clam questions

[bluerage]

Hi all

I have got a small blue clam ( not sure of name ) about 2"
long maybe, i have t5 lighting so i have him as close to the top
as poss, about 8" from the light, he has been knocked from
his rock a few times and i discoverd him upside down and
jammed so he could not open, i have now put him on top of
one of the powerheads at the very top of the tank to keep him
out of the way of all others, he has opened up so far tonight
that its split nearly half its length at the bottom, the foot
seems ok, is this a bad thing ? and if so can i help him ,
also should i feed him and if so what ?

thank you for your time

 

[Scuba Dog]

Ok if its blue then its a good chance that the clam is either a maxima or crocea, both high light demanding clams, since its 2inches and a small clam I Highly recomend that you feed it live phytoplankton, DT's is one product that can be purchased but im not sure if its available in the UK.....you can grow your own culture as well inexpensivly....find a small flat rock or old clam shell place the clam on it on the bottom of your tank it should attach to that within a day or so ....then within a couple weeks move the clam up higher in the rockwork....as the clam grows it will loose its dependency on live phytoplankton slowly and gain more dependence on light...rule of thub the smaller the clam the more it needs to be fed...the larger the clam the more dependent on light....

 

[bluerage]

Thank you very much scuba dog, ill get on that right away.
what sort of food is pytoplankton ? maybe i can find something
like it over here.

 

[Scuba Dog]

You most welcome, phytoplankton is also known as green water its certain small plant cells basicly algae cells....the people that raise clown fish grow there own phytoplankton to inturn feed roterfers....I think there is also some other brands for sale, the main thing is to find the corect micron size....Ill take a moment to go find you a helpfull link on this subject...

http://www.dtplankton.com/Clams.htm here is one link but there are others as well

and another http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/aug2002/breeder.htm

That should shed some light on the subject good luck....

 

[bluerage]

thank you once again

 

[Finno]

I dont mean to contradict, but squamosas are also commonly blue (I have 2 blue ones). Either way, the advice given applies, however.