thinking about getting a clam..

[aj000712]

i've been doing a little bit of research but i wanted to get some opinions on which clam is best for a first.
any input is appreciated!

 

[SeaCucumberFan]

Maxima clam I think is the best for a clam newbie.

 

[AT]

derasa even easier

 

[mystersyster]

derasa even easier

+1 Derasa are typically bigger and cheaper in the aquarium trade. They dont have as vibrant of colors, but they're just as fun to own. Here's a picture of mine.

 

[Dogshowgrl]

Derasa are a great place to start. Purchase the largest one you can find, the bigger the more stable they are, the more likely you will be successful.

Good luck!

 

[MondoBongo]

just keep in mind that T. derasa can get huge, about to about 24" shell length.

growth rate varies from individual to individual.

 

[TheReeferer]

Hmmm mine doubled in size in about 8 months. Will make a great clam chowder one day.


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[Alf500series]

What do they eat?

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[MondoBongo]

Tridacna clams don't really eat per se. They get most of their carbon as excess from their symbiotic zooxanthellae, just like corals. They adsorb (or maybe absorb?) Others directly from the water, and in varying degrees certain species will "ingest" small things in the water. Tiny stuff like phytoplankton, etc...

 

[delafe]

Clams actually do eat quite a bit in the wild. Want your clam to grow and color up? Feed it. A nice phytoplankton target fed would make your clam happy and healthy.

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[jocxdaiba]

Any chance a dwarf angel will ignore a Derasa or a Maxima?


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[SeaCucumberFan]

Will big starfish eat a maxima or derasa? I know they eat clams.

 

[MondoBongo]

Any chance a dwarf angel will ignore a Derasa or a Maxima?


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Depends on the fish. I personally wouldn't trust it.

Will big starfish eat a maxima or derasa? I know they eat clams.

Depends on the starfish. Not all starfish eat clams. But if it is a starfish that does, then yes it will.

I only keep chocolate chip starfish as food for my harlequin Shrimp, so they're not in the same tank as my clams. However I would strongly suspect that given the chance they would happily eat a clam.

Fromia or other starfish though? Not sure.

 

[mystersyster]

Clams actually do eat quite a bit in the wild. Want your clam to grow and color up? Feed it. A nice phytoplankton target fed would make your clam happy and healthy.

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Is there a scientific article you can post to back this up?

 

[delafe]

Yes, but I don't have time to look it up. I pretty sure I have read it in a few peer reviewed articles. I had spent some time researching captive breeding of tridacnid clams a while back...

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[delafe]

Google is our friend:

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/002209819290030E

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[MondoBongo]

Google is our friend:

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/002209819290030E

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this is some good stuff, but only limited to the T. gigas.

i had read a more recent paper about this in some other clam species that found that they obtain far less of their carbon from filter feeding, and only begin to consume those things after their photosynthetic requirements have been met.

i'll see if i can find the link, sadly i lost all my bookmarks when i killed my computer a month or so ago.

thanks for posting that.

 

[MondoBongo]

i think this was the one:

http://www.int-res.com/articles/meps/107/m107p147.pdf

At their normal depths, phototrophy provides most (1 tevoroa: 70% at 28 m, 105% at 15 m). if not all (T derasa). of the carbon required for growth plus maintenance, and filter-feeding is a relatively minor source (8 to 14 %). These 2 species contrast with the largest tridacnid species, 7: gigas, in which filter-feeding is a major source of carbon, at least in small clams, and the relative allocation of carbon for growth compared to respiration is much higher.

 

[delafe]

I wonder how much of that is site specific data though. Some clams may have adapted to localized conditions.

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[MondoBongo]

I wonder how much of that is site specific data though. Some clams may have adapted to localized conditions.

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Hmm good point!

It drives me nuts how hard it is to find out some of these details, and how little many of these things are studied.

If I ever win the lottery I'm building the world's largest private fish tank and then funding marine research like crazy.