BluScrnOdeth
Darin Schmidt
This is an attempt to breed clams at home. I will do everything in my power to NOT harm the clams and try to make this successful.
The one thing that bothers me the most is how to get zooxanthellae without killing or severely hurting another clam, so that has yet to be determined on what to do.... Wondering if i might be able to just "scrape" some off provided i can keep the clams shell open without permanently damaging it.
This will NOT be done only in my display tank. The large clams WILL live in my DT but will NOT be breeding in it.
I will give you just a basic overview of what i plan on doing. I call it basic because I'm sure it will change a thousand times over the process of actually doing it.
Basically:
Let them out of the water for an hour at a time, warm them to about 85 degrees at most and place them back in the DT till they start to get their groove on. If that doesnt work, i'll wait 30min and repeat the process. If 2-3 attempts fail, i'll wait a week and attempt the same but for a longer duration. Maybe 1.5 hrs.
Then IF they start pouring out stuff, i'll shift them to a water container filled with PREMADE, 83 degree water (to help avoid temp shock), NOT tank water. Once the eggs start coming out I will shift it to another bucket. I will do the same for Clam 2.
Since Clams can lay 75% more sperm than eggs, i will dilute it to a 5:1 mixture. Yes i said 5:1. I would rather under fertilize than over fertilize. Then mix (depending on how many are there) then in a 10-20gal tank. Though i do have a spare 55gal i'm not doing anything with....
Then follow the Clam Guide for the rest of the process. Once they are 14-15 days old, i will be putting them in my refuge tank after a 3hr acclimation period. and wait for them to get acclimated to that. Then maybe after a month, if they are over an inch or two, i'll put them in my DT with the LEDs so they can take advantage of the light. My refuge isnt highly lit up (indirect 4 23w(100w eq) 2700k CFL's for my algae scrubber. And then go on from there. Maybe do this twice a year.
BUT first thing is first. Growing some Phytoplankton as a food source for when they are first developing.
There are 3 types of phyto I will be culturing. Nannochloropsis oculata, Isochrysis galbana, and Tetraselmis.
Nanno and Tetra are both green and grow in different sizes. Nano - 2-4 micron, Tetra - 9-14 micron. I was against doing Tetra because of the size, but i figured, the more food types, the better. Plus Tetra, according to Breeders (http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/aug2002/breeder.htm) contains antibiotic like compounds. So it couldnt hurt.
Iso G. Its a brown color and is hard to grow, as I'm finding out. First batch is a fail (i dont think that i kept the temp stable enough). It's size is ideal as i'm hoping that Iso G and Nanno are small enough for them to consume on day 2, though feeding is optional.
So with that said, until i get the Iso G growing, I will be holding off on buying any Large Clams for breeding. I'm ordering another couple batches tomorrow and should have plenty of Nanno and Tetra provided i can keep the colonies alive.
I could always buy dead plankton to feed, but whats the fun in that... BTW, i'll get some pics hopefully tomorrow on here. I have finals and junk coming up this week so time is precious right now.
If you have any questions or comments, feel free to post. Haters, please keep the board civil.
The one thing that bothers me the most is how to get zooxanthellae without killing or severely hurting another clam, so that has yet to be determined on what to do.... Wondering if i might be able to just "scrape" some off provided i can keep the clams shell open without permanently damaging it.
This will NOT be done only in my display tank. The large clams WILL live in my DT but will NOT be breeding in it.
I will give you just a basic overview of what i plan on doing. I call it basic because I'm sure it will change a thousand times over the process of actually doing it.
Basically:
Let them out of the water for an hour at a time, warm them to about 85 degrees at most and place them back in the DT till they start to get their groove on. If that doesnt work, i'll wait 30min and repeat the process. If 2-3 attempts fail, i'll wait a week and attempt the same but for a longer duration. Maybe 1.5 hrs.
Then IF they start pouring out stuff, i'll shift them to a water container filled with PREMADE, 83 degree water (to help avoid temp shock), NOT tank water. Once the eggs start coming out I will shift it to another bucket. I will do the same for Clam 2.
Since Clams can lay 75% more sperm than eggs, i will dilute it to a 5:1 mixture. Yes i said 5:1. I would rather under fertilize than over fertilize. Then mix (depending on how many are there) then in a 10-20gal tank. Though i do have a spare 55gal i'm not doing anything with....
Then follow the Clam Guide for the rest of the process. Once they are 14-15 days old, i will be putting them in my refuge tank after a 3hr acclimation period. and wait for them to get acclimated to that. Then maybe after a month, if they are over an inch or two, i'll put them in my DT with the LEDs so they can take advantage of the light. My refuge isnt highly lit up (indirect 4 23w(100w eq) 2700k CFL's for my algae scrubber. And then go on from there. Maybe do this twice a year.
BUT first thing is first. Growing some Phytoplankton as a food source for when they are first developing.
There are 3 types of phyto I will be culturing. Nannochloropsis oculata, Isochrysis galbana, and Tetraselmis.
Nanno and Tetra are both green and grow in different sizes. Nano - 2-4 micron, Tetra - 9-14 micron. I was against doing Tetra because of the size, but i figured, the more food types, the better. Plus Tetra, according to Breeders (http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/aug2002/breeder.htm) contains antibiotic like compounds. So it couldnt hurt.
Iso G. Its a brown color and is hard to grow, as I'm finding out. First batch is a fail (i dont think that i kept the temp stable enough). It's size is ideal as i'm hoping that Iso G and Nanno are small enough for them to consume on day 2, though feeding is optional.
So with that said, until i get the Iso G growing, I will be holding off on buying any Large Clams for breeding. I'm ordering another couple batches tomorrow and should have plenty of Nanno and Tetra provided i can keep the colonies alive.
I could always buy dead plankton to feed, but whats the fun in that... BTW, i'll get some pics hopefully tomorrow on here. I have finals and junk coming up this week so time is precious right now.
If you have any questions or comments, feel free to post. Haters, please keep the board civil.
, I owe it all to my algae scrubber
