Clam help

JBIT

New member
I bought an established small tank and I pick it up in a few days. It is a 20g with 25#LR, some softies, a Sebae anemone, a maroon clown and six clams: a couple squamosa, three crocea and a maxima (all are 2"-3.5"). I have never kept clams before but I have always wanted to. Can someone point me in the right direction on their care? I plan on buying the giant clam book, but it probably wouldn't arrive until a few days after I need it. I need placement tips, feeding tips, compatability tips, etc. I would also like to get a six line wrasse, do you think it would get along with the clown in a tank this size? Oh yeah, there will be a 250W Iwasaki and a PC actinic over the tank. I could put this stuff into a 29 if you think this is too crowded, or another thought is to move some of the stuff to the 150 I am setting up.
 
Personally, I keep all my clams directly on the sandbed without issue. Makes life easier as a clam who is unhappy with location may release from the rock and jump ship, sometime falling into or behind the rockwork. Probably not much of an issue ina 20g, but a entirely different story in a 120g!

As for feeding, clams do not need direct feeding, but you should be adding some type of phytoplankton (preferably live like DT's) to the tank as a whole. Note that these clams will eventually outgrow the tank, so it might be prudent to begin planning relocation to a larger tank.

HTH
 
Lets take the maxima for example. If it is 3.5" right now, how quicky will it grow, assuming it has good lighting, good water quality and plenty of food? Moving them to a larger tank will not be a problem, I am in the process of setting up a 150. Knowing what is "clam compatible" would be nice though because I am compiling my livestock list for my 150 now. I won't include crabs, but what else would be detrimental to clams?
 
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