can anyone tell me why??

[chicki]

you can only see the colors of a clam from directly on top? I thought those clams I got were pretty drab until I looked directly down on them...and wow! they are really pretty! But at even the slightest angle they look brown...why?
thanks

 

[firechild]

Try shining a light at the clam from the frint of the tank. You will find the colour is best seen from the angle of the light, not necessarily the angle of the clam. This is so the clam can best make use of the light. Colours in clams are used not only for display (there are a few theories of this use in Daniel Knop's book "Giant Clams") but also for reflection and absorbtion of light. If the pigments are faced towards the light, they are most efficient.