Southdown and Maxima clam

peluche

New member
I bought a blue Maxima clam last week and put him on the sandbed. He is well opened and reacts well to movements and changes in light intensity.

The problem is I have SB sand, and when he coughs, he blows sand all over. I am concerned the sand might do damage to his breathing apparatus.

Am I wrong in assuming he is coughing to dig himself in the sand as this is what he seems to be doing?

What do you recommend I do. I have him under a 175 watts MH and power compacts.

Thanks in advance as I want this baby to be happy. By the way, the clam is about 4 inches long. I put spray dried ESV phytoplancton and phytoplex in my tank every day.
 
I had my little U. Max do this during the two weeks it took for the clam to get settled and attach, about two weeks. It seemed to my that the clam would move forward a 1/2" most times it coughed. Then the dust would settle on the clam, and it would then, and only then, create and release slime.
hth
 
Should I worry about it? Any chance the dust will hurt it? What happened to your clam? Should I put some rocks under it or let it settle on the sand?
 
I would place a piece of rock under the maxima. I did and the clam has since attached.

As for the other question, I wouldn't worry too much about it. The clam is probaly still trying to get comfortable settling in. Just don't let anything pick on the clam and it should be fine.
 
Thanks Fish-o-holic. Now, how do I go about putting a rock underneath it? In what way will this help the clam? I know it is to make it attach, but why is this necessary?
 
What I did with my clams is find that "perfect", small piece of rock. I chose a rock that was either flat on top so I could just lay the clam directly on top of it. Or a rock that has somewhat of a "V" groove in it. I place the clam directly in the "V" portion of the rock.

I also buried the rock slightly under the gravel to prevent any worms/critter from getting into the clam. No holes = no entrance for pest to enter the clam.

If the clam hasn't attached to anything yet, now would be the perfect time to place the rock under the clam. Let me know if you need any further help.
 
I will try to find this perfect rock this weekend.

But what will it attach to if I keep it directly on the SD sandbed?

If I understand correctly, the only goal here is to prevent bad critters from going into my clam?

Thanks again for the help.
 
Yep, that is the purpose of a rock. Since maximas and croceas are found generally attached to rocks, you want to simulate the same atmosphere in your tank. Besides that, when a clam attaches to a rock, IMO, it feels more secure.

Since you already have it on the sandbed, the clam hasn't attached to anything I assume. Little particles of sand, no biggie. Just find a sutiable place to place the rock in and bury most of it. Just leave the top portion of the rock exposed and place your clam on top. If the clam likes the spot, it should attach in as little as 1 to 2 days or maybe a week. Good luck. :)
 
I have removed it from the sandbed and have put it higher directly on a rock. It has attached to that rock and has stopped coughing. Maybe it lacked light on my sandbed, or it was unhappy it could not attach. I will eventually put it back on the sand bed as soon as I find some good rubble, and as soon as I add an extra PC to what I already have. Thanks so much for your help.
 
Great to hear the clam is doing better. If the clam has already attached to the rock, just leave it alone. You don't wanna remove the clam if it already attached. By doing so, you could literally mess-up it's byssal thread (aka foot).

I am not sure how you can detach the clam from the rock safely without ruining it's foot if you decide to try it.
 
I will be very careful not to force it. If it resists one bite, I will leave it there. I will take this as its way of telling me it's happy there.

Thanks again.
 
Back
Top