First clam!

isom

New member
hey all,
i am new to this forum, i usually stick to general reefkeeping. I just bought my first clam, a 3.5" derasa. It's a pretty good looking clam and i'm hoping to see this thing grow. I wish i could post some pics but i left the digital camera at work...maybe tommorrow.

anyhow, i was wondering what to expect as far as acclimating this guy. he was at the very bottom of the tank under pc's in the LFS. i run 175w metal halids w/ pc actinics...so quite a bit more light. i acclimated him like i would any fish/coral, then placed him on the sandbed w/ just the pc's on. a couple of hours later i turned the halides on.

how long should it take before he decides to fully extend his mantle? like i said i have never kept clams and do not know what to expect. when should i try to feed?

thanks...
 
Help Me...

Help Me...

30 views and no replies? what gives?

I am really hoping for some advice as i am starting to get worried about my new clam. I posted this in the main forum but it keeps getting buried so i will try here again...

"Okay, I'm starting to get a little worried.

I acclimated the clam slowly under w/ only the pc's on and it actually started to open up a bit last night. As soon as i turned the halides on a couple of hours later it closed right up and hasn't opened up since. I expected to see it open up under the pc's again this morning (pc's are on by themselves for 3 or 4 hours before halides kick in ), but no luck. It is closed tightly, i can't see any mantle.

What should i do? Is this normal acclimation behavior or is this guy in trouble."

Should I try to move it to a different spot or just leave it alone?

Any advice you could give would help...i dont' know what to expect w/ this guy.

thanks...


__________________
 
Hey, I got my 1st clam last week. Very similar to yours. 3.5" derasa

I put mine on the sand under my dual 400's and 110 actinics.

No acclimation for the light, just the 1 hour drip for the water.

Mine was opening in less than 1 hour. Not fuly, but significant.

Good luck. I don't have any advice, as this is my 1st one too.
 
first thing is that u guys didn't mention a thing about water quality. tank mates, etc etc ... without this info there can be tons of different reasons ur maxi isn't open yet. FYI -clams are sensitive to high range nitrates, especially maxima and crocea. they also don't like too much water flow. also u guys might want to check the underside of the clam to see if their are any pyramid snail attacking iT - if so get those guys off and out of ur tank. i like to crush the bastards with my bare hands. they are rice shaped and grain sized so look carefully every now and then day and night. so post up results of ur water parameters first then people more knowledgable then me can reply. u wanna know where ph,dkh, ca, nitrate, salinity, temp are some major factors to look at. as for myself, i have a 3in squamosa, my very fist like u guys. for example, he is in a 20 nano, at a 12 in depth. ca about 350, ph 8.4, dkh 11-12, salinity .23, temp this time of year 78-80. he's under 130watts PC lighting and fully extended the first few hours with introduction into my system. hope this helped- keep us updated.
 
Water was tested before adding the clam:

Temp 80-82
Salinity 1.0255
pH 8.15
NO3 <5
Ca 460
Alk 4.5

Lighting is 2 x 175W metal halides w/ 10k ushios and 2 x 55w actinic pc's

I checked the clam out real closely when i moved it this evening. i thought maybe there was too much fish related traffic going by that might be upsetting it. i moved it to a quieter location. no pyramid snails.

i just can't figure this out...he does not like my tank!
:confused:
 
alk depending on which equation ur using may be low.
but check which method/test ur using BEFORE making adjustments. theirs a german method kh, and the one i use dkh.
other then that everything looks good IMO - but if u just added him today - i'd give him a complete week or so without any major changes or adjustments to him or water. he's just got to get used to ur system is my guess. its kinda like how most fish and stuff willhide when introduced - the guy is just be paranoid, he can't risk fish takin chunks out of him - etc etc so just wait and see and most importantly just leave him alone for now. if he's unhappy where he is he'll just move himself and make his own adjustments. clams are sooo cool arent they ? good luck man -
 
Mr. Aqua, these are my parameters. my clam has opened but lately it is being a little shy. Are there any signs of decaying?


Temp 78-80
Salinity 1.0255
pH 8.2
NO3 <10
Ca 350-400
Alk 10-11 dkh


By the way , where are you from in So Cali??
 
Bad News...

Bad News...

Late last night I check on the tank and found the trigger darting away from the clam w/ a cloud of white particles above the clam. I didn't actually see him do it but I had the suspicion that he may have been nibbling at the very tip of one side of the clam's shell. I watched him carefully for a while but didn't see him do it again, so I went to bed.

I woke this morning to find the shell half open and the clam retracted way down inside the shell. When I looked closer the clam was just swaying with the current. A cleaner shrimp jumped on top of the clam and began picking at it...no reaction from the clam. I didn't want it to pollute the water any more than it had, so I pulled it out. There was not much left.

After I pulled it out I could tell that the trigger had been munching on the shell...the edge was very jagged all the way across. That little basta%$#! I'm definitely not happy w/ the trigger, but he's too cool a fish to get rid of. I guess there's just not going to be any clams for me...

Thanks for all your help though, you guys are great!
 
OMG - u have a trigger with a clam. consider ur clam dead and ur money wasted. u need to do some MAJOR research.
 
bill37 - signs of decaying? yeah, smell the clam if it smells rotten eggs then its decaying. also gaping and slow reaction are bad signs. if ur clam is new to the system then just leave him alone, he's still aclaimating. he'll continue to be shy until it's sure there are no PREDATORS trying to eat it. this is a natural reaction and is no cause for concern. if he's unhappy with his spot he'll move himself when ready. and yes, i'm in So CaLi -

ps -i still can't get over this guy putting clams in with a trigger -
 
Thanks Mr. Aqua, but I did MAJOR research. I took a chance w/ the blue jaw trigger (who, by the way, has been in the tank for months and has not touched anything else including cleaner shrimp, hermit crabs, snails, LPS, etc...) There are many people on the boards who successfully keep this triggerfish w/ clams. I was willing to take the chance w/ this clam. Why don't you try asking some questions before condemning people to "do MAJOR research."
 
Hey isom.
Relax.
Blue jaws can live in reef tanks and I know many ppl who tried all were succesful.

It might be that your clam was already gone when the trigger saw a free meal.
 
I'm relaxed...

I just have trouble with people on these boards who would rather tell everyone how ignorant they are rather than ask questions and provide useful information.
 
dude calm down. i didn't say u were ignorant or flame u. but IMO it was a rather BAD risk that caused the death of a clam.
that in itself - tsk tsk tsk ... baaad isom - but really , chill ..
 
he wasn't trying to flame since when was somewhen trying to tell someone to reasearch a bad thing it is the major respons on these borads and it usually really kicks people into gear

i think it was just a misunderstanding on both sides :)
 
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