clams and lighting

thrlride

Aka lemmywinks
Hello everyone! My tank is 29g with 120w of PC light. What kind of clam, if any, can be kept in this tank?

Thanks for your replies.
 
I am waiting for the metal halide police to start beating you down

I'd try a T. Squamosa, H. Hippopus or a T. Deresa

I tried a gold maxima under pc lights but it didnt make it, but it probably wasnt the lights.
 
Okay I am part of the MH police. What in the world are you thinking trying to keep a clam under PC's. Hehe J/K.

I would seriously consider adding at least a few more PC's to your setup or maybe some VHO's or better yet a 250w MH setup. Squammies and Derasas may do okay but will not be too happy under PC's. They can probaly live but it won't benefit them any in the long run as clams demand strong lighting. It's your money and if you want to take the chance keeping a clam under PC's, I wish you the best in doing so. Just my .02 :)

I personally feed my clams DT's.
 
I was able to keep a maxima in a 10 gallon under 2X55 PC lighting for over a year. It grew from a little under 2" to probably a little under 3". I fed it every other day. And after I upgrade my
tank to a 55 gallon with 2X175 MH, the clam actually didn't make
it.

So I guess water chemistry could be more important than MH.
 
I've read in several books that it is possible (although, not reccomended) to keep clams under PC lighting if you feed them regularly. Squamosa, Hippopus and Derasa can do better under lower light, as llockke mentions. However, these would outgrow a 10gal pretty quickly.

Edit: You may want to try a Maxima near the surface, with regular feeding. Be prepared to upgrade the lighting, or give it away if it starts to do poorly.
 
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They probably wouldnt outgrow the tank too quickly with that much lighting, but yea sooner more than likely later they will get too big for a small tank. I already have a 4 inch Deresa and a 4 inch crocea in my 29 and they look rather big, but I mean they are worth it. Just make sure to keep the calcium maintained.
 
Now that is a matter of opinion and there is so many variants of color and patterns. Check out somewhere like www.clamsdirect.com to see what you like

As far as being the easiest...... I wouldnt know I jumped a few grades and went for the crocea's
 
Wow, clams sure are beatiful! I called one of my local LFS's and they have squamosa and derasa's. Smallest is about 3" and is $60. Is there anything I should look out for with any bad health signs? They also have a football size squamosa! :eek1:
 
Hmm good question I will let someone more knowledgeable answer that one.

The only thing i can say is i had to pick out of three 1 inch croceas and the one that I avoided was the one that turned on its side and no matter what they did it always wanted to fall on its side. It soon became a 40$ meal for his hermit crabs. the LFS guy even told me that it wasnt a good idea to buy that one.

After you see the football sized Squamosa you'll probably get a good idea why rmendis reminded us that they could outgrow even your 29 gallon tank and the Deresa is even worse, but you wont have to worry about that for awhile.
 
I'm quite excited about this! I feel like an 8 year old at Christmas time. It will be a few days until my other PC light comes in so I'll have to be patient...
 
It makes a significant difference if we are talking about:

2 x 55wt for 110wt total
2 x 65wt for 130wts total
or
30 x 4wt for 120wts total.

Might want to spend your next few bucks on Daniel Knop's book, "Giant Clams" to increase your chances of success.
 
If you are going to try a clam under those wattages, you might consider trading the actinic for one with more output.

If I was not going to step up to a 150/175MH, then I would feed plenty of DT's, add a daylight PC for the actinic and stick with the brown/gold clams in derasa, squamosa, or hippopus varieties.

Good luck.
 
Lights are finally installed. Not that it makes much of a difference but the actinic is 65w not 55w.

Generally, when is a tank ready for a clam?
 
What are your tank parameter? Specifically your CA and ALK?

I waited a good 1y 6m before adding my first clam. I decided to wait a bit longer just because I wanted to get the right lights for my clams. Some ppl strive for 6m.
 
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