1st try failed, now round 2 (new clam)

Syris

New member
I got my very first clam in June this year. It was a nice blue maxima but died 18dys later:( I was using 2 - 175w MH w/220w actnic VHO. My tank is healthy considering my SPS and others corals are growing. I did have a cyano and hair algae problem but it was minor. I never saw anything bothering the clam (fish, pyramid snails, ect) It just started to pinch on the mantle and then died. It was 3" in size.


Warp forward to today, I bought my second clam a 1.5" crocea 4 days ago. I observed the clam very closely at the lfs. It has even coloration, reacts to light, and was at the lfs for 3weeks before I bough it. My lighting has been upgraded 3 weeks ago to 2 - 250w MH and still w/220w actnic VHO. The lighting schedule was reduced by 3 hrs. Starting this week I will raise photoperiod by 1/2hr per week until I get back to 8hrs/day for MH. Cyano and hair algae gone. Ca is 390, Alk 9.2dKH, temp 82F normally 79-80(summer :rolleyes: ), salinity 1.024. I placed the clam on a flat piece of LR just under the sand in the middle of my tank. It has already attached to the rock. Was gaping for the first 2 days but has settled down.

Now the point of this post. Does anyone see anything wrong with my setup or any advice? Should I supplement feeding with phytoplankton?
I want to make sure this clam lives otherwise I'm done with clams for a while as I must be doing something wrong.

Oh here is a picture of my new clam. Not the best angle but...

Crocea1_2003_0803.JPG


Thanks
Bill
 
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Sorry to hear about you losing your clam. I tried a crocea clam about 6 month ago and it later died. I then tried adding 2 more clams about a month ago and one of them died. The other is still doing great. My parameters are in check and my lighting is sufficient (2 250w MH and 2 96w 03 actinics). You and I may just have gotten some bad clams??? But that will not stop me from buying more clams. If you a "clam newbie" like I am, people have suggested buying clams that are at least 2.5" since they are easier to keep than the smaller guys.

Your lighting setup sounds fine to me. I would suggest feeding DT's. You can take the clam out of the bowl or feed the whole tank all together. Has your clams attached itself to the rock yet? Mine did.

BTW, your clam looks exactly like mine. They must be twins. :D Good luck with yours.
 
My first clam that died was 3"-3.5". This one is much smaller only 1.5" maybe 2". Can't see it in the photo but there is a flat piece of LR under it. And it has attached to it already but loosely (still falls over sometimes) I will try bowl/phyto feeding. How many times a week should I do this?

Thanks
 
yeah, if it is 1.5" you should be feeding phyto since younger clams can't fully support themselves on the zooxanthellae in their tissue yet. I feed everyday, but I don't use the bowl method.
 
Syris said:
My first clam that died was 3"-3.5". This one is much smaller only 1.5" maybe 2". Can't see it in the photo but there is a flat piece of LR under it. And it has attached to it already but loosely (still falls over sometimes) I will try bowl/phyto feeding. How many times a week should I do this?

Thanks
I would feed the clam at least 3 times per week. That's what I do with mine. Be sure to turn off your skimmer if you feed the whole tank. If you're gonna bowl feed it, 30 minutes should be sufficient for the water to clear up.
 
good luck on your new clam. I feed my 2"clam every other day with dt's. I use the pop bottle method. I am not an expert by far but I have had my clam for almost 4 weeks and already it is showing signs of growth 1/16th to 1/8" of new white shell. Make sure you don't have too much of a concentration of the phyto as it will clog the clams gills.

You might want to bring your calcium level up a bit. Ours is at 440 ppm. I read somewhere that 400-450ppm is the optimal level to help the clams thrive. (Too tired right now to hunt for the link. lol)


Again good luck and keep us posted :)
 
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