I've had the ORA Blue Max (he is tiny) for about a month in the tank and bought a Derasa (nice size....medium) this past week. Other than light and calcium, do these guys need anything? I've been admiring the pics of the HUGE clams on here, is there anything other than time and calcium that will help them grow?
Derasa and Maxima question
- Thread starter ga_daisy
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+1. But include alkalinity in there too. Too many people only think about calcium, but carbonate is just as crucial. Dont bother with trying to "feed" your clams with phyto or other junk. 99.99999% of the tanks that are maintained by aquarists have enough junk floating around in the water to maintain these clams.
Agree 100% I have 9 clams now, I feed nothing to them...other than my huge MRC ca reactor. If you don't have a ca reactor, make sure you keep your eyes on your ALK and CA levels. They may be small, but you'll be surprised how fast they can eat through ALK and CA.
Well depending on what you're spending on 2 part for a tank your size, you may be coming pretty close to the cost of the reactor. MRC makes amazing reactors....I have the CR-2 Dual with the spray bar and pan world upgraded pump. A little more than what I needed, but I figure buy it right the first time and never have to worry about it again. There are a lot of reactors out there for different budget people. The reactor in itself is pretty simple...what you're looking for there is build quality. The regulator is one of the most important parts...lower priced ones tend to either quit, leak co2 or not hold your settings. I have the "middle grade" Milwaukee...it's "ok". I also use a Milwaukee pH monitor for the co2.
Second the ALK consumption. Clams eat it up because they use alot of calcium. In order for the clam to deposit calcium it uses more alk....like 1part cal 2part alk for one process. I've got two in a 65g and it's puting a load on my alk supply.
