Acclimatising a Tridacna derasa

[jdtaz69]

I bought a 2" derasa clam at the weekend which is now sitting nicely on the substrate on a reef putty boat I made for it I do have a few questions though.

It is under T5 lighting in about 16" of water but it has not opened very much so far. Should I move the clam higher up the rocks or is it just settling in?
I have read that the derasa doesn't like strong water currents, and for my size of tank I have quite a large turnover of water - could this be putting it off opening up?

I have not checked my water parameters since putting the clam in, but I will post these tomorrow hopefully. What I want to know is ... if I add a 2 part solution to my top-up water will this be overkill in terms of calcium provision? The clam is the only high calcium user in my tank and I do not have a kalk reactor due to lack of space. I change 10L (10%) of tank water every 14 days or so - will this replenish calcium and other elements sufficiently or shood I be adding a supplement?

This morning there were some amphipods climbing over the mantle - will they bother the clam too much? I have not read anywhere that they would, but they did seem quite interested in it.

Also, I have been advised by my LFS that an eco-aqualizer will give an extra 20% clarity to the water and thus improve conditions for the clam which will probably enable me to get a Tridacna maxima, but the equipment sounds too good to be true. Does anyone have any experience of them?

 

[JR719]

For starters..... If your clam is only 2", get ready for target or bowl feeding. I don't know if T-5's will be enough, someone else can chime in on this. Just make sure it is not in an area where it gets a direct blast from a pump or return. Unless you have something else in there that is sucking your calc, you should be fine with regular water changes. Just test your water every couple of days for calc to find out if you really need to add. I have never noticed amphipods on my clams, so not really sure if it is good or bad. As far as opening, could just be a couple day acclimation phase it is going thru. I am not familiar with an "eco-aqualizer". Just run a regular filter with poly-fiber, running a carbon filter won't hurt either. If your tank has "dirty" water, your clam won't get the light it needs. The clearer the better, that really applies if you don't have halides.
Hope this helps somewhat.

 

[jdtaz69]

Target or bowl feeding ... what's that? I have read that a clam will close if it is fed directly. I currently dose some phytoplankton every evening before lights out for my colt coral ... but I assume the clam will benefit from this too?

 

[JR719]

Sorta depends on the depth of your tank and how much trouble you want to go thru. At 2" your clam does not have the mantle to get its nutrition from light only. I had to put one, and the rock it was attached to, into a bowl then put a little phyto in it. Just enough to make the water a light green color. Watch it, and when the water begins to clear, put the clam back in the tank.
Some have used basters and such to target the clam. If your tank is not very deep, you could find a large tube that will fit over the clam. The other end of course being out of the water. Add a little phyto and wait a few minutes.
Since you already add phyto, I hope your filters and such are turned off, right? That may be enough to do the trick, if your adding a fair amount. Once the clam is over 3", it should do fine with light only, no more adding phyto. If your adding to feed other corals, that should not hurt.
Just do a search on target feeding and bowl feeding in this forum.

 

[jdtaz69]

I would go to a lot of trouble for clams now that I have one ... I think they are the most amazing animal, and for my next setup I intend it to be geared specifically for their needs.

I have been advised by my LFS that the phyto will not be taken out by the skimmer so I have kept it running (I was quite surprised by this to be honest). I will probably give it a couple more days for it to settle onto it's support before I start to bowl feed - I will let you know how it goes.

Thanks for the info. I will post my parameters as well as soon as I've tested.

 

[jdtaz69]

I'm pleased to announce that this lunchtime my little clam was as open as when I first saw it at the LFS and it looked to be in great condition. This is despite coming down in the middle of the night to get a drink of water and peeking into the tank ... the clam was on its side with a superturbo on top of it! The super turbo is going on a permanent holiday on Saturday.
It appears that clams, like fish, take a few days to get over their innitial shyness

 

[mbbuna]

just keep adding the phyto to the tank.clams feed slowly all day long,you will need to start testing CA and ALK to know if you need to add anything.and save your money on the eco thing it does nothing but empty your wallet do a search on it,just a few magnets PVC pipe and a pretty wrapper

 

[jdtaz69]

I tested my calcium level last night - 410ppm. Think this needs boosting? The clam is the only major calcium user in the tank, although I do plan to have more in the near future.

 

[Polyptician]

I keep two croceas happy and growing under T5's

 

[ctopal]

What is a reef putty boat? I am in the market for a deresa and I'm trying to learn everything I can.

Thanks!

 

[jdtaz69]

A derasa clam should be placed on the substrate as found in nature. However, this can lead to exposure of the byssal opening to bristle worms who like to get in there and eat the clam from the inside. If you make a sausage out of reef putty, flatten it, press the clam onto it slightly to make an impression to ensure a snug fit, and then allow the putty to harden out of water for a couple of hours. Keep the little boat under the clam slightly covered by substrate and the clam should attach to it and help prevent bristleworm attack.

Or ... you could buy a maxima which prefers to be on rockwork - mine had glued itself to a rocky shelf in under a week!