Wild collected Maxima worth trying?

NPS_Bulu · Feb 19, 2020

There's a Maxima clam at the LFS that I'm into. It's about 7". Judging from the size, this is definitely a wild collected one.

Does anyone have any idea if it looks healthy? It is reacting well to shadow. The mantle extension isn't as much as farmed one's but I understand that's typical with wild specimen. It is resting on sand in the lfs with a bunch of other squamosa and hippopus. I didn't have the chance to check the shell for white growth band.

I've learned that wild collected tridanca has terrible survival rate. Can anyone provide a rough estimate how many % didn't survive long term? Is it possible for a clam to appear healthy without PMD at the lfs but start dying later?

Thanks in advance!!

NPS_Bulu · Feb 19, 2020

@DSC reef would you have a look?

KrisReef · Feb 19, 2020

It looks nice!! Do you have other TM clams now? IF yes and they are doing well I'd think that your tank is probably a better place than the LFS long term.

NPS_Bulu · Feb 19, 2020

Currently I have none. I used to have a squamosa that had PMB, which appears OK at the LFS. I did a freshwater dip and it got stressed out and declined and died. So not a great experience for me, and killing a clam is not something I wanna do again.

NPS_Bulu · Feb 20, 2020

@OrionN Greatly appreciate if you could share your thoughts as well!

fabutahoun · Feb 20, 2020

I got 3 wild maximas in my reef tank, they are doing great. I got them 2-3 years ago.

NPS_Bulu · Feb 20, 2020

fabutahoun said:
I got 3 wild maximas in my reef tank, they are doing great. I got them 2-3 years ago.

Sounds good. How big are they when you got them?

OrionN · Feb 20, 2020

I think Maxima are really easy to keep as long as you keep your paramenters stable and have high light. I keep a lot of wild Maxima over the years. I would QT them well and not add any to your tank until you are sure that they don't carry any disease.

fabutahoun · Feb 20, 2020

NPS_Bulu said:
Sounds good. How big are they when you got them?

3-4 inches not that big

NPS_Bulu · Feb 20, 2020

OrionN said:
I think Maxima are really easy to keep as long as you keep your paramenters stable and have high light. I keep a lot of wild Maxima over the years. I would QT them well and not add any to your tank until you are sure that they don't carry any disease.

Thanks man... Will keep reminding myself of that.

NPS_Bulu · Feb 20, 2020

OrionN said:
I think Maxima are really easy to keep as long as you keep your paramenters stable and have high light. I keep a lot of wild Maxima over the years. I would QT them well and not add any to your tank until you are sure that they don't carry any disease.

Are you able to spot any red flags on the picture?

SoCalVictor · Mar 1, 2020

OrionN said:
I think Maxima are really easy to keep as long as you keep your paramenters stable and have high light. I keep a lot of wild Maxima over the years. I would QT them well and not add any to your tank until you are sure that they don't carry any disease.

How long would you recommend clams be in QT?

OrionN · Mar 1, 2020

I QT my clams for about 1 months. Checking for diseases, but also make sure they don't have any parasitic snails. I knock all the scutles off the clam and cut any attachment from the clam. That way, I can really clean the clam well and make sure that there are no parasites.
Dick the owner at Tropicorium also do prophylactic FWD on all the clams he received. If you are getting wild clams, you may want to do this.