55g - Crocea Clam - Placement Question

[jpc763]

I have a 55g with T5 4x54w. I am interested in a Crocea Clam and was told by the LFS to put it in the sandbed and it will do great.

I have read on the boards and at the Dr's site that they need a hard substrate.

So where should I put it? Thanks in advance!

 

[PiXieCath]

Put it the higher as you can in your landscape. Crocea prefer to be placed on rock. In addition, you can keep Crocea with T5HO, but you have to put it close to the light

 

[WayneY]

I agree with PiXieCath. Make sure your calcium is 380-450ppm.

 

[jpc763]

My calcium is usually 420. I test it weekly.

I can move it up on the rock, but how do I get it to stay there? How long does it take to put it's foot out and secure itself?

Also, I fed it phytoplankton tonight after the lights went off. Is that the right time to feed it?

Thanks all. It is a very cool clam.

 

[chrisstie]

I have a large crocea in a very similar tank set up as the original poster and no matter how many times i try to get it to stay on my rockwork it has burrowed into this one place on the sand it likes so i let it be and it does very well there...

I have a littler one that did stick its foot out to stay on the rock that seems to be staying put so i think it depends a little about the age and realty available in the tank

 

[PiXieCath]

Make it stick in an oyster shell of your tank. After, just put the oyster shell with the clam in it to the top of your tank. You can also use two part epoxy to fix the oyster shell to your rock.

 

[jpc763]

OK, so after acclimation yesterday, I put it in the sand bed in a nice spot that gets good light and good flow. It seemed very happy and opened up nicely. I spot fed it last night and it seemed to be eating (how do you know ).

Today I moved it up onto the rockwork. It opened and the wriggled itself back off the rock to the same place on the sand where it happily opened up.

So should I leave it on the sand or keep trying to find a higher spot?

 

[WayneY]

I have croceas on my sand bed that actually take their foot through the crushed coral and grab the bottom glass. They are happy and looking good but I'm running halides and vho's. Iwould say try it there for a while and just watch the color and make sure it doesn't start to fade. If so you may have to move it higher.

 

[PiXieCath]

IMO, you should put it in the rockwork... And no need to target feed clams...in facts, they don't really need to be fed but if you really want, don't target feed, put live phyto directly in your tank and shut off your skimmer for an hours or two.

 

[WayneY]

If you do put it back on the rockwork, be careful where you place it or it may wiggle and fall deep into your rockwork and you will have to do some excavating to get to it. JMO.

 

[jpc763]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11819279#post11819279 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by PiXieCath
Make it stick in an oyster shell of your tank. After, just put the oyster shell with the clam in it to the top of your tank. You can also use two part epoxy to fix the oyster shell to your rock.

Silly question.

Which side of the oyster shell do I put it on? The inside (smooth) side or the outside?

 

[PiXieCath]

I'll go for the outside...it will be easyer to remove pyrams snails if you got some...

 

[ROB2005]

When placing them on the sand, check weekly for any pyramid snails on the underside of the clam.

 

[NewWorldWater]

I placed my crocea on the rockwork, directly under my light (MH), about 5" below the surface. It will stick anywhere I put it in a matter of a minute or two. I had it on the sand bed for a couple days, letting it adjust and it had to expell sand debris regularly.

 

[jpc763]

OK, every time I put him on the rock, he wiggles off and falls to the sand bed. He also does not open very much as he starts to wiggle as soon has he is placed.

Every time I put him in the sand, he puts his foot in and opens up nicely, looking quite happy.

An option is to bury a shell where he is happy and see if he likes that. But unless he starts to show signs of distress, I am going to leave him on the sand bed where he seems to be happiest.

 

[ahullsb]

I would place it higher in the tank like others have said. Crocea's like a lot of light. It likely tumbled off because it didn't have time to anchor itself to the rock. When they open and close they can accidentally rock themselves right off wherever you placed them. Just place a few pieces of rock around it for a few days so it can't fall off. Crocea's in the wild are most often found anchored to rock, not the sand.

 

[jpc763]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11830730#post11830730 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by PiXieCath
I'll go for the outside...it will be easyer to remove pyrams snails if you got some...

OK, so I finally found a store that sells oysters. I bought one.

I assume I open it, clean the meat out (fish food) and then put half the shell in the sand where the clam likes to hang out.

Once the clam attaches to the shell, move it up on the rock work.

Correct?

 

[jpc763]

OK, so this guys is starting to get on my nerves!

I buried both halves of the shell. I placed him on one half and he does this...

So I moved him to the flat side of the oyster shell. At first he looks like this.

Then eventually he knocks himself over like this.

I am ready to glue him down (not really).

Any suggestions???

 

[ROB2005]

He is just simply adjusting himself to where he feels most comfortable to gather light.....I guess.

 

[jpc763]

So the clam never attached to anything. I found a spot on the rock work where it is higher up and does not get bounced around when it opens and closes (has not fallen off yet).

How long until it "attaches"?

Thanks, John