Thinking about buying a clam?

I

Its.Evannn

New member
So my current tank is a 40g breeder. It's been setup for quite sometime. All the parameters seem to be in check. All I have at the moment are 2 clownfish, some soft corals and an anemone. My main concern is lighting. I have a 4-bulb t5ho light fixture(with individually contoured reflectors). I was wondering if I'd be able to have a clam with that type of lighting and if so where would I need to place it? The tank is 16" deep by the way. Thanks for y'all's input! Happy reefing.
 
depending on the clam, and its position in the tank, shouldn't be an issue.

i kept a crocea in my QT tank under a t5ho fixture for several months. it was VERY close to the light though. light was about two inches above the water line, and the clam was about two inches below the water line.

so if you're going to get one of the higher light demand clams like a maxima or crocea, make sure it is as close to the light as you can get it.
 
Like others mentioned keep the bulbs fresh and the reflectors/lens clean, water polished (GAC) and you should be fine.
I also agree that maybe going with a squamosa or derasa first might be wise, if you do get a crocea or maxima, try to maybe give it a cradle on your rock work, croceas are pretty good at staying put on rocks, where as maximas tend to like to move around a bit more in my experience.

Also, I would try keeping it towards the middle or the tank, but not under the center brace of course, my reasoning is, fluorescent tubes are most intense towards the center of the bulb.
 
I was planning on getting a derasa clam and putting it on the sandbed in the middle of the tank. Would that be fine or would I need to place it somewhere in the rockwork?
 
Smaller clams are much harder to keep (3 inches or under). Keep that in mind when picking your specimen.
 
Its.Evannn said:
I was planning on getting a derasa clam and putting it on the sandbed in the middle of the tank. Would that be fine or would I need to place it somewhere in the rockwork?
Click to expand...

Deresa is a good choice. They tend to be hardier than other clam species. Just plan for space its gonna grow!
 
ezcompany said:
Deresa is a good choice. They tend to be hardier than other clam species. Just plan for space its gonna grow!
Click to expand...


So the sandbed would work for it? What about dosing? Right now I only have soft coral and I do weekly 10% water changes. Would dosing be necessary or since there isn't anything else consuming calcium would I be fine?
 
Keep an eye on your calcium and alkalinity especially as it starts to grow. But with just one clam, and no other cal/alk hogs, it is entirely possible that water changes will suffice for quite some time.
 
MondoBongo said:
Keep an eye on your calcium and alkalinity especially as it starts to grow. But with just one clam, and no other cal/alk hogs, it is entirely possible that water changes will suffice for quite some time.
Click to expand...

well thats my hope. i want to go as long as possible without worrying about dosing and all of that :p
 
Its.Evannn said:
So the sandbed would work for it? What about dosing? Right now I only have soft coral and I do weekly 10% water changes. Would dosing be necessary or since there isn't anything else consuming calcium would I be fine?
Click to expand...

Just because they are softies doesn't mean they don't consume calcium and carbonate. This especially applies to leather corals that have an abundance of spicuals (sp?) in their tissue.

Like others mentioned , again try a squammy or a derasa first, they tend to get more of their nutrient needs from filter feeding then the maximas and croceas.
Which can make them alot easier. In fact I would be pretty sure either species would be okay on the sandbed. However, if doing a maxima or crocea I would probably try and elevate it on the rock work in the upper 1/2 of the display.

Here is my 58 gallon from freshman year of highschool (2001)
I had a 175watt halide and about 200 watts of power compacts retro fitted in the canopy, the halide was literally inches off the water.
Yet still as you can see (center) I made sure my crocea had a nice perch dead center under the hotspot of the halide, had that clam till almost the end of college.............found out clams/ reef tanks don't do well with large additions of lager. :o

ahLSga7h.jpg
 
acrohead500ppm said:
Just because they are softies doesn't mean they don't consume calcium and carbonate. This especially applies to leather corals that have an abundance of spicuals (sp?) in their tissue.



Like others mentioned , again try a squammy or a derasa first, they tend to get more of their nutrient needs from filter feeding then the maximas and croceas.

Which can make them alot easier. In fact I would be pretty sure either species would be okay on the sandbed. However, if doing a maxima or crocea I would probably try and elevate it on the rock work in the upper 1/2 of the display.



Here is my 58 gallon from freshman year of highschool (2001)

I had a 175watt halide and about 200 watts of power compacts retro fitted in the canopy, the halide was literally inches off the water.

Yet still as you can see (center) I made sure my crocea had a nice perch dead center under the hotspot of the halide, had that clam till almost the end of college.............found out clams/ reef tanks don't do well with large additions of lager. :o



ahLSga7h.jpg
Click to expand...


That tank looks pretty awesome. I've come to the conclusion that I'd settle for a derasa since it's the easiest. Just wondering about placement and dosing and things like that right now.
 
gus6464 said:
Make sure you get a big clam and you will have no problems. Clams love filthy water though which I find funny.
Click to expand...


Really? You'd think it's be the opposite haha, the waters already somewhat dirty in order to help the soft corals thrive, but it's not completely filthy :P
 
filthy is in the mind of the beholder. clams deal well with nitrates, but phos not at all. or ammonia. or bad alk. water should be as good as possible. certainly not filthy gus
 
moliken said:
filthy is in the mind of the beholder. clams deal well with nitrates, but phos not at all. or ammonia. or bad alk. water should be as good as possible. certainly not filthy gus
Click to expand...


Do they do well with phosphates? I'm asking because of that whole debate with sps. Some people thought that a little phosphates and nitrates helped the growth and coloration. Is the same true for clams?
 
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