Can this baby clam survive?

[Cathy8424]

I picked up this tinny, tinny baby maxima from a local LFS. It is 5/8" long. Does it have any chance of surviving? I have never seen such a small clam before. At this point, it does seem healthy.

Can clams eat the smaller San Francisco live, fresh hatched baby brine shrimp?

With good calcium and above average tank conditions, what would be a ball park growth rate I may realistically expect?

What would be a rough estimate as to how long I may be bowl feeding it?

Thanks for your help.

 

[jdieck]

You will need to continue feeding until it is about 2" in size.

 

[McCrary]

I'm confused, I just picked up a small crocea (maybe 1.5") do I have to feed it?

 

[ezcompany]

imo, a clam that small should not be bowl fed. moving = stress, and stress will most likely kill tiny clams. if you want to feed it, just feed as you normally do to your tank. many people think small clams must be fed to survive, i think they have all the nutrients they need just by our normal fish/coral feeding.

 

[jdieck]

Dut to the small mantle, they do not have enough area exposed to light to generate enough nutrition from photosynthesis, that is why samll clams have to be fed as usually an aquarium environment does not have enough suspended plankton for them to filter feed.
I also agree to try to feed her in place

 

[Stoney Mahony]

Re: Can this baby clam survive?

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9276962#post9276962 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Cathy8424

Can clams eat the smaller San Francisco live, fresh hatched baby brine shrimp?

With good calcium and above average tank conditions, what would be a ball park growth rate I may realistically expect?

That clam is about 5 months old(post spawn) and should not be for sale at a fish store. They probably paid 25 cents for it. Its called clam seed and they usually sell it in quantity to other farms for further grow out. Clams don't eat brine shrimp, they eat phytoplankton. Smaller tridacnids like T. crocea and T. maxima grow only 0.8 to 1.6 inches (2 to 4 cm) a year. Growth during the first year is relatively slow. Good luck, this small of a clam is going to be very difficult to keep alive. If you can keep it alive, it should be 1.5" in a year.

 

[Cathy8424]

Thank you for the information!

 

[johnfaas]

!

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I got one at 1/2 inch an I do nothing extra for it other than every two or three days fish feeding.It is under T5 lighting an has grown 4 times its original size , here is a link with a pic from another page : http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=8465578#post8465578

 

[fishmanblue]

CLAM

CLAM

Cathy, good luck with that clam if anybody can get it to grow it will be you in that great tank you have.

 

[jmaneyapanda]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9277597#post9277597 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jdieck
Dut to the small mantle, they do not have enough area exposed to light to generate enough nutrition from photosynthesis, that is why samll clams have to be fed as usually an aquarium environment does not have enough suspended plankton for them to filter feed.
I also agree to try to feed her in place

Sorry, this is totally untrue. A common myth, but it has been scientifically proven to be false. Clams do require some carbon and nitrogen input, but it is not required, at any size for maximas or croceas.

Small clams do have a very high mortality rate due to their fragility. I would recoomend feeding only if your water is ultra sterilized and has little or no other life in the tank. Good luck.

 

[mbbuna]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9277597#post9277597 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jdieck
Dut to the small mantle, they do not have enough area exposed to light to generate enough nutrition from photosynthesis,

there mantles are fully developed when they are very very small and there mantles are proportionate to the size of the clam throughout its life.

supplemental feeding may help but strong light and enough N and P are all thats really needed.

read this http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0006-3185(198110)161:2<213:SDAAOZ>2.0.CO;2-N&size=LARGE

 

[Giovanni]

I would suggest putting it very high in tank for max. light exposure. Make sure your Ca is high enough. You have this in that big system? If so I bet you have a good chance of getting it to survive.

 

[Cathy8424]

I am very sad to report that the little clam didn't survive.

I do love getting my tank critters small and watching them grow, but....

I was concerned that this might just be to small. It did look healthy, I guess it was just to fragile to make the move.

I have several other clams that have done great. But the smallest one I ever raised was a little over 1".

 

[Stoney Mahony]

That really sucks, they should have never sold you one that small

 

[Cathy8424]

Ya, I knew better when I got it, but I figured I would give it a try. I fugured it was likely money down the drain. But I couldn't help but try, I was hopefull!

 

[Giovanni]

If you have a large system where most don't and you felt you could give it a good shot, that is a note worthy effort. IMHO

 

[Cathy8424]

Ya, I figured I had a better than average chance for the little fellow, but it didn't work out. I hate it when that happens.