Clam in Nano Cube/Stock Lighting

[TooFar2Sea]

I have never owned a clam and am no expert by any means but when I came across a post in the nano forum concerning a clam in a JBJ Nano Cube under 24w PC I felt I had to say something. And I did. I politely stated that a clam under those lights goes against everything I have ever read about clams and that even without saying so the poster was endorsing this type of care for clams.
In the first place, am I wrong or can you keep a clam under those lights? Secondly, did I do the right thing in questioning his lights in a Tang Police kinda way?

 

[Peabody]

I'm going to refrain on whether it was out of place (even thought I might have questioned it too!), but you are correct, that is not enough light for almost any clam, let alone a crocea. I've seen thriving 10 gallon tanks with 96watt PCs, and they didn't support a maxima, while other corals/inverts thrived. That was MORE than enough to convince me (and there are countless other dead clams out there in similar situations).

The problem is several things....first, it usually takes six months or so for the clam to starve to death, and second, there are usually no signs. All seems well and, POOF, you wake up and there's just shell. You can't "keep and eye on it" for if it's not getting enough light.

The other problem on these boards is a lot of people have said stuff like "I've had one for 3 months...it's doing fine so far..." and when they do die, people likely don't dig up their own threads and say that the clam died, giving a false impression.

Anyway, the fellow might get lucky (although I wouldn't bet on it!), but more than likely he will learn a lesson in a few months. Not much we can do about it!

 

[namscam]

Well I agree with you that Clams do need a lot of light. I myself keep my clams under MH but I have seen people keep croceas under 530w of PC in a 240 gallon which is 30 high for well over a year now. you have to keep in mind that clams not only need lots of light but they also need stable tanks too. And in a small tiny 10gallon there is way too much fluctuation that can occur which will cause instablity. So that is the reason why you would see a clam die in a 10gallon with 96w PC or any other small tank for that matter. lighting may be important but stablitity is even more important

 

[Peabody]

I agree that stability is another major cause of clam losses in such tanks, and possibly just as important as lighting conditions. However, I still think sometimes lighting is the killer, or part of the puzzle along with stability. I became convinced when I saw the 10 gallon with 96w PCs, but in the same location there was a 55gal with 4x65 watt PCs. Again, that tank had thriving corals (it was a GREAT tank!) a thriving derasa that I think is still alive, etc. But, Maximas would croak at around the 6 month mark, just like in the little 10g nearby. Of course this doesn't "prove" anything, but it was an interesting lesson when I saw it!

 

[bigsteeviestyle]

FWIW I have a 10g nano with 2x28 PCs. I have at various times attempted to keep clams (maxima, derasa, squamosa, hippopus). You might notice that each time a clam was attempted, it was a lower light requiring clam than the previous one. None had any amount of longevity. I did supplement with DTs during these endeavors, but that didn't help. I would recommend against attempting to keep a clam under similar lighting. If someone does have success with PCs and clams, more power to them, but right now I'm pricing MH pendants.

 

[triggerSD]

No one should keep a maxima with that little of light. Heck, I have a 175 mh and a 65 pc 50/50 over a 20 long. I had my maxima for about 6 months. It looked awesome and was totally doing fine. I was spot feeding it, and then poof, over an hour period it croaked and my hermits had a fine clam dinner. Just fessing up over my screw up since most other people dont. Now that I have gotten it out I feel a bit better, but I will never try one of those clams in my tank again

 

[CTN1983]

You shouldn't have any problems keeping maximas under 175W metal halides triggerSD..how deep was your tank? In my opinion, 175W can be use on tanks up to 20" deep and up to 30" for 250W..I can't confirm any of this though, since I use 250W metal halides on my tank...but again, I don't see how 175W wasn't enough lighting for a maxima...was it place under direct lighting?