I hope to soon get my first clam. I just upgraded my lights to two 175watt Mh with 10k hamiltons and two 110watt vho actinics. These are on my 55gal tank. I would like to keep some T.Max's eventually. What are some good clams for a first time clammer? Are my lights powerful enough to allow my clam to sit on the bottom of the tank, or should he/she be placed up top closer to the lights? How many times a week do you feed these guys? Anybody have a pic of their clams? lol
Good Beginner Clams
- Thread starter AQUAH0LIC
- Start date
What needs to mature in my tank? My salinity is 1.023, temp 79F, Nitrate 0, Ca 450 with good alkalinity, pH 8.3. I have no problems with algae at all. The only livestock i have in the tank are 1 sebae clown, 3 green chromis, 1 wrasse, 1 gobby, 1 naso tang. I have a little acro and an anemone. I dose with Kalk to replace evaped water.
Fish-o-holic
New member
Assuming your tank is 6 months old, I think you should be okay to try a clam. I would suggest a derasa or squamosa. These two clams are generally easier to keep than maximas and croceas. See how they do within a month and if all is well, you can try a max or crocea. HTH
BTW, get a clam that is at least <3" in size. The bigger they are, the hardier they are overall.
BTW, get a clam that is at least <3" in size. The bigger they are, the hardier they are overall.
GinaSofia
New member
Considering you have pretty much a fully stocked tank as far as fish go, and it's only 6 months old you may experience changes w/ your current nitrate readings of 0.I don't know how long ago you added your Naso but it really needs to be in at least a 125 tank.Depending on it's size it could add greatly to your bio-load and could quickly change your readings.
Pfittttz
New member
How long has your tank been stable? Also how long have the fish been in the tank? How far away from the water are the lights and how far down is the bottom of the tank?
The general consensus is if the clam is 3" or over it should be able to get all it's nutritional needs from the lights and absorbing particles in the water.
Good luck
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The general consensus is if the clam is 3" or over it should be able to get all it's nutritional needs from the lights and absorbing particles in the water.
Good luck
here lots of links with lots of info
more more even more more links
Fish-o-holic
New member
my lights are 8 inches off the water and my tanks is 18in deep i believe, its a standard aga 55gal. my fish have been in there for 3mon without any issues. im only keeping my naso until he gets a little bigger, then hell find a new home in my brothers 150gal. how many clams can you have in a tank? what waste products do clams put into the tank, will i have to monitor a new parameter after adding clams to the setup? do i have to add supplements to the water if i add clams?
firechild
Premium Member
You can have as mny clams as you want provided you allow room for growth and can provide for its needs, particularly in terms of calcium and nutrients.AQUAH0LIC said:
Clams actually remove nitrates, ammonia and phosphates from the water so they have a positive effect on the bioload.
If your parameters have stabilised, there is no need to test more regularly specifically for the clams. Helthy clams can tolerate a wider range of pH, nutrients, temperature, salinity than many other reef critters so you should notice any problems with the clams unless you have already seen other organisms begin to deteriorate.
The only thing you MUST add to the water is calcium and alkalinity. Try to keep Ca at about 400-450 and alk at about 8-12dKH. The bioload of your fish will keep nutrient levels up which will be used by the clams.
firechild
Premium Member
elefink,
I would personally go straight to a maxima or crocea. I had 5 clams (2 maximas and 3 squamosas) in my 25G almost 2 years ago and now I would be lucky to keep one squamosa and 1 maxima in that tank because of the amount they have grown. All my clams have been moved to my 80G and even that is getting too small for the clams.
Maximas get to about 40cm but grow very slowly, croceas get to only 17cm so would be a perfect choice for a small tank.
IMO, clams are not particularly difficult to keep and I began with a maxima. If you make sure that the clam you choose to buy is in good health, there is no reason you couldn't keep a crocea or maxima as your first.
I would personally go straight to a maxima or crocea. I had 5 clams (2 maximas and 3 squamosas) in my 25G almost 2 years ago and now I would be lucky to keep one squamosa and 1 maxima in that tank because of the amount they have grown. All my clams have been moved to my 80G and even that is getting too small for the clams.
Maximas get to about 40cm but grow very slowly, croceas get to only 17cm so would be a perfect choice for a small tank.
IMO, clams are not particularly difficult to keep and I began with a maxima. If you make sure that the clam you choose to buy is in good health, there is no reason you couldn't keep a crocea or maxima as your first.
Fish-o-holic
New member
For a "clam newbie", I'd recommend at least a 2.5" clam. Good luck.elefink said:
BTW, once you start collecting clams, be sure you have a big wallet. It gets really addictive.
firechild
Premium Member
IMO, maximas are no harder to take care of than squamosas (these being the only 2 species I have kept). Both species have similar requirements, the main difference being light intensity.
2.5-3" is a good rule as a minimum size for either species as this is about the time their populations of zooxanthellae are substantial enough for them to rely heavily on light for nutrients rather than feeding.
2.5-3" is a good rule as a minimum size for either species as this is about the time their populations of zooxanthellae are substantial enough for them to rely heavily on light for nutrients rather than feeding.
So clams actually have 2 benefits? First they look nice, second, they help filter nastiness out of the water? Do i have this right? So clams can actually help improve water quality? Thats so cool. what other reef critter does this....clams rule! Question about feeding.....what are DT's?
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