clam under pc's in a 5 gallon?

[Don_Gnomio]

ok i already have a 5 gallon tank, that i am planning on setting up as a mixed reef with one small gobie, a few coral frags from my main 55 gal tank, and i was thinking of putting in a clam, i love maximas and dersas, and i was wondering if i would be able to keep a clam under pc's in a 5 gallon tank, and if so how many watts?

thanx

Victor

 

[Peabody]

Hate to say it, but no way. Even if you had a 70w MH bulb I'd say no due to the small size of the tanks. Clams are very chemically demanding, and they'd throw a tank that small out of whack literally overnight. Even if that wasn't the case, they would both outgrow the tank in a hurry, especially a derasa.

 

[Don_Gnomio]

im saying only one clam, at a lfs near my house, they have a bunch of mini (about 1.5") maximas, i dont want to fill the tank with clams, i only want one, i relly like clams...

 

[Don_Gnomio]

also, then what would you say would be the smallest tank that i could keep one in?

 

[Peabody]

I actually was talking just one clam. Not even a single clam in that size tank under any lights.

The advanced reefkeeper who keeps his chemistry 100% in line all the time and with a MH bulb can keep a single maxima in a 10-15 gallon for a little while. But, I wouldn't reccomend it if you've never kept clams before, and especially if you don't have a MH bulb over the tank.

A baby derasa or squamosa I wouldn't put in anything smaller than a 20 long because they get so big, so fast, but they are still very difficult to care for in that small a tank. (Mine forced me to get a CA reactor) Even then, they will outgrow that tank pretty quickly and demand something more like a 55 or 75