clam with a 70w MH?

[Eduardo cavalcanti]

i have a 29 gal with a 70w MH and 60w of actinics NO. the tank is 50cm tall and the bulb is 10cm far from de surfice. could i put a small clam in the top of the tank, like 15 cm form de bottom? witch would be the best clam in this situation? i was tinking in a derasa, but i know derasas donÃ"šÃ‚´t like to stay in rocks. what do you think about it? could a crocea be a choice?

 

[Squidman]

I think your lighting is borderline. It might work but I probably wouldn't try it. If you do, a crocea is definitely out. The are the toughest to keep IMO and require the most light. I would try a derasa or a squamosa.

If you get a clam I can gaurantee that you will want more. They are super addicting. So if I were you I would wait until you could get more intense lighting, and then try clams. Baby clams tend to be a bit more tempramental than bigger ones but they require less light because they need to be fed. As they grow they will need more light and less direct feeding. FWIW

 

[holeinone1972]

I agree with squidman, in both the fact that your lighting is borderline and clams are most addicting. I think you could get away with a derasa on the sand bed, if located directly under the center of your halide. But you will want more, and will need to upgrade lighting to do so. Best of luck, Rob

 

[Eduardo cavalcanti]

thank you for the answers. i think iÃ"šÃ‚´ll try a small derasa in the sand bed. probably i wonÃ"šÃ‚´t buy more clams for a while because here in brazil they are REALLY expensive. For an example, here a bubble or a leather coral custs 150, 200 reais. a crocea with 4 inches costs 350 reais. so, since i own 200 reais in the month, i donÃ"šÃ‚´t think i can buy any more clmas. hehehehe.

another thing. i had read in the knopÃ"šÃ‚´s articles that clams didnÃ"šÃ‚´t have do be fed, being this optional. being DTs hard to find here in Brazil, do i really have to feed a smaal derasa? if so, there is another product for doing this?

 

[Squidman]

You've kinda got yourself a catch 22. Larger clams can create enough food through photosynthesis and nutrients in the water to survive, but you don't have enough light for a big clam. Small clams don't create all their food through photosynthesis so they don't need as much light, but they do NEED to be fed IMO. Some people use different stuff but the overwhelming majority (including me) have great luck with DT's. Some people culture their own phyto too. You can do a search to find out how. They say it is cheap and easy.