So I got large hippo clam from divers den, it's really cool and seems to be in great shape. I researched all I could before getting him, but I wonder if anyone here has had one? I do get some conflicting info about him. 1st a picture:
The guy is much larger than I expected, I was shocked how heavy he is. Now I am running bare bottom and I have heard from various sources that clams are fine on it, and others add a tray of sand or coral rubble for the clam (I think so they don't attach to the bottom). I have seen a few photos of aquaculture facilities and the clam areas look like bare bottom and the clams are just on frag plugs. I do wonder if the sand gives him more support so to speak.
Another strange issue is when I place him on the bottom he flips on his hinge, opposite what other clams do (sit on their byssal opening) now I did read from here, http://animal-world.com/Aquarium-Coral-Reefs/Care-of-Tridacnid-Clams, "œPlace the clam so the inhalant siphon (which lies above the byssal opening) is on the lowest portion of the slope. As the clam grows it will place greater strain on its byssal gland, so if the gland is on the upper portion of the slope, the weight of the clam could gradually pull the gland out. Adult Hippopus sp. tend to sit more on their hinge than on the byssal opening." So this would seem to confirm that he is moving to sit on his hinge, but I can't find this information anywhere else and they say things like hippo's need the least amount of lighting which is in direct contrast to http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2010/3/inverts that says they are found very shallow and need tons of light! Now I have 2 reefbreeders over my 65g, so it can get all the light it needs, but I tend to trust advanced aquarist more. They say nothing about if they sit on their hinge.
So does anyone have thoughts about this?
The guy is much larger than I expected, I was shocked how heavy he is. Now I am running bare bottom and I have heard from various sources that clams are fine on it, and others add a tray of sand or coral rubble for the clam (I think so they don't attach to the bottom). I have seen a few photos of aquaculture facilities and the clam areas look like bare bottom and the clams are just on frag plugs. I do wonder if the sand gives him more support so to speak.
Another strange issue is when I place him on the bottom he flips on his hinge, opposite what other clams do (sit on their byssal opening) now I did read from here, http://animal-world.com/Aquarium-Coral-Reefs/Care-of-Tridacnid-Clams, "œPlace the clam so the inhalant siphon (which lies above the byssal opening) is on the lowest portion of the slope. As the clam grows it will place greater strain on its byssal gland, so if the gland is on the upper portion of the slope, the weight of the clam could gradually pull the gland out. Adult Hippopus sp. tend to sit more on their hinge than on the byssal opening." So this would seem to confirm that he is moving to sit on his hinge, but I can't find this information anywhere else and they say things like hippo's need the least amount of lighting which is in direct contrast to http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2010/3/inverts that says they are found very shallow and need tons of light! Now I have 2 reefbreeders over my 65g, so it can get all the light it needs, but I tend to trust advanced aquarist more. They say nothing about if they sit on their hinge.
So does anyone have thoughts about this?
