Just wondering...

[rydr119]

I was thinking about this today, if you have a small clam or scallop attached to your rocks and it grows without moving from this spot, will the shell conform to the rocks as it grown larger? Oh also about how quickly do squammies grow?

 

[mbbuna]

cant really say if the shell will deform to the shape of the rock. ive seen clams with deformed shells but really have no idea what caused it.

squamosas can grow fairly fast, on average about 6cm per year

 

[rydr119]

cool thanks for the reply

 

[Drachs]

Most clams that like to attach to rocks such as crocea will extend a bit of specialized mantle out of their byssal opening, this mantle secretes an acid that will dissolve calcium carbonate structures to provide the clam with room to grow. This part of the mantle is usually large enough to reach out of the bottom and all the way to the top of the clam.

Sometimes however some parts of the rock are too hard to dissolve, and the clam ends up with a deformed shell, this normally does not hurt the clam.