Are certain clams harder to keep than others?

[bignick]

Hi,

I was just curious before i start to buy more clams. Are there certain clams that are harder to keep than others? If so what types and why are they harder to keep.

At the moment i only have two clams and i have beem searching for a new clam but am not sure which to go with. At the moment i have two tanks set up one is strictly SPS and the other is strictly LPS and softies. I have crcea in the SPS (on the sand) and a Derasa in the LPS tank (also on the sand). I would like to get a Maxima for my next clam as i love the coloring on Maximas. I open to all sorts of clams i just have always wanted to keep a maxima. I would basically like to keep all the different species of clams in my two tanks, especially a Gigas clam! I know/learned not to try and keep Clams under 3" as they have a higher mortality rate.

I started with 3 Croceas when i first started my Clam exploaration and of the three two were around 4" and the other was 3" The two bigger ones would not attach themselves in the sand and i have a very shallow sand bed (1"). The smaller one did however attach and has been doing fine. i lost the two bigger clams 10 days and 13 days after i introduced them to my tank. they both spit their foot and died. They died within 3 days of each other. I asked my LFS and they assumed it was something living in the sand that was doing it. I tried shinig a flash light late at night to see if i could see anything and i saw nothing attacking my third clam and it has been doing fine ever since. I basically shalked the deaths up to being a freak thing. Not sure what it could've been. Last weekend i added a Derasa (4") to my LPS tank and it has been doing very well ever since.

I have 3-400w bulbs over my SPS and a 150 over my LPS. Can i basically keep all clams under my lighting?

Sorry i got sidetracked there. I am still curious as to if there are certain clams that are harder to keep than others?

Thanks,
Nick

 

[ezcompany]

Maxima > Crocea > Squamosa > Gigas / Deresa in that general order

 

[skinz78]

your lighting looks fine.
Where did you find that avatar?

 

[bignick]

So basically Maximas are the hardest to keep?

Skinz78,

Google "highway to hell" under images

 

[skinz78]

yes they are difficult, if you get one the maxima's under 2" are alot harder.

 

[bignick]

I'll try and hold out until i have more experience under my belt. I think i could try all the rest though. I would love to get a gigas.

 

[Potsy]

Traditionally, croceas are thought to be the most delicate due to the relatively large byssal opening - opens the door to infection and parasites - and their being the most demanding with regard to light intensity.

Also, croceas are found on hard surfaces in nature, a few feet below the surface in shallow water. They excrete acids to burrow into the rock. Mine burrowed itself a good three inches into a chunk of live rock.

My personal experience is a bit different though - I find maximas very difficult - lost two shortly after purchase (although they were probably starving before I even got them home) and had one for five years that didn't ever grow and finally perished during a move. The crocea, purchased at the same time, reached full size in about two years. My guess is that maximas are more dependent on supplemental feeding than croceas. Through ignorance I didn't feed phyto.