1st clam - got a few questions

[Turtlesteve]

I just picked up a gorgeous blue 2" t. crocea for $45 today at the LFS. I have already done a bit of research already, but i want to make sure i didn't miss anything (I never found much species-specific info. on t. crocea.)

Lighting: I have MH (250 watt iwasaki). How far away should i place the clam?

It is attached to a couple of small rocks, should i bury these in the sandbed? Or, should the clam be on the rockwork?

Is feeding necessary? How much, how often? Should i turn off the skimmer when feeding, or move the clam to a separate tank?

PS. Is $45 expensive for this clam?

 

[K. Lee]

How deep is your tank? I'd think with 250 mh, a maxima would be fine on the bottom of a 24" or less tank. Crocea's need more light than maximas do, however. Start at the bottom, and work the animal upwards slowly if it doesn't open fully is my best advice.

No money is too much for a clam.

 

[Turtlesteve]

No money is too much for a clam.

Yeah, well, my parents think i'm crazy.


anyways, here's a pic of the clam:

 

[holeinone1972]

Very nice indeed! Congrats on your clam, sweet!!

 

[MiNdErAsR]

At 2" your clam will be more dependant on food then light. Be sure to provide plenty of live phytoplankton for you clam. At least until it reaches a size where light plays an increased role in the clam's survival.

I think (in the mean time) the advise to start the clam towards the bottom of your tank, and slowly moving it up is for the best, unless you know it was raised under intense lighting from the start and not sitting for months under NO tubes at the LFS.

HTH

 

[Squidman]

Yeah, well, my parents think i'm crazy.

My wife thinks I'm crazy but clams will do that to ya. I'm rearranging my current reef to fit more clams and I just setup a new tank (72G) to put clams in. I have 5 clams now and every time my supplier gets a new shipment I find more that I have to have. Now if I could just afford more lighting...

 

[3_high_low]

Not that it matters but it looks more like a T. maxima. Either way, nice clam! And I agree with Minderasers suggestion on placement and feeding.

Enjoy that baby! As for myself, I'm clamless for a few months due to the mystery desease killing all three of mine.

 

[Turtlesteve]

I'm about 90% sure its crocea but i attached another pic from a different angle to make sure (forgive the photo quality, and the algae)

Where can i order some DT's? (the LFS doesn't carry it)
Can someone define exactly what constitutes "gaping?" The clam's inhalent? siphon (the one with the tentacles) is open kind of wide (from stress?). I can't get a photo at that angle but it's wide enough that you could almost see inside of the clam.


PS. i noticed yesterday that the clam is not always blue. Or, it is blue only when you view it at 45 degrees off horizontal. From the top it's bright turquoise, and from the horizontal it's purple (you can see in the pic). Are all clams like this?

 

[K. Lee]

Yes, all clams will appear differently when viewed from different angles like your description. I've heard this is from glass, but, do not know if this is the case, perhaps someone with an acrylic aquarium could comment (unless there are similar "impurities" in acrylic. FWIW, also, I believe flourescence is caused by the reflection of light on molecules which are aligned (in my laymen terms). Seems to me the clams colors are more or less flourescent.

A gaping clam would not be "could almost see inside of the clam". Gaping clams are obvious when you see one, and the gills are clearly visible then. FWIW, because all the tridachnids have differences in morphology, the degree to which a clam is considered gaping is also different. I think derassa's can open their inhalant syphon the most. A gaping derassa's inhalant siphon gets as large as the clams mantle (width wise).

In the sideview shot of that clam, it looks like a T.maxima because of the "largish" scutes. T. crocea has much more "dense", and less long scutes than T. maxima.

On second thought, that might just be the lighting too.