How to choose the right clam?

[Zante]

'm looking at adding a clam to my system, and initially I was thinking of a squamosa, but I'd like some advice before I actually pick the wrong one.

So, why would I choose a hippopus rather than a tridanca clam? (apart from personal preference obviously)

Among the tridacnas I'll be looking only at the sand-dwelling ones. How do I choose between derasa, squamosa and possibly gigas.

So, gigas might be out just for the size it reaches, though that also depends on the time it takes to reach that size.

Why would one choose derasa over squamosa or viceversa? (again, apart from personal preference)

How do I know the clam will be getting enough light?

My system is a 5 feet x 2 feet x 2 feet lit by 2 radions. I have built the rockwork as 2 separate reefs separated by a sandy plain about 1 foot wide which is where I'd place the clam.

 

[e55driver]

This could be a good thread, I also have a lot of clam questions.

 

[MondoBongo]

derasa can get pretty large too, maximum reported size up around the two foot (.6 meter) mark.

from some of the reading i have been doing the H. hippopus may actually have somewhat less intense lighting requirements than the Tridacna sp. do.

 

[prettyfishy76]

I have 3 clams in my 29g NanoCube Intermediate LED. I am letting them grow out before I place them in the "big" tanks.

The first clam that I purchased was a hippopus (currently 4 inches). It's a great clam however, not all that pretty. I am fairly attached to mine and so it's pretty in its own way. I have easily been able to keep it happy. It sits on my sand bed. The clam hasn't moved from its spot in over 6 months. Here is a photo:

The second clam that I bought was a crocea (currently 5.75 inches). I bought it because it was very different than most croceas. It has the base blue/purple mantle with off-white patches. Don't worry, it didn't bleach as the patches have a very light brownish shade to them. The person who had the clam before me said those patches had always been there. This clam sits about 3 inches from the surface of the water, attached to a rock. Here is a photo:

The most recent clam that I added to my collection is a derasa (currently 4.75 inches). I have placed this clam on the sand bed, along with the hippopus. I'm really excited about this one because I have heard that this clam grows very rapidly. So, it'll probably be the first one that I add to one of the larger tanks. It's quite pretty. I don't have any photos on my phone to share...

I would love to get a squamosa, as well, but I can't seem to find them in my area that are large enough for me to take home. I don't want a clam that is 3 inches or under. They just don't do as well. There was a 12" squamosa at the LFS that I had my eye on for a long while and when I went in to purchase it with a recent gift certificate that I received, someone had already bought it. It was a sad day. It was a great clam.

You will probably not want to look into getting a gigas. These clams get WAY too big (super heavey, too) and should ultimately be kept by large aquarium organizations that have the room for them. They get massive and grow very quickly. I know there are some hobbyists that keep these clams, but most people aren't going to have a large enough system for them.

Hope this helps in your decision. The most important thing you can do, with any clam you purchase, is keep a good eye on them and make sure they are happy where you put them. Adjust things if they aren't happy.

 

[tommer725]

I'd go with what color you think would be the best. They like as much light as they can get, usually if they can get enough light to keep a sps they're fine. Kept clams in all sorts of spots, no problems.

 

[noy]

This is good article from a few years back.

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2007-10/jf/

 

[ca1ore]

I have kept multiple specimens of the five 'major' tridacna species and would rank the thus in order of most to least hardy: squamosa, maxima, deresa, crocea and gigas. Gigas get too big, and aren't available anymore regardless. Deresa can also get quite big, and aren't the most attractive IMO. Crocea are nice, but require very high lighting levels, and it is generally impossible to provide the 'embedded' spot they most like. So, for me it is either squamosa or maxima. Squamosa is best located on the sand bed; maxima on the rockwork.

 

[JRR1285]

I too have been waiting patiently to get a clam. I want to eventually have two. I almost bought one a few months ago but I'm happy I waited. My tank is now stable enough in my opinion to be a good home for a clam. Now I just need to figure out where I would place it.

 

[moliken]

high up for crocea

 

[Zante]

Would 24w of LEDs at 8,000 kelvin be enough for a crocea clam if directly above?

 

[MondoBongo]

watts really aren't a very good indicator of lighting power or intensity. PAR would give a much more educated guess.

 

[ca1ore]

Would 24w of LEDs at 8,000 kelvin be enough for a crocea clam if directly above?

Probably. Because Crocea clams live in such shallow waters, lower kelvin lights actually perform better, so 8K ought to be ideal. IME, treat a Crocea like you would a high light SPS.

 

[Saltliquid]

They are quite easy to keep successfully.
Par with led lighting isn’t a great indicator of useful light compared to resistance lighting due to most leds not emitting any real radiation, which is the R part of PAR.
I wouldn’t use resistance lighting again and my clams thrive under the old 3 watt cree xr-e diodes of cool white and standard blues with 120 degree optics, though 80 degrees is far more efficient as are most leds these days compared to my old school diodes.
It’s the colours in the lighting that inspires photosynthesis in all plants and the symbiotic algae with in the clams mantle and blue goes the deepest with the most power.
I would go with the same colours that have been using but next time I would put in some true green diodes as well.
I feed mine via the whole tank a lot of small planktonic sized foods mixed up together and I make sure the water never gets above 26c and the clams foot-underside is protected, that’s a priority until they find where they are happy and try not to put them on a substrate, over the years they get parasites and worms from the substrate as t ages and they may die.
Dose your waters the same as if you are keeping sps and they don’t mind a bit of phos and nitrate to an amount of what will kill sps.
Hardy creatures clams, if you do it right.
These are my current little ones; they were a lot smaller a while back!

These are the last two of the original three that survived the power outage of this years cyclone, they got to big for my little tank and I passed them onto another club member.

 

[GHill762]

I have 3 clams in my 29g NanoCube Intermediate LED. I am letting them grow out before I place them in the "big" tanks.

The first clam that I purchased was a hippopus (currently 4 inches). It's a great clam however, not all that pretty. I am fairly attached to mine and so it's pretty in its own way. I have easily been able to keep it happy. It sits on my sand bed. The clam hasn't moved from its spot in over 6 months. Here is a photo:

The second clam that I bought was a crocea (currently 5.75 inches). I bought it because it was very different than most croceas. It has the base blue/purple mantle with off-white patches. Don't worry, it didn't bleach as the patches have a very light brownish shade to them. The person who had the clam before me said those patches had always been there. This clam sits about 3 inches from the surface of the water, attached to a rock. Here is a photo:

The most recent clam that I added to my collection is a derasa (currently 4.75 inches). I have placed this clam on the sand bed, along with the hippopus. I'm really excited about this one because I have heard that this clam grows very rapidly. So, it'll probably be the first one that I add to one of the larger tanks. It's quite pretty. I don't have any photos on my phone to share...

I would love to get a squamosa, as well, but I can't seem to find them in my area that are large enough for me to take home. I don't want a clam that is 3 inches or under. They just don't do as well. There was a 12" squamosa at the LFS that I had my eye on for a long while and when I went in to purchase it with a recent gift certificate that I received, someone had already bought it. It was a sad day. It was a great clam.

You will probably not want to look into getting a gigas. These clams get WAY too big (super heavey, too) and should ultimately be kept by large aquarium organizations that have the room for them. They get massive and grow very quickly. I know there are some hobbyists that keep these clams, but most people aren't going to have a large enough system for them.

Hope this helps in your decision. The most important thing you can do, with any clam you purchase, is keep a good eye on them and make sure they are happy where you put them. Adjust things if they aren't happy.

that's an amazing crocea!!! :eek1:

 

[prettyfishy76]

that's an amazing crocea!!! :eek1:

Thanks! It's by far my favorite.