How big will clams get in captivity?

[acarson19]

I've seen pictures of these super huge clams and I think one of the species that gets pretty big is T. derasa, which is what is in my tank. How big is this sucker going to get? Will his growth be stunted by aquarium size? I am shocked and pleased at how quickly it is growing, but I definitely want to have more than just a single giant clam in the aquarium :lol: !

Thanks in advance.

 

[AVALover5498]

I think they get up to 48" long but i'm by far not a clam expert.

 

[ezcompany]

thats only the gigas, i believe squamosas get over 20 inches, maximas 12, and croceas a little less. not sure about the deresa, but i'm guessing larger than the squamosa. this is in ideal conditions, i'm not sure if a reef tank suppresses growth like it does on fish, i'm guessing not.

 

[a4twenty]

dersa's can get up to about 24" but like ez said this is under ideal conditions and after years and years of growing.

 

[reefkoi]

Yeah according to the new tridacna book by fatheree, derasa averages in the ocean 18" max and the biggest he has heard of was only 24" this is the record? I believe, and in an aquarium I'd say we'll never get the same results. I have seen 12" derasas, but that took a long time to get there. the gigas is another story they'll get there in less time and then surpass that mark.
C

 

[acarson19]

Thanks all for your response! Right now my clam is only about 2.5 inches so I have a long way to go before it gets big! It will make a neat centerpiece in the aquarium when it does get big, that is assuming a lot of things go right over the next couple of years (maybe longer)!

 

[a4twenty]

i doubt that the he will get that big in captivity ( more like 12 - 18" ) and it will take years. luckily you have chosen a pretty forgiving breed, dersa's are a good clam for people to start with.

oh yeah and good luck, post a pic for us if you can pls

 

[chopsuey]

I have seen them well over 3 feet in diamater. I dont know the actual species of the clam but I was at the aquarium in Hawaii and here are a few shots of the clams they have in their display tank.

BTW thats my wife to the left of the tank.

 

[mbbuna]

there Gigas and the big one is the oldest known aqua-cultured clam IIRC.

 

[Gundo5000]

Cool, thanks for shaaring the pics!

 

[ezcompany]

whats IIRC?

 

[jsc4354]

If I Remember Correctly

John C.

 

[mbbuna]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8587915#post8587915 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ezcompany
whats IIRC?

what jsc said

 

[acarson19]

Chop Suey what a cool pic! Thank you.

I'm so glad someone asked what IIRC was. I thought it meant 'If I Really Cared'! 'If I remember correctly' sounds so much nicer!

 

[chopsuey]

NP = No Problem LOL = Laugh Out Loud ... HE HE I did it again.

Seriously Thanks for all the kind words.

We had an awesome time in Hawaii. I wish I had an underwater digital cam when we went snorkeling in Humana Bay. The crapy under water throw-away camera we had took terrible pics. Here are some more pics of the marine life we saw:

Enjoy!

 

[ezcompany]

i want that squamosa...

 

[jmaneyapanda]

not to backtrack, but reef fish do not stunt in regards to growth in an aquarium, they die prematurely. It is an old wives tale that fish or other organisms will only grow to the size of their tank, and then live happily ever after at a smaller size. They will grow as the resources and environment allows, and then die from lack of essentials. Clams too, as been stated by everyone.

 

[acarson19]

jmaneyapanda,

I really did always think fish growth got stunted, I think it's one of those thing I've heard for so long, I never even gave it a thought to find out if it was true or not. Thank you for clearing that up! It is great to know.