Two new maximas, and a possible case of bleaching.

[Hoobahans]

I got these two from a lfs a few days ago. The gold is about two inches and the blue is just over one. I think that the bigger one has a bit of bleaching in the center of its mantle, does that seem to be true? If so, what can I do to help it? I have it in a 30 gallon tank, on the sand and under 150 watt 14k mh and 96 watt 50/50 t5 vho. I have been spot feeding it marine snow. Anything else I should be doing?

And interestingly, I think, the small clam put its foot down through nearly an inch of sand in less than 24 hours. Seemed quite fast to me...

 

[mbbuna]

Maximas typically have clear center parts of there mantles. those two look fine.

Marine Snow is not a good choice for feeding clams. i would suggest live phytoplankton. also clams slowly feed all day long, when you spot feed them most food is just rejected. just add some to the whole tank and let them take what they wont when they wont it

 

[Hoobahans]

I know marine snow isnt very good...but the live stuff ends up being too much of a hastle and expence for a college student, although one day I am hoping to do that. When I spot feed I also turn off the skimmer and remove my sponge so that they can take it out of the column, but I figure they get a bit more from the spot feeding, right? I never knew maximas had a clear part; it's a relief to know theres no bleaching.

 

[jmaneyapanda]

I dont necessarily agree that maximas have a "clear" center of the mantle. I have seen many that do have it, but have also seen many that dont. I think it is bleached a little, but I wouldn't consider it a problem worth extra effort to resolve either. Just give it good strong light (as you would if it were completely healthy) and it will not be a problem.

 

[slojmn]

Those look like two nice clams, 1" maxima is quite small...It will really need the live phytoplankton to grow and survive until it is larger. I was surprised by this statement:

"but the live stuff ends up being too much of a hastle and expence for a college student"

If you cannot provide for an animal it might be best not to make that purchase. Just a thought for the future. I can afford the live foods but choose to find clams larger than 2.5"-3" as they tend to survive in higher rates. Good luck with these two new babies.

 

[Unarce]

Central bleaching isn't really a cause for alarm. Ideally, you'd like to see zooxanthellae inhabit those areas in greater numbers, but even healthy specimens can look this way.

The baby looks a little rough around the edges, but it might be nothing.

Although, there's nothing wrong with maximas being on the sand, but it's more natural for them to be on a hard substrate or on a bed of coral or live rock rubble. Might give the little guy a better chance of survival.

Good luck!

 

[Hoobahans]

They are on a rock that has a bit of sand over it. They have both put their foot down and attached it to the rock, I read a few places that that would be a good place for them. I had said that the sand was about an inch deep, but now that I check it is less than that. It is true that getting live plankton is difficult for a college student, and I am not trying to use that as an excuse to give the clams poor care. The LFS I got them from never feeds anything to their clams, and they had a lot of baby maximas, so I figured that they had a better chance with me giving them at least something as opposed to the LFS where they were getting nothing. I also have more light over my tank than the LFH. The blue baby actually looks very good in person and is very smooth around the edges. I was using the flash on the camera and that was the 6th picture so it had retracted its mantle due to the flash and was extending it again. As for the bigger one, the small line of color in the middle of the clear section has actually gotten bigger in the past few days, so I think that it's improving.