feeding clams

bill37

New member
I have a maximus blue clam about 1 1/2 inches. I am curious to their feeding habits. I feed the tank every couple of days with Kent's Phytoplankton or "Marine snow". The last couple of days it does not seem as "happy" as it has been. I have had it for about 3-4 weeks. Do they need anything more than this?
 

Peabody

Premium Member
Hate to say it...that's the problem. That's not nearly enough light to keep a maxima clam. :( 999 out of a thousand times maximas won't survive under PCs....MH is pretty much the only way to go. I'd get it to someone with MH asap!
 

electric130

Active member
definitely need more light. most maximas like to be on rocks though, so try moving him closer to the lights.
 

Vili_Shark

New member
Hi
I dont know anything about PC.
I keep my clams under MH.
But it'snot riht to say that MH is the only way.
T-5 is a way, and maybe even a better way.
Although it is not as attractive to look at, I saw tank that achieved amazing growth of SPS frags and also Clams.
 

tike

New member
I just came from my LFS this evening and he had one under a 32 watt PC. It was in a eclicpes 11 gallon tank. I was shocked! He told me he had it for 6 months in the tank and the key was feeding it. He uses DT's 3 times a week. I might give it a shot and let you all know the results.
 

electric130

Active member
tike said:
I just came from my LFS this evening and he had one under a 32 watt PC. It was in a eclicpes 11 gallon tank. I was shocked! He told me he had it for 6 months in the tank and the key was feeding it. He uses DT's 3 times a week. I might give it a shot and let you all know the results.
what kind of clam was it though. feedings are essential, but lights play an important role. also, that tank is pretty shallow, so the clam wasn't as far from the light compared to a clam on the sand in a 90.
 

Vili_Shark

New member
Hi,
LFS can keep clams under PC 32W, problem is for how long?

Another issue is that the tank is only 11G, it means that the clam is getting the best target feeding of DT's .

It wont happen in your tank ,unless you take the clam out for feeding.
 

bill37

New member
well, it is a sad day here.:) My clam died and became food for my emerald. I tried moving him up on the rocks closer to the lights but I guess it was a little late. Thanks for all the advice.

Bill
 

electric130

Active member
try getting some live phyto for the next clam. a lot of clams won't eat the dead stuff that's in marine snow, phytoplex and the others. either grow your own or get some DT's. i feed DT's.
 

ADS

New member
The clam was probably already on it's way out when you got from your description of the LFS.
Do some research- there are people keeping clams under PC but ususally derasa or squamosa.
Adam
 

rmendis

Premium Member
Just FYI: at 1.5", the baby maximas rely on feeding as their primary source of nutrition, not light. I will definitely need more light as it grows, but for now, I'd say it's not getting enough food. You could try placing it in a shallow bowl for feeding with DT's. That way, it will be able to feed without the phytoplankton being blown around by the powerheads and consumed by other invertebrates. That will buy you some time to upgrade your lighting.
 

smy168

Back to the habit
Re: feeding clams

bill37 said:
I have a maximus blue clam about 1 1/2 inches. I am curious to their feeding habits. I feed the tank every couple of days with Kent's Phytoplankton or "Marine snow". The last couple of days it does not seem as "happy" as it has been. I have had it for about 3-4 weeks. Do they need anything more than this?

bill37, my opinion only....

You have a baby clam, right now they can't even really process food from spectrum yet, they need to be fded, I recommend feeding it directly.....

Hardware: 2 Liter Plastic Bottle
baby med plastic syringe

Cut the top 7-8 inches from the bottle opening to the middle.
Place wide end over clam in the tank (small opening on top)
depending on tank size, use plastic syringe filled to 1mm of phyto
squeezed directly into small opening.
Leave it for anout 1 hour and remove.

My smaller clams are fed this way, though you probably do need to upgrade your lighting. Good Luck
 
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