My first clam

[vpierce3]

Hi all. I’ve been in the hobby a long time and I finally got a clam: a Derasa. Below is a picture. He looks good to me but I’d appreciate if any of you see any problems to please mention it. I already changed my water flow a bit so that that one mantle lays down flat. He acclimated well and opened right up. He also responds well to movement above. Thank you.

 

[muggle0981]

Very nice

 

[dschuffert]

Wow, looks nice! I don't know anything about clams but have always been fascinated with them.

 

[Jcantrell]

Looks good to me. You will come to find that clams are actually really easy to care for. If you have a good light then you are good to go. I feed mine with live Phytofeast but I'm not sure that it is really necessary.

 

[DeniseAndy]

Good light and not being bothered, it should grow nicely. Just make sure to keep up the ALk, Ca, Mg for good growth and health! Nice derasa there!

 

[OrionN]

Take care of parasitic snails, take care of PMD. Don’t introduce clam disease into your tank. Good stable water quality, not overstock clams (result is short of trace elements I think) and bright full spectrum light. Clams are really easy as long as you follow the above and don’t have pest that bothers them.
about light, I never like blow light so I never grow clams with just blue light. Alway full spectrum white light for the last 25 years did great for me and my clams.

 

[i cant think]

Hi all. I’ve been in the hobby a long time and I finally got a clam: a Derasa. Below is a picture. He looks good to me but I’d appreciate if any of you see any problems to please mention it. I already changed my water flow a bit so that that one mantle lays down flat. He acclimated well and opened right up. He also responds well to movement above. Thank you.
View attachment 2896629

Is the Deresa sat on anything other than just the sand bed?
I’ve found deresa like to burrow themselves into the sand Atleast a bit. Also, that mantle looks to be slightly more out on the right side, is this due to a shadow causing the left to retract?
The other thing that worries me about the mantle is that spotted line seems to stop as it gets towards that left side. The spotted line should ring the whole mantle. This is my deresa from top down, that blue ring is the spotted line and my deresa lost this ring as it wasn’t getting enough lighting in my previous nano. Now it’s under I believe 350PAR - possibly 300, it’s been a while since I checked PAR however I haven’t changed my rock scape or lighting situation since I last checked.

And here’s what I mean by they like to burrow themselves into the sand (Also with this you can see the amount of new growth that I got in the past 100 days);

Another thing you may not already know is, as Deresa’s get larger they use their weight to keep themselves balanced so they eventually release their byssal threads.

 

[vpierce3]

Is the Deresa sat on anything other than just the sand bed?
I’ve found deresa like to burrow themselves into the sand Atleast a bit. Also, that mantle looks to be slightly more out on the right side, is this due to a shadow causing the left to retract?
The other thing that worries me about the mantle is that spotted line seems to stop as it gets towards that left side. The spotted line should ring the whole mantle. This is my deresa from top down, that blue ring is the spotted line and my deresa lost this ring as it wasn’t getting enough lighting in my previous nano. Now it’s under I believe 350PAR - possibly 300, it’s been a while since I checked PAR however I haven’t changed my rock scape or lighting situation since I last checked.
View attachment 2924918
And here’s what I mean by they like to burrow themselves into the sand (Also with this you can see the amount of new growth that I got in the past 100 days);
View attachment 2924919

Another thing you may not already know is, as Deresa’s get larger they use their weight to keep themselves balanced so they eventually release their byssal threads.

Thank you for all the info. I took the picture when I had just got him. The mantle on the one side was just pushed because of flow. I have since relocated it.
He has also colored up nicely….and the spotted line does extend all the way around.
He is sitting on the sand with a small pvc cradle I made in the sand to keep him from falling over.
I didn’t know they loose their byssal strands….great info, thank you.
Here is a recent picture. I think there’s still too much flow around him tho.

 

[MinnieMouse2]

Best water cleaner around. I have some in every tank I own. I run with 0 phos, 0 nitrates which is not good. Likewise, I have to dose nitrates. They keep your water low low nutrient level. I feed Reef Nutrition

SDAQUARIST™​

A blend of the 6 most widely used marine microalgae for use with invertebrates, chosen for their superior nutritional value: Isochrysis, Pavlova, Tetraselmis, Chaetoceros calcitrans, Thalassiosira weissflogii and Thalassiosira pseudonana