Maxima Advice

[Slakker]

Afternoon, all! I'm really trying to cover all my bases here and make an educated decision, so bear with me.. I know this thread is quite a long read, but please...I'd like as much input as possible, so I thank you in advance for your time.

I've just read through about 5 pages of posts about clams, and plan to do quite a lot more research in the next week. However, here's the scoop:

I have an opportunity to participate in an order directly from ORA. My 12g is pretty well stocked as far as fish go, but I have wanted a clam for some time now and this seems like a great opportunity to get a quality clam for a super low price.

Here's the catch: The order sheet lists the Maxima clams at the size of 1.5" I know that such small clams are notoriously hard to keep alive, so I wanted some advice/feedback before purchasing it. The order I want to place would be for one "Maxima - 1st (Green)." This line doesn't specifically say that it's 1.5" but the other Maxima listings all say 1.5" so I'm making an assumption.

Here's the deal with my tank: I set it up back in March and it's been doing well ever since. The tank itself was empty for a couple of weeks in may, during which I replaced the sandbed, but the rocks were kept wet and in an adequately circulated tub. No problems there. I upgraded to MH in early June and got some Pulsing Xenia the same day. About a month ago I transferred my two small A. Ocellaris back into the tank out of QT and they've been doing perfectly ever since. A couple of weeks later I moved a frogspawn frag out of QT and into the main tank, and after pulling a peppermint shrimp that repeatedly harassed it, it's been doing wonderfully. I've got a couple of small Zoa frags in there that are opening nicely (even after one of the frags was accidentally flung into a wall at high speed...long story). So far I've got no apparent signs of anything in there that would be harmful to a Tridacnid. I've been getting great Coralline growth over the last month or so, so I take it as a sign that I'm doing something right. I've also got three blue legged hermits and three Cerith snails (Not a big cleanup crew, I know. This will be expanded/added to over time with some nassarius snails and some astrea snails.)

I do a slightly larger than 10% water change every week (about 1.5 gallons on a 12 gallon tank) and use Instant Ocean and RO/DI (TDS zero) for makeup water. I've got 175 watts of 14,000k MH in a 15" deep tank, the light is about 10" off of the water's surface. No clue what brand this bulb is, came with the fixture when I bought it from a local guy. However, I've got a Hamilton 14k coming in soon to replace it, so I'm thinking it'll be even brighter. Who knows how old this one is..

I've got a roughly 1.5" deep sandbed of sugar sized oolitic "Aragamax" sand, and a little more than 12 pounds of rock. I'll be adding another few pounds of small rocks (Fully cured and QTed for three weeks) pretty soon, as well. I currently have no outside filtration (just the sand, rock, and MJ900 for circulation), but I'm considering adding an AC70 fugemod with surface skimmer.

I'm worrying about the survival of the little clam. If anyone has any advice (even if the advice isn't what I want to hear) or wants any more information on my system that may give you more clues as to whether I'm worthy as a baby clam keeper, please chime in.

 

[Rockitmakr]

ORA clams are usually very hardy. As for your tank, seems like everything is fine. IMO, lighting is the most important key in successfully keeping clams, along with proper water parms. With your lighting I see no problems and going to a Hamilton 14 K will make this clam look nice. I have kept clams for a while & never fed them anything, ever! They can survive on light alone but if you have any fish in your tank, they will love their poop for an afternoon snack!
:beer:

 

[Slakker]

Thanks for the input, I appreciate it. I have a pair of A. Ocellaris in the tank, so I'm hoping that it will be plenty of light and food to keep the baby clam alive and well.

Is there anything that I can do to increase the chances of the clam's survival?

 

[mbbuna]

you are up against 3 pretty big obstacles here.

1- small clams have a very high mortality rate, don't know why for sure but its not because they need phytoplankton. IMO just like any other living thing the young and old are more sensitive and susceptible to environmental stresses, predation and diseases.

2-trying to keep Tridacnids in such a small amount of water is very difficult. chemistry swings can be very drastic and can happen quickly.

3- maximas are by far the hardest to keep

 

[Slakker]

Agreed...

1 - I'm aware, and terrified, of this truth. I don't want to end up killing anything, believe me. I haven't lost anything other than a few snails (blasted hermits...) and I'd like to continue the trend of not killing off my livestock. I am always more comfortable with aquacultured creatures, and for my pocket book's sake, I would rather spend as little as possible on my first attempt with these creatures. Yet, I do realize that the smaller the clam, the higher the likelihood I will fail. It's a bit of a double edged sword for me.

2 - I am planning on upgrading to a 20 gallon extra high sometime around January. Does this change in volume make a substantial difference? I guess the main question is, at what point is the system volume no longer a hindrance in the success of keeping the clams?

3 - I wasn't aware that Maxima's were the hardest...apparently I missed that in the reading I've done so far. Thanks for the heads up. The main reason I was interested in a Maxima is because I love the patterns many of them have on their mantles and they're the cheapest clams on the list from ORA. Being in college, funding is always an issue.

My other options right now (through this ORA order) are assorted "grades" of Crocea, all more expensive and the same size (1.5"), as well as a 2" Derasa for slightly more or a 3" Derasa for the same price as the Crocea. I've gotta say, I like the Maxima's better than Crocea or Derasas, and not only for the price. I think they're the coolest (maybe tied with Gigas...but I don't really have the space for a 400 pound monster )

I appreciate the input. Sounds like it's going to be some hard work, but if it's realistically achievable it could be worth it.

Is there anything you think I could do to make success more likely?

(Please note that I'm not saying that I plan to get a clam even if it seems like it will be impossible, I'd just like to gather as many opinions and tips as possible before I decide one way or the other. If I feel that I am 100% capable of taking the necessary measures to *attempt* to ensure success, I will likely give it a shot. Otherwise the clam will stay in ORA's troughs to hopefully go to someone who will.)

 

[Slakker]

Anything else? It's getting a lot closer to Friday (when the order has to be in) and I'm still on the fence..

 

[mbbuna]

the smaller the water volume is the quicker and more drastic the chemistry changes can/will be. your biggest concern is Alk, clams are very sensitive to Alk changes and what i see most often in smaller tanks is people trying to adjust there Alk too quickly. they do a test and see there Alk is low and try to correct it all at once, just dumping the additive in. you would be best served to set up some type of drip system.

EZcompany has been keeping clams in nano's for some time now. hopefully he will chime in if not PM him for some pointers

 

[Slakker]

Thanks again for the advice. I've learned already that making quick changes in a tank of any size can be a disaster.

To adjust any parameters that need adjusting what I usually do is mix additives in with my topoff water, that way the necessary adjustment is pretty gradual, and I've always just felt it was safer for additives to be diluted before being added to the tank.

I'll drop EZcompany a PM to see if he has any tips.