I.D., position, substrate, and exposure duration

[PsychoKnight]

Got the clam just now because it looked so cool to this newbie.

Now I'm worried - seems I only learn about species after the fact, working on that . . .

Fishless L.R. tank is 2 months old, good coralline growth, moderate algae growth. Flower pot, hammer head, open brain, shrooms, all seem happy.

Now I'm reading about this finnicky light/food/water requirements.

40g, 1-1/2" sand, rocks to near top, 16" tall tank, lights 12" from water
175w, 10K MH, and 120w worth of actinic PC
Remora Pro w/ Mag3, Mag2 for circulation
45 lbs LR
1 common dancing shrimp, 2 turbos, 1 sea hare, 7 tiny hermits, 4" purple lobster (always hiding), 2 handfuls of cheato for nitrate control (stuff looks nasty)
Will place 4 damsels & a clown after 2 more weeks of quarantine, and will convert 40g quarantine tank to LR/macro algae refugium.

1. What type of clam is this, a max? Sorry for the dumb question but they all look the same to me. Its almost 3".

2. Substrate and proximity to lights; Sand or rock preferable? I can place a sand tray up on the rocks if sand is better. If rock, can I get it to unstick from the rock without injury, or do I need to chose my rocks carefully? What if it attaches between the crevice of two rocks, such that it is attached to both rocks w/ the same byssal gland (that's where he is now, but not attached yet).

3. How close to the light shall I place the clam, and how much current (calm, moderate, high-flow). Okay to prop it up at a slight angle so I can see from both side view and above?

4. Do I to combine intensity with duration of exposure to lighting to figure total light? Closer to light for less time, versus deeper but a longer period. I imagine there's no quantitative formula but any guidelines based on collective experience? I would prefer having the clam deeper and leave the lights on longer rather than high in the rocks for a shorter lighting period.

Current Condition;
once I acclimated, I popped it on a rock 2" from the top of the water, and about 14" from my 175watt MH, and angled it for better viewing since its so far up, propped up between two very large rocks. I think the mantle is fully extended but I don't know if I'm burning him up in the intense lighting (or not enough light? how can I tell? See if there's bleaching?), and how to move him if he gets attached to the rock. Please tell me if I'm killing the poor guy, or if I'm just paranoid. Nervous because tank is very new and I don't know what I'm doing.

78F, RO/DI water
1.025-26 SG
8.3 pH
485 calcium
1400 mag
.03 iodine (process of moving to .06 from .01 slowly)
0 ppm ammo
0 ppm nitrite
2 - 3 ppm nitrate (can't tell from color chart, not zero but very faint trace)
8 deg Kh - on the low side, its only an issue to prevent pH crash, right, not a big deal if I have low bio-load and weekly water changes, yes? Or need to add ReefBuilder or similar right away?
1 drop of PhytoMax weekly - sound about right?

Sorry so many questions but thanks, everyone.
P.K.

 

[mbbuna]

its a crocea
they like being on the rocks
low to med flow
slowly move it up to about mid tank or a little higher
save your $ and throw the iodine away(if overdosed it can be toxic)and if you do regular water changes with good salt mix you don't need to add any
a clam of that size gets most of it food from light so you don't need the phyto eather.but if you must add it only add live phyto not the dead stuff

 

[PsychoKnight]

save your $ and throw the iodine away(if overdosed it can be toxic)
you don't need the phyto eather.but if you must add it only add live phyto not the dead stuff

Thanks for the reply, especially about live phyto versus dead phyto. Its a fishless tank so no food goes into the water. Filter feeders will still be okay without any bio-matter added to the tank?

Also thanks about the iodine advice. My Seachem test instructions gave the opposite position, that higher levels than found in natural sea water (within limits) may be beneficial. So thanks for alerting me.

 

[mbbuna]

if you want to use phyto use something like DT's, and only dose half of what they recommend,half the time

 

[weefishman]

Good advice, also make sure you resist the urge to move it around too much. The more you move it, the more stressed out it will become. Unless it's doing something drastic like bleaching out, I'd leave it alone as much as possible. Good luck, and great looking clam.

-Jonny