Clam keeps tipping and jumping

[Mikefromaz]

Hello all! I have what I believe is a problem with my baby squamosa, and a potential fix, but I want expert advice to be sure I am headed in the right direction. I have a baby squamosa about 1.5 inches, which I have had in my 55 gal. for about two months now. I feed it every other day with 30ml. of DT's and have it under 50/50 PC (10k/03), at about 15 inches depth. The probelm is every single morning I find the clam on his side on the sand, usually in the worst position to absorb light, so every morning I set him upright. I have been doing this almost two months. I have tried setting him on the LR, but every night he either falls or jumps off. This morning I took a male PVC pipe coupling and after setting it in the sand, I "suspended" the clam in the pipe opening so it is impossible for him to do anything but remain upright. Does anyone have an opinion on this? If his foot was able to grab the subtrate so he could upright himself I would leave him alone, but as it is he trys to dig but can't grab hold of anything. Any advice would be really appreciated!

Thanks
Mike

 

[BonsaiNut]

I have never seen a clam in the wild in sand. Some people say they have, but... Look for photos of clams in the wild - do you see any in sand?

It is my opinion that all tridacnids need to be firmly anchored to the substrate. If they are not, they will continue to try to dig/move to get substrate. Your best bet for a happy clam is to put it on rock. If you really want the "clam in the sand" look, put it on a rock, and then bury the rock under 1/2" of sand.

 

[cfd3lsd]

same issue

same issue

I truly hope someone can answer your question. I too have a baby squamosa in 55 g that refuses to attach to my LR. In addition to up righting him everyday, I am concern that my pc lighting may not be sufficient for the sand bed depth of 15 inches. If the clam would stay on the LR, it would be about 5-7 inches under my pc lighting. Let me know if you find a solution.

 

[ADS]

My 1st impression is to say it needs more light. Small clams divert a lot of energy to byssal attachment. Their growth is retarded until they attach. I like to use pukas shells for small clams.
Make a small mound of puka shells in the sand and then place the clam in the center of it. This will keep it upright and also give it something to attach to. It also looks natural, like rock rubble.
Adam

 

[miniv]

How old are your PC bulbs? If they are over 8-10 months, the penetration strength of the light has been reduced significantly.

Also, with clams I usually take a flat piece of LR that is slightly bigger than the clam and let the clam attach to it. You can move the clam around all you need to, and it will stay attached (happy).

Is the current sweeping through in the area you have the clam placed in? If the clam is always falling over in the same direction (to the right/always to the left) you might want to take a look at that. The clam won't be able to resist the push if it isn't attached.

 

[cfd3lsd]

My PCs were purchased in January; directly above the clam are two 55-watts: 1 10,000k and 1 6,700 k. The water-current is pretty swift, but I am going to try the puka shell suggestion. Thanks for all the advise.

 

[Mikefromaz]

Squamosa placement follow up

Squamosa placement follow up

Something apparantly has changed since yesterday with my squamosa. As I posted, I was having a problem with the clam tipping over in the sand every night, or falling off the LR. I tried putting the clam directly under the PC lighting and only 6 inches under the surface on the LR. This is where he was all day yesterday. To my pleasant surprise, he was still where I put him yesteday morning and had remained all day and last night. I have my fingers crossed that he liked the spot and decided to stay........tomorrow morning should be the key!

 

[a.p.17]

i ket squamosas under pc lights and they did great but ey did move alot and alwys fell over. they grew well and the colors looked good but since i have replaced my pc with metal halide they no longer move, the color is unbelievable and thegrwth rate is amazing!!!!!!!:eek2: :eek2: :eek2: :eek2: