Tips on feeding little clam?

[chrisstie]

Hi all I have a new updated pic of my new maxima that is top down while in a little bath of phytoplankton.

He's almost 2" big I suppose you go from one end of the mantle to the other? In all the time I've been around tanks and corals and clams I never actually saw one being measured and forgot to ask but now that I have one, well heck

Anyhow I read in the reefkeeping magazine link in the sticky that the maximas can enjoy being up on the rockwork. I have a question about that

I have 4x54W T5s with 2 03 actinics, a 460nm (purple) bulb and a super actinic plus which seems to be sort of between the blue and white spectrum. I was thinking of replacing that last one with a 6500 bulb to make the clam happier and see if he'd like being up on the rockwork. He is doing very well now in my standard 55g. He's on the bottom of a 3" sandbed

My question is if he attaches to the rock and is happy how do i keep feeding him? Or should I give him a small chunk of LR to anchor onto at the bottom so I can continue to feed him? The concensus i've found is that around 3" or so they are pretty much fine on their own for light

What would you do?

thanks and here's the clam in question (consider the aiptasia gone, but the ones I saw on my ORA field trip have them all over - you wouldn't think so but there you have it)

 

[prugs]

Nice maxima. I never feed my small clams, except when I clean the glass (AKA phytopheast).

 

[cristhiam]

Here is a thread that I started on 04 about my baby maxima 1.5" +/-, I still have it now. IMO bowl feeding is stressful, I tried the first time I got it and would jump around, read in an RC threads that their gills could clog and chocke the clam. Very nice clam btw.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=465399

 

[chrisstie]

Hey thanks cristhiam.. i was asking over at the sitc board but it seems to be down since it looks like they are changing their site around.. very helpful!

 

[Stoney Mahony]

Yep, Given good water conditions and lighting, you really don't need to feed that little guy . Feeding vs Non feeding seems to be a big debate here but you don't need to IMO and IME.

 

[cristhiam]

Mine still attached to the same shell and the shell is encrusted by the digitata, If I need it to move it I'll have to break the digi. Mine is at the top, same as my crocea. Derasa and gigas on the bottom.

 

[GraviT]

According to James Fatheree, the need to remove small tridacnids and feed them is a myth. The explanation he gave my local MAS made good sense...a 2" squamosa is a different age than a 2" maxima, which is a different age than a 2" crocea, which is a different age than a 2" hippopus, etc.. All of the different species have their own rates of growth (a 2" crocea could be several years old, while a 2" squamosa would be a baby). Based on this, it makes little sense to put a size rule on the need to feed since not all of them are babies at this size.

Provided you have an established tank and sufficient lighting, it will be fine. cristhiam is right, removing them to feed is more stressful than it's worth.

 

[Stoney Mahony]

FWIW, a 2" Maxima is 1.25-2 years old depending on how fast it has grown. Avg growth rate for Maximas in Nursery grow out situations is 35cm or just a little over 1.5" a year

 

[chrisstie]

Well I took a piece of rubble and sort of mushed it under the sand and sat the little clam back down on its area.. we'll see what it does over the next few days.. If it looks great and stays healthy sounds like a plan for me. Its such a pain to reach in and dig em off the bottom of the tank anyways.

When he gets bigger and I set up my 125g with MH he can go in his very own spot to get big but that's some years down the road eh

 

[cristhiam]

Try a half shell with some rubble or sand around it to keep it from falling on it's side, it works pretty good and then once it's attached you can move it around.

 

[chrisstie]

I actually dont have a nice big shell like that laying around.. they're all at my mom's house in a jar from when we used to live on the island =\

I used a dead skeleton of something but turned it upside down so the foot can attach to the smooth side of it.. its big enough to stick to but small enough to move around for the future I'll let you know if he tries to attach to it- i'm assuming it'll be noticeable? I've seen pics of clams up in the rockwork but not their actual foot stuck out. I know what the little ones in the wild florida shores look like so.. we'll see! fingers crossed that he's happy!

 

[cristhiam]

For my crocea I use a piece of reef rock and use the drill to make it a little round and smooth and the crocea attached to it, works too or you can get the shells at walmart or a craft store the shell doesn't have to be big mine is like 3 x 2, the clam is as big as the shell now and actually the clam it's breaking it on the bottom.
Here is a picture of the crocea attached to the rock I drilled.

an old picture of the crocea and now looking at it the crocea is burrowing in