Hello everybody- I just bought my first clam and am a bit nervous. From all the research i've done, I've been led to believe that they are quite difficult, nonetheless i'm attempting it. My clam of choice is the only thing small enough to fit in my tank- Tridacna Crocea. From what I understand, it's the most difficult of the Tridacnas to care for, and i've always been of the belief that if you're going to try something, you should aspire for the most difficult- for if you master that, anything lesser is easier. Given that, my Crocea is being housed in a 5 gallon Eclipse hex. The current lighting is a 150 watt 14000k halide- though this is temporary due to overheating and running expense. I'll soon be adding a trio of Taam Rio 10 LED 10000k fixtures. Will these fixures be enough light? From what i've gathered- each fixture consumes 10 watts and has the lumen output of a 20 watt bulb. Thanks for the info and hello from the new guy!
New to the Clam world
- Thread starter BigSalt
- Start date
ezcompany
Premium Member
BigSalt,
[welcome]
T. Maximas are generally more difficult to keep than Croceas, while Croceas are the most light demanding of all. You should be fine with the 150w 14k halide, but before lighting you should also check your water parameters in regards to stability, ca, and alk.
I am not too familiar with the Taam Rio 10k fixtures, but a trio of what you suggested @ 20 lumens each is 60 lumens, which i feel isn't enough for a crocea, as i don't think thats enough to penetrate the water. Elos nanos e-brite lights have around 80 lumens and are compared to 70w metal halides, which is okay for clams in really shallow waters. (less than 15 inches)
[welcome]
T. Maximas are generally more difficult to keep than Croceas, while Croceas are the most light demanding of all. You should be fine with the 150w 14k halide, but before lighting you should also check your water parameters in regards to stability, ca, and alk.
I am not too familiar with the Taam Rio 10k fixtures, but a trio of what you suggested @ 20 lumens each is 60 lumens, which i feel isn't enough for a crocea, as i don't think thats enough to penetrate the water. Elos nanos e-brite lights have around 80 lumens and are compared to 70w metal halides, which is okay for clams in really shallow waters. (less than 15 inches)
Actually, now that i've had a chance to install and run them- my clam is doing fine- may just be luck, but it's extending its mantle fully, seems almost hyper-reactive when there's a shadow cast, just as quick when there's sudden movement around the tank, and just as quick to re-extend. everything seems fine... i'll keep everybody posted as things develope.
One note though- i've had it about a week- for the first three days it was under a 150 watt halide and has been under the LEDs for about four days. Could be a bit early to call it a sucess story.
Also- after putting it under the halides, it quickly developed what looked like little white flecks- a good count of them too- all over the mantle. After putting it under the LEDs, they have greatly receeded. Now they number about fifteen. What are these? I wish I could get a pic up, but my camera's broke. Whatever it was, it looked very similar to Ick.
One note though- i've had it about a week- for the first three days it was under a 150 watt halide and has been under the LEDs for about four days. Could be a bit early to call it a sucess story.
Also- after putting it under the halides, it quickly developed what looked like little white flecks- a good count of them too- all over the mantle. After putting it under the LEDs, they have greatly receeded. Now they number about fifteen. What are these? I wish I could get a pic up, but my camera's broke. Whatever it was, it looked very similar to Ick.
snommisbor
Premium Member
Make sure you keep up with Calcium, with a tank that small it can get used up quickly.
Ok- first i'll admit that Kellis called out the skeleton in my closet- I don't use a quarantine tank(face is now red) I don't have the room in my apartment, but to my credit, I do wish I had one and the first chance I get, i'll get one- I only hope that until then, not having one won't bite me in the rear.
Second, on a better note, I'm confident in my calcium dosing schedule- I do a 20% water change every other day coupled with regular daily dosing. On the off days when I don't do a water change, I add five drops of Kent Liquid Calcium and about 1/2 teaspoon of Kent Superbuffer to the freshwater topoff cup and drip that in slowly. On the water change days, once the waterchange is done, I take a cup of aquarium water, mix the same amount of Calcium and buffer, and drip that in. When I need to mix up some more water, I add double that amount of calcium and buffer to the mixing bucket.
Thus far i've been seeing good results- a nice white line of new shell growth just under the mantle. I've also been thinking about going to an everyday water change regimen. I'm a huge beliver in waterchanges. I think personally it has to do with the lack of quarantining- if I can't ensure an animal is healthy, I'll make sure it has clean water. Heck, if I had the space for an extra bucket or two, I'd probably do a 50% daily change.
Second, on a better note, I'm confident in my calcium dosing schedule- I do a 20% water change every other day coupled with regular daily dosing. On the off days when I don't do a water change, I add five drops of Kent Liquid Calcium and about 1/2 teaspoon of Kent Superbuffer to the freshwater topoff cup and drip that in slowly. On the water change days, once the waterchange is done, I take a cup of aquarium water, mix the same amount of Calcium and buffer, and drip that in. When I need to mix up some more water, I add double that amount of calcium and buffer to the mixing bucket.
Thus far i've been seeing good results- a nice white line of new shell growth just under the mantle. I've also been thinking about going to an everyday water change regimen. I'm a huge beliver in waterchanges. I think personally it has to do with the lack of quarantining- if I can't ensure an animal is healthy, I'll make sure it has clean water. Heck, if I had the space for an extra bucket or two, I'd probably do a 50% daily change.
