clam colours

[Koralkid]

i have a blue maxima clam, its about 3 inches long, why is it that when u look at it from different angles u c different colours?, i look at it from the the top through the top of the water and its shining blue very bright metalic, but from the front view of the tank it looks almost purple, i have a 250w M/H 14K with actnic supplement, the clam has been with me for around about a week now, am i being impatient?

 

[TWallace]

That's how all tridacna clams appear. Their colors are much more vivid from above than from the side. Nothing you can do about it.

 

[ezcompany]

its the glass that filters out the neon colors. there are some special clam tanks where you can see almost the original colors as like viewing from the tank.

 

[mbbuna]

Re: clam colours

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7881324#post7881324 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Koralkid
through the top of the water and its shining blue very bright metalic, but from the front view of the tank it looks almost purple, i have a 250w M/H 14K with actnic supplement, the clam has been with me for around about a week now, am i being impatient?

whats to be impatient about the way you describe it you have 2 clams in one .

seriously though, there are a few things that cause this. Reflectivity, refraction and the natural color of the clam. It normal, enjoy

 

[Rockhead21564]

I always thought that the color change was due to the iron in the glass. It shows as a green thru the edges of the tank. The darker the green the more iron. That's one of the reasons the starfire or low iron glass is so sought after - a truer color, also acrylic is clear. This is just what the glass guy told me.

 

[critterkeeper]

The apparent color change is due to a gazillion little reflective structures in their tissues called iridophores. They block/reflect UV in clams that live in really shallow water and give them that "sheen". When viewed from different angles, you see different colors being reflected.

 

[jmaneyapanda]

glass has little or nothing to do with it. look at the same clams through acrylic, and you'll see the same thing.