giant clam behavior?

shane 1111

Premium Member
i know some clams burrow into rocks. is it possible to get them to do this in a tank?
i think it would look cool
 
critterkeeper asked this for the book he's writing and i dont think anyone claimed to have it happen. i think that they start doing it when they are very young/small and its a very slow process
 
they find them in the wild, sunken into the rock fully. so im assuming that its something that is started when they are very small ( 1 or 2 mm) and slowly dissolve the rock over time as they grow. so i think its doubtful that you would notice them sinking into the rock. maybe if you had the clam for 20+years
 
what if i make a grove in a rock and put it in it? do you think making the hole like they live in would work. and then let the clam enlarge the hole?
 
i dont know what to tell you. as far as i know, Croceas have never been reported to bore into the rocks in a home aquarium
 
what about maximas?
do you think if i make a hole about half the depth of the clam it will die when it gets bigger?
i want to try this. but i dont want to kill a clam.
 
I have never heard of clams doing this in captivity. When I was diving in Fiji in January I saw 2 small maximas, one about 1.5" and one about 2" and neither were sumberged in rock. All of the other maximas I have seen in the wild have been partially or completely dug in. I have no idea when they might begin this process, or even if every maxima goes through this process. I have read that they dissolve the calcium carbonate with some secretion at the bottom of their shell. I don't know much about this process, though I imagine it is very slow. If you were to create a hole and place a clam in there, I would guess that the clam would eventually grow to the size of the hole, and then you'd find stunted growth or a strange growth pattern, such as growing up but not out. I would very much doubt that they would dissolve the surrounding rock to accommodate their own growth. However, this is all a guess, and I really don't think anyone in the hobby can make a firm statement as to whether this is something viable or not. It would be interesting to try it and find out, but I personally wouldn't do it in fear of losing the clam. Good luck if you try it though, and let us know your results.
 
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