currently placed. The internal tank flow is left and right from the clam as it's orientated (two vortechs on either sidewall of the tank). Let me know if you need a longer video or a different angle. Thanks!

Your Maxima open well. There are good flow but not too much. Consider turn the clam axis 90 degree. Clams tolerate along their lengthbetter than across. His mantels are well extended.

 

[RobB'z Reef]

Your Maxima open well. There are good flow but not too much. Consider turn the clam axis 90 degree. Clams tolerate along their lengthbetter than across. His mantels are well extended.

Thank you very much for the advice! I was least confident about which way I should face him.

 

[Jack Ravensbergen]

Just curious , wich clam this is and what's the best place for him.
in the sand or on the rocks.
i saw this one at my lfc , he got it shipped in last friday .
so i agreed to pick it up next week , just leave it for a week to see if it stay's well .
Grtz , Jack

 

[Macbalacano]

I have a 4-inch squamosa clam that is just on the sand. Occasionally snails and my conch will tip it over on its side between 30 - 80 degrees. Should I be the one to move it back upright or just leave it alone? Its never put its foot down but seems super happy, it's been steadily growing (about to rows of new growth per month) and fully open.

 

[JayinToronto]

Just picked up these 2 beauties. Was planning to move them up to the rocks but honestly I love how they look on the sand. All other things being equal do you think the clams will be happier on a rock or in the sand? Thanks!

 

[hart24601]

Just picked up these 2 beauties. Was planning to move them up to the rocks but honestly I love how they look on the sand. All other things being equal do you think the clams will be happier on a rock or in the sand? Thanks!

All else equally considered it doesn’t matter, but that big caveat there is the light intensity is the same. Typically on rocks is closer to the light, however if not attached they risk a fall so all my clams are on the bottom but in around 300 or a lot more par.

 

[JayinToronto]

All else equally considered it doesn’t matter, but that big caveat there is the light intensity is the same. Typically on rocks is closer to the light, however if not attached they risk a fall so all my clams are on the bottom but in around 300 or a lot more par.

What's the ideal par?

 

[hart24601]

What's the ideal par?

I will not keep a clam in under 300 par. Some will do ok 200-250 as it does vary by species (derasa and gigas around 200) and even individuals of the same species need more or less. I am sure you will find some folk that have grown clams under less however that is the exception to the norm. Cultured vs wild also seems to matter with wild maximas needing more. I have 2 maximas and a crocea in 300 par, hippos and squammy have oddly responded better with around 600 par, while my derasas and gigas didn’t like quite that much and are growing best in that 250 to 300 range. I have experimented up to 1800 par however I didn’t see any major changes from 600-800 as they seem to get their fill of light and then just close so it was a waste of power to provide so much intensity.

 

[JayinToronto]

I will not keep a clam in under 300 par. Some will do ok 200-250 as it does vary by species (derasa and gigas around 200) and even individuals of the same species need more or less. I am sure you will find some folk that have grown clams under less however that is the exception to the norm. Cultured vs wild also seems to matter with wild maximas needing more. I have 2 maximas and a crocea in 300 par, hippos and squammy have oddly responded better with around 600 par, while my derasas and gigas didn’t like quite that much and are growing best in that 250 to 300 range. I have experimented up to 1800 par however I didn’t see any major changes from 600-800 as they seem to get their fill of light and then just close so it was a waste of power to provide so much intensity.

Wow, that’s interesting. I wouldn’t have thought they liked so much! Looks like they will be moving up in the world. Should I move them up the rocks and the par scale slowly or just find a nice 250-300 spot and give them their forever home right away?