feeding small maximas

[eastcoastzigzag]

i invested a lil cash in 5 inch to inch and a 1/2 maximas for propigation. i do feed my reef tank phyto anyways but will they get enough food just being in the tank? tank is also fueled by 2- 175w 20k haylides. i know 20k isnt the best for growing them. i also do dose calcium to 450ppm. im not looking to speed their growth jus make sure they stay alive and grow. thanks, dave

 

[mbbuna]

at 1" to 1 1/2 " there going to need a lot of food. its going to be at least 2 years until there mantles are large enough to support enough zoox so they can get 90% of there food from light.the 20ks arent helping ether. you are going to be walking a very fine line between giving them enough food to live and not having a major algae out break

 

[eastcoastzigzag]

good info! im wondering about the method of feeding mostly. any tips?

 

[mbbuna]

it is best for them to have live food in the size range of 2 to 50 microns. the only live food being sold, in that size range is Phyto. clams feed slowly all day long, so its best to have the Phyto on a drip feed to the tank.if you try to feed them too much too fast(target feeding with a pipette ) the clams will just reject it any way, waisting it and polluting your tank. if you can get a large Pod population going in the tank then when they reproduce there larva will be a good food source also.

 

[smy168]

I fed my clams like this:

take a plastic soda bottle and cut the top part in half, place it around the clam and then shoot the phyto directly into the opening. What's cool is that you can actually see the clam eat the phyto. This also prevents you from overdosing the tank and fouling your water params.

 

[eastcoastzigzag]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6382836#post6382836 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by smy168
I fed my clams like this:

take a plastic soda bottle and cut the top part in half, place it around the clam and then shoot the phyto directly into the opening. What's cool is that you can actually see the clam eat the phyto. This also prevents you from overdosing the tank and fouling your water params.

-----cool thnakyou much

 

[Bojan]

I put less than 1" Tridacna crocea in my tank 7 years ago. I never feed this clam and now is more than 5".

 

[djperezo]

same here, got an inch blue max about 1.5- 2 years ago, never fed it , now its about 3"

 

[cristhiam]

same here just feed the tank with some pytho

 

[smy168]

i think what zigzag is looking for is options on feeding clams at juvie stage. I also feel that it's important to understand the size of your tank, this would generally determine if phyto feeding would disturb water params. Obviously a tank smaller than 50 gallons would somehow disrupt the water where as a tank that's 120 or so would have the volume to handle slight changes. JMO

 

[eastcoastzigzag]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6412793#post6412793 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by smy168
i think what zigzag is looking for is options on feeding clams at juvie stage. I also feel that it's important to understand the size of your tank, this would generally determine if phyto feeding would disturb water params. Obviously a tank smaller than 50 gallons would somehow disrupt the water where as a tank that's 120 or so would have the volume to handle slight changes. JMO

-----yup pretty much. mine is a 65 so you know. ive been doing jus about every other day phyto feeding and no alge outbreaks or water p'rams changing.

 

[smy168]

be sure to keep a eye on it, my 54 corner was doing fine with phyto every other day and the params stayed great but I caught a spike about 7 months in so make sure you keep up with the maintenance side. I also used some stuff from www.brineshrimpdirect.com, they have some great options is you decide to change things up a bit.

 

[eastcoastzigzag]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6413259#post6413259 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by smy168
be sure to keep a eye on it, my 54 corner was doing fine with phyto every other day and the params stayed great but I caught a spike about 7 months in so make sure you keep up with the maintenance side. I also used some stuff from www.brineshrimpdirect.com, they have some great options is you decide to change things up a bit.

-----thanks for the info mang