Looking to purchase a clam.

[Nitroq2]

My tank has been up long enough I think a clam would fair well in it. So I am looking for information on the best place to purchase local or online. Also would like some recommendations based on Color, Availibility, and Hardiness in no particular order. If some of you guys/gals have one that you would like to part with post a pic and price. Also where is the best place in a 90 gallon tank with 500 watts of hailde and 182 watt or pc actinic lighting? Thanks for your help.
Allen

 

[Andrew_Adrian]

I've only ever kept a T. derasa... but in my short experience with them, they are fairly easy to keep. I know Squamosa clams are also fairly easy to keep. I'd say T. maximas are harder to keep, followed by T. crocea. Unfortunately the more beautiful they are, the more expensive and less-hardy they are.

I kept my derasa about 24" below a 250w Halide in my 29gallon, and it did well for a few years until the system was dismantled. Clams grow fairly slow, but can get rather large before you know it. Personally, I'd recommend starting off with a derasa--right under the MH bulb on the sandbed. I got my 3inch derasa back when Captive Bred Corals was still in Chattanooga for just under $30--so they can be somewhat inexpensive.

Good luck with the clams!! They certainly can be one of the most beautiful inhabitants of our reef tanks!

Cheers,
Andrew

 

[Mariner]

I've had a T. Derasa for quite some time. Along with the T. Squamosa, they're probably the easiest to keep in terms of lighting and water qualilty, but they're also the least colorful.
Clamsdirect.com has great info on and supply of clams. I believe that they are considered THE online source, although there are several others that sell.
Also, I believe that there's still a "Clams" forum here on RC that is a good source of info.
With your lighting, I'd think that you could meet the lighting demands of any of the Tridachnid clams.
Locally, CoralReefAquatics (Johnny Newby) usually has several nice looking clams.
HTH,
Mariner

 

[Sk8r]

I got a crocea in total ignorance, but I have mh, and feed phyto for my mandarin, and we're doing just fine. The clam has never attached, but it's grown 4 new rows of scutes since spring and seems to be thriving. The main thing is light, with this species, and the phyto doesn't hurt either.

 

[H@rry]

I've got a bristleworm in each tank in excess of 18 inches. They never seem to have bothered anything. Any time I have a death in the tank or put a big hunk of food in, the next morning I see that it is cleaned up (gone) and there is a big gob of slime where the worm finished it off. I'm fine with that. That's what I want. I've read that bistleworms only eat things that are dead or dying.

Every time I've had a clam it will be fine for several months and then one morning I wake up to find that the clam that was fine yesterday is gone. The shell is gaped open and empty with the exception of a gob of bristleworm slime. For that reason I have given up on clams. Has anyone else had a similar experience?

 

[Sk8r]

I can tell you, H@rry, I have major bristleworms, too, and there's no problem with the clam. I've had him jet-propel snails that fell into his lap, and react to various inverts, but he protects himself quite ably. The one thing that will get them is a very tiny, almost invisible snail that predates on them: pyramid snail. If those are in there, that could be a problem.

 

[Mariner]

I know that I've got a very large Eunicid worm in my tank, but he hasn't bothered my clam. That's not to say that the kind of worms Harry's got in his tank would not bother his clam... I think that there are more different kinds of worms in the ocean than...well... fish in the sea.
Mariner

 

[Rollin]

I've got basically the same setup as you with a 90g, 2x250mh and 2x54w T5s. I have two T. Croceas and they do fine on the bottom of the tank. I have them both sitting on top of oyster shells so they have something to attach to. I've kept them both at the top and at the bottom with no noticeable difference. I prefer them on the bottom because you can more easily see the mantle.

~chris

 

[tjswan]

coral reef in athens has some of the best looking clams i have seen

 

[alafish]

Allen-

If you ever go to Atlanta, Cappuccino Bay has AWESOME clams, from little bitties to 7-8". Croceas to derasas. Good prices too. The rest of the store is awesome as well.

The store is in Marietta, NW of Atlanta off I-75.

Hope all is well!
Marybeth