help with new squmosa

[anemoneguy]

so I bought one of the blue squmosas last week being offered for sale. he looks good, but can someone tell me why he will go almost an entire day closed up and then when he opens he looks just fine? he has done this a couple of times now. I thought it may be when I feed the tank he grabbed something and closed up to feast. I also wondered if my lights were good enough, but everything from sps to lps grow very well. I also have 2 light loving anemones that are super loving the light I have. I have a 200 dd tank with 2 orphek v2s for lighting. I just don't remember anytime in the past when I kept clams of them acting this way. any thoughts?

 

[anemoneguy]

This is what he looks like today.

 

[Giovanni]

In that photo it looks like it needs to be in an area with more light.

 

[anemoneguy]

It's a little deceiving with the camera on the phone. The led lights do very well, but I have wondered about what they r doing on y he sanded. I just fed my tank rods food tonight and the clam almost right away closed up again. He closed and opened a couple times real fast like he was trying to move water through and then just closed up. Makes me think he's eating?

 

[Giovanni]

The clam does not eat from the water column. It gets its energy from the light. It may be irritated if you feed heavily and closing to keep what you are feeding out. IMHO, It is opened up wide needing more light. Not even considering the exposure of the photo, just the look of the clam.

 

[laga77]

Does it still respond to movement and shadows?

 

[anemoneguy]

yes it responds well. so if the clams only use the lighting for food/energy, why do the sell food for clams like dt's and others. the clam was extended like that from the wswyg pic when I bought it. I read squmosas always extend like it is doing.. ?

 

[Giovanni]

Pacific East Aquaculture

From the last two sentences of the second paragraph on the link above.

"We do not recommend supplemental feeding. Clams get nutrition from photosynthesis and utilizing dissolved organics not supplemental foods. "

I once raised a Squamosa purchased from LA DD from 1.5" to over 8" before it died when I went I changed to LEDs from MH.

IMHO that clam looks like it is over extended and needs more light.

 

[anemoneguy]

I get that the Orphek is not a 400 watt mh and every clam I've had I have kept under mh. But I also have to say that my sps grow at mid tank. My anemones thrive and my brains and pectina grow very well on the bottom. So I know for certain the light is capable. Plus the other benifits of slow ramping on and off along with no heat make it hard to think about going back. Not to mention cost.

 

[anemoneguy]

Thanks For The Advise. I'm gonna see what happens tomorrow when I'll feed flake food instead of the usual rods food.

 

[Giovanni]

I am not saying your LEDs are not capable. The LEDs I used originally seemed lacking something the clams needed. I lost more than my squmosa to my original LEDs. The latest LED tech has been proven to grow clams. Good Luck with it. It is a beautiful clam.