Risk moving clam, or let it be in a position it can't fully open? (pics included)

wetWolger

New member
I recently got a beautiful maxima. While I have had clams before, this is my first clam in a BB aquarium. After getting him I placed him on a spot on the rocks I felt he would be likely happy in. Unfortunately that night he decided he wanted to move, I was a bit surprised how much he ended up moving actually.

Well needless to say, he ended up moving himself to a place between two rocks which are not wide enough to allow him to fully open. I have tried a couple times to see how attached he was (including the morning after I noticed he moved), and he is definitely secured to the bare bottom.

Water flow and lighting should be fine in this spot (Tank has a lot of light!). So the question is just if him not being able to fully open will be problematic to him. If I were to move him, what would be the best way to do it without damaging him? He is very securely attached to the bare bottom.

Here are some pictures so you can see exactly how much he can open. Please excuse the algae, that's another story I am working on.

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I think you should leave it and if and when it wants to fully open as it grows it'll adjust itself accordingly.
 
We just returned from Tahiti. Wild T. Maximas are everywhere. All colors of the rainbow. If you have ever seen a maxima in the wild, they are typically wedged into crevices in the rock. They actually attach to the rock and chemically dissolve a divot into the rock, borrowing in. As it grows, it rocks back and forth wearing away rock surrounding it. (and the small flutes on the shell) A saw a lot of clams that could just barely open enough to extend their mantle, but definitely not like we like to see them in our tanks. They are perfectly happy and I guess safe from predators, excluding man. We went to an island one day and there was a stack of Maxima shells as high as my head. I asked my guide why those were there and he said, we eat them. I said "STOP IT". He seemed a little surprised. Anyway, your clam is probably fine and happy, even if you aren't.
 
Thanks for the feedback!

I am perfectly happy, if he is. Sure he may not be "ideally" placed, but if he is happy, I can see him well enough. I would only move him if he needed it.
 
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