Question about new clam?

[wfgworks]

I just got this clam 3 weeks ago and wanted to make sure that its getting enough light and is health. I have a 75 gallon reef tank with T5 lighting. I know that clams need good levels of calcium, good lighting, ect..... How can you tell if a clam is getting enough light? Attached is a picture of my clam. Thanks for all your feedback.

 

[acroporas]

Re: Question about new clam?

I just got this clam 3 weeks ago and wanted to make sure that its getting enough light and is health. I have a 75 gallon reef tank with T5 lighting. I know that clams need good levels of calcium, good lighting, ect..... How can you tell if a clam is getting enough light? Attached is a picture of my clam. Thanks for all your feedback.

You can tell a clam isn't getting enough light if it isn't under MH. Your crocea, does not look horible but could look better. Its gaping incurent syphon(mouth) is not a good sign. It also look like it might be starting to bleach on the far side. Move the clam up as high in the tank as possible.

 

[wfgworks]

acroporas

Thanks for the feedback.

I will move the clam up to a higher location. So a gaping syphon mouth is a good sign that a clam needs more light? I was told that T5 lighting would be fine for a clam and wouldnt need MH. Whats your thoughts on that? Could it just be placment of where its at on the bottom? Maybe to much flow in that area?

 

[acroporas]

acroporas

Thanks for the feedback.

I will move the clam up to a higher location. So a gaping syphon mouth is a good sign that a clam needs more light? I was told that T5 lighting would be fine for a clam and wouldnt need MH. Whats your thoughts on that? Could it just be placment of where its at on the bottom? Maybe to much flow in that area?

You were told wrong. Let me guess, the person who told you this was trying to sell you the clam... Clams, especially maxima and crocea need metal halide. There is no way around it. Gaping mouth is just a general bad sign. So long as their mantle isnt flapping in the wind the current is fine.

 

[wfgworks]

I read some posts from other people on Reef Central using T5's saying that their clams were responding very well under T5 lighting and I didnt think it would be an issue for me. Oh well, the clam has been moved to the High Roller Suite in my tank.

Thanks again.

 

[diggidy]

wfgworks...look for some other opinions...t-5 is a "new" style of lighting...it seems that they can make great light, something to do with the the relationship of the reflector to the bulb...tech tech tech jibberish lol good luck

 

[kennerd]

It will be happier up top for another reason, too: croceas are rock-boring clams and will attach and settle better on the rockwork, and the increased lighting will help, too.

I have no knowledge of T-5's...yet

 

[moonpod]

How deep is your tank and are you using The SLS reflectors? And was the crocea gaping at the store where you bought it? In my limited experience w/T5s and clams, it's not the lighting, it's the clams. Clams that are gaping from the start and poorly responsive don't make it. There's someting wrong w/them. Additionally kennerd brings up the very good point that croceas in particular like to be in the rocks and are called "boring" clams as they actually excrete a chemical from their foot to "bore" into the rock for a more secure foot hold. the farthest I've kept a crocea from my T5s is about 20". They are the most light demanding clams and realistically will do best closer up. The maximas are much more tolerant and I've left them on the sand bed w/o them getting brown or getting the "Y" appearance to the mantle that clams get when they want more light (like they're reaching up). Derasas and Squamosas will easily do well on the sand bed. That being said, clams are one of the few animals that you "can't get enough light to". ie more is typically "better" as long as you acclimate 'em, and they'll acclimate fast. Some other animals this is not true at all for--I've melted plenty of zoos and slimed out some stonies in my time under T5s.

Final comment I would make is that the extension of the mantle is good on that pix. In terms of the color of the clam who knows. Pix and reality often diverge. The gaping is what would concern me and that IME isn't related to light but to "other" issues usually.

wfgworks you're probably thinking of my experience and yes, IME T5HO lighting done well is enough light for clams in most tank sizes. My maximas and croceas are all growing, but I keep most of my clams in the rock work. They seem happier there. Therefore currently most of my clams are either right at the top or no more than 20" from the lights. Derasa and Squamosas are on the bottom. I'd link some recent pix, but my gallery at thesea.org is down.

 

[wfgworks]

Thank you for all your input on this subject. The tank is 75 gallon which I believe is only 20" deep. Some of the threads I read on clams under T5s were you but their are others as well.

My limited knowledge of clams and how they are suppose to look didnt helping but I'm learning. The big gap that is in the clam if I recall was there but not as large as it is now. I should have asked around more before buying it to learn how a healthy clam should look. Is their anything else I can do to help this clam recover because it sounds as though maybe this clam was sick from the start. I have moved the clam to higher grounds in the rock work so hopefully that will help.

Could someone post their crocea so I can get a better idea of how a healthy one looks so I dont make this mistake in the future?

Moonpod, when you say slimed out did it involve any Xenia? I had one small Xenia that just melted away but besides that I love my T5's. My acropora has really responded well to the new lights.

 

[sahin]

The clam is stressed (ie note the wide open incurrent hole). It is also stretching for light. It was a good idea to move it closer to the lights.

I got T5 lighting about a year ago when it first hit Europe. IMO hype. Not as good as Metal halide when it comes to intensity. See the light is spread over a long tube. Not concentrated in a small area like with MH.

But anyway, keep up the calcium. Ensure the water quality is good and it should be fine.

Post a new picture if possibel. We can check to see if its looking better etc.

 

[moonpod]

sahin, I wouldn't say that T5 is "better" than MH. It's just that it's enough for a lot of applications and certainly is less heat. But as a replacement for a good DE MH setup, of course not. And yes, clams in general can tolerate and benefit from lots and lots of light.

What I've noticed of the sps frags in my tank to date is that they seem to really like the T5s. To date everything is keeping color and growing--acros and montis and some things I'm not sure what they are except that they are sps. Things that I have melted include a candy cane, frogspawn, an open brain, lots of zoos, and shrooms (surprise, surprise). Xenia I've got running wild. Leathers on the other hand don't seem to respond all that well in my tank. they don't die, but growth is poor. The clams are definitely growing. They always have a .25" rim of new growth and I've got new scutes plating out constantly. So they seem to be ok, but would they like 250w DE, I'm sure they would.

 

[sahin]

Moonpod, I dont think T5's are bad either. Its just that over here it was OVER HYPED. Quite a few LFS and magazines called them MH replacements and the like. Thats what I am refering to. Not sure how they are marketed over in the states.

But as you have said, they do serve thier purposes. And yes, I have grown a few acros under T5. A small hydnophora colony doubled in size under T5 is about 5 months. Which is good growth for T5 lighting.

Its just when it comes to clams, IMO are the highest light requiring organism we buy thus I believe they really should be kept under halides.

So I am not bashing T5's. Have you seen the amoun tof light a 39w Starcoat 6,5K Kelvin tubes produces? LOTS!!!