Clam 911

[dakota9]

I bought my clam the day of the August meeting, so about 2 months ago. I put him in my tank where he quickly grabbed the rock I had him on. During my tank switch out, I moved him rock and all while trying to keep him submerged. I want him on top of the rock pile ands might be adding some more rock, so I have him in my QT tank still. He is 6 inches underneath 28watts of CF 6500K lighting.
This morning when the light was turned on, I saw that he was off the rock, upside down jammed in a corner. <u>Theres a tuft of white stringy stuff left on the rock where he was located</u>. I'm going to go ahead and find a place for him in the big tank directly under the 250watt MH light.

Why would he have unplanted himself from where he was at?

Oh, this is a crocea clam, about 3 inches long.

 

[glxtrix]

croceas have the highest demand of light, I'm sure being under that 28W really pissed him off. That white stringy stuff was his bysal threads, thats what clams use to attach to rocks.

 

[dakota9]

So moving the rock, and the clam to directly under the MH would fix the problem, and if he's happy there, he'll attach to the same rock again?

 

[victor626nj]

He will if hes happy there lucky for you clams arent as picky as anemones

 

[glxtrix]

hopefully, clams are very delicate creatures. I wouldnt put it directly under the light, you could shock it and it could die. I'ld start lower in the tank and work your way up. If the clam isnt happy he'll let you know by either being closed or jumping around. If hes fully extended with his mantle and stays put, he's prolly happy then.

 

[glxtrix]

I'd be willing to bet if clams were able to move like an anemone, they would be even pickier. A lot goes into making a clam happy, like proper lighting and flow. Its a struggle sometimes, but in the end its all worth it if you have a happy clam

 

[jmaneyapanda]

Yeah, Lee is right. Croceas need light, and A LOT of it! CF's aint gonna cut it. Gradually move it up as Lee said.

That white tufty thing is the byssal thread, which are vacated when the clam wants to move to to unhappy conditions. They will "re-grow". However, if he keeps "jumping", he's unhappy with something (light, flow, neighbors, etc.) He may not end up exactly where you want him.

 

[dakota9]

Ok, Haven't been back on since post number 3.......

I moved the rock and clam to the display tank. Not having seen any post past number 3, I put the rock directly under the MH and the clam on the rock, about 10" below the MH.

I came back to chec k the thread, saw thew posts about a gradual shift as not to shock the clam, so I went back to the tank to move the clam and he'd already jumped off the rock.

I positioned him on the sand bed. He's about 30 inches away from the MH, and off center from the light about 8 inches, we'll see if he moves again.....

 

[glxtrix]

one good thing you might be able to try is get a half shell from a clam thats already dead. You might be able to find one from a LFS, just call and ask. Put the clam on that, seeing thats their natural home it'll attatch to that pretty quickly. croceas really shouldnt be in the sand bed, there are potential predators that live in the sand bed and can get to the foot really easily. make sure there are no prymidal snails around the foot. Once the clam is attached to that clam shell half, you can easily move him around to where you would like, and generlly they can tolerate it a bit more. One thing I've noticed is the clam (croceas esipcally) dont like to be on a hard jagged surface ie. LR Yes some will adapt and deal with it, but a nice smooth surface is best, their foot is pretty sensative. Be cautious with flow, dont have too much flow hit your clam, croceas will tolerate a bit more than others, just dont blast it. Try some of those and see where that gets you. I'd say over a course of a week or so you could gradually raise your clam up to your 10" mark.

 

[flyingarmy]

All I can say is New England Style.....yummy!

 

[glxtrix]

Bad Mark! lol.....tho that does sound good As a clam lover I hope it doesnt get to that point.

 

[flyingarmy]

Once I get the 180GAL Oceanic Cube up and running, I might have to add a clam. With the luck I have had with anemones and I hoping that clams won't follow the same suit.

Flow and light, anything else that needs to be considered? Someone needs to write a book; "Clams for Dummies" and I'll buy the first copy!

 

[george]

flyingarmy;85771 wrote: All I can say is New England Style.....yummy!

Ugh. Manhattan all the way. Less glue with my chowder.

You can eventually move him up to practically as close as you like to the light. You have to do it gradually, as mentioned.

Another occasionally overlooked reason for jumping clams is excessive harsh flow. Make sure its mantle isn't flapping in the wind as this can irritate the clam.

 

[george]

flyingarmy;85774 wrote: Once I get the 180GAL Oceanic Cube up and running, I might have to add a clam. With the luck I have had with anemones and I hoping that clams won't follow the same suit.

Flow and light, anything else that needs to be considered? Someone needs to write a book; "Clams for Dummies" and I'll buy the first copy!

I've heard excellent reviews of this book: http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_ViewItem~idProduct~BKGCSA.html">Giant Clams in the Sea and the Aquarium</a>

With a cube that big, you could keep one of the larger species, too, or make a nest of the smaller ones.

 

[flyingarmy]

Nest....?

Great..so they are going to roam around collecting small pieces of LR to make their nest! **** clams....don't seem worth it now!

Don't mean to hijack the thread Dakota.. but what are some of the hardier clams to keep?

 

[glxtrix]

Yeah I'll write the the book for ya...

Look for my post....I'll be expecting my check in the mail

 

[mvm]

How's the clam doing?

 

[dakota9]

That clam did very well, actually never had to move him off the bottom of the tank as that is where he attached after a day or so.

At some point after I sold that set up, that clam did bite the dust with the next owner.

I'm picking up my next clam from Tim soon!