How to feed Clams...

[fatdaddy]

Just bought a Derasa and a maxima clams that are now out of QT and in the display tank. I've just been adding phytoplankton directly to the QT water as there is no skimmer, only 10 gallons, etc.

So, a few questions:

Should I use directed feeding with the powerheads off?
Should I turn the skimmer off?
Any other hints to keep them healthy and hopefully growing?

 

[kuoka]

Whenever I feed phyto, I turn the skimmer off for a couple of hours. My LFS suggests to leave the skimmer off 24 hrs (that's what they do).

 

[drummereef]

There's some great reads in this thread about feeding.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=70806

 

[papagimp]

I dose phyto daily and never bothered to turn the skimmer or other pumps off at all. Just let the current take the food where it needs to.

 

[loosecannon]

to anser your ? , yes.

 

[Canarygirl]

Do clams need to be fed live phyto daily, twice weekly, weekly, or....?

I think I haven't been feeding my crocea enough as I've only dosed phyto weekly. I don't want him to starve (but I also don't want to create an algae bloom in my tank).

The big article on feeding clams didn't mention frequency.

 

[papagimp]

I fed mine daily, not so much for the clams benefit but more since I culture my own phyto, home cultured stuff isn't as desnse as DT's or similar live phyto products so it requires more to get the same result. I add about 1/4 cup daily to my 55g, this feeds my clam (crocea), feather dusters, pod populations, dwarf dusters and anything else that filter feeds on phyto.

As for feeding the clam, depends on the size. smaller baby clams do not have sufficient mantel on them to house the appropirate amounts of zooanthellae and will require more feedings of phytoplankton than a larger clam will, larger specimens get the majority of their nurishment from the lighting/zooanthellae. I'd say if you are target feeding a baby, maybe three times a week max, if he's more than 4" across, once or twice should suffice.

The reason frequency wasn't mentioned in all likelyhood is for the reasons mentioned above, small clams are the only ones that require feedings.