Pics of Clams in the wild

[BonsaiNut]

One more chapter in the "wild clams aren't found in sand" saga. Here are some photos of maximas in Tahiti. Note how they embed in the rock (to keep them from being eaten or washed away).

Not my photos, just thought they were interesting to share. 50% of the posts in the general "reef" thread belong down here in the special interest areas

http://users.adelphia.net/~sstruthers/borabora/BoraBoraWildClams.htm

 

[johnrags1234]

Awesome:thumbsup:

 

[drewsterr]

WOW !!! Very Sweet.

If i was that guy, i'll be itching to pry some of those clams out and put them in my pocket and take them home. Of course i'm only joking cause its illegal probably.

Hey, what are those corals that are in most of the pictures ? Pretty cools formations.

 

[BonsaiNut]

Most of the corals look like hydro (fire) corals, and are not true corals, but rather colonial hydroids. They burn like hell if you scratch them against exposed skin.

It is VERY difficult to remove these clams in the wild. If you try to put knife blade behind them, they will hunker down tighter than you can fit a knife. You cannot "pry" them without breaking the shell, the bond to the rock is harder than their shell is. I had (in the past) limited success slipping a cable saw behind the shell, but it was a long process. Best bet is to bring a cold iron chisel and a mini sledge hammer and remove the rock the clam is sitting on. It is much faster and gives you better results without stressing the clam.

 

[kozmo02]

great link, those pics are sweet :thumbsup:

 

[firechild]

BonsaiNut,
Very cool pictures.
I have to say that I don't see any fire coral in the pics though. I think you'll find that most of it is Porites or Pavona cactus. As for them being on rocks, this is because they are T. maxima. Over the past month I have dived several sites over the GBR and all T. maxima and T. crocea that I saw were on rocks while only a small percentage of T. gigas, T. derasa, T. squamosa and H. hippoppus were, no matter what size they were.

 

[Jive Turkey]

NOoooo

NOoooo

Only 6 of the pics work for me.
I like wild clam pics very much, I can't wait to go diving.:rollface:

 

[ABahn]

Beautiful pics. Thanks for sharing!

Cheers,

ABahn