so i know when a clam roots itself you dont move it for it will kill it if the foot tears. however when the clams i have came in from ora 2 had string looking bottoms. i figure it was the foot and they tore it. later that stuff fell of. and there doing great. inplace of the stringy stuff is a flat flesh bottom. however last night one of my maxies fell 4" (on a shelf for a reason. dont even know how it got over the lip)

however were he was on the shelf he left a stringy ball... was that his foot? also when i look under him i see everything! his gills and all. however he still opens up nicely. and very fast to close if my shadow passes over.


is my maxie ok? if so this gose past everything ive read about the foot of a clam so far:(

The stringy stuff you see are the byssal thread and the clam can lay those down any time and then detach him self from them. The reason you can see through the clam is because it is retracting its byssal gland. Clams have whats called a byssal opening that go's from the umbo to the front edge of the shell. They can open and close this opening, pull their glad into it, stick the gland out.

If its open fine i wouldnt worry about it.

thank you some much. you have eased my worries. you dont know how much of a load that takes off of me.

thanks again:)

No problem John, keep us posted and how about a pic?

hey guys. ill get some photos when i get some free time:) but i was hoping some one could link me to a good guide on maxies. i like to learn alot more, i only know the basics on clam keeping. i been feeding phyto every day but im going to get some oyster eggs tomorrow.

also i know they can get 10" but when do they stop growing fast? some one told me around 5" is this true?

thanks
-J0hn

i wouldn't count on ur clam reaching 10 inches in a fish tank.......more realistic size is 5 to 6 inches......still not a bad sized clam by any means

yea i'd be super happy with 6"

pics as i promised, got home early enough before my lights went off.


OOPS! need to turn the pumps off

second try:)


they dont open all the way up yet:( im hoping its just because they dont like me slowly bring my alk down im thinking after that gets back to normal they will open fine. i still cant believe it got so hight.

i got oyster eggs today, to find out they dont eat it... im going to try and swap it with some DT.

those guys should get 12" with a lot of time and the right conditions like good levels of Ca.

they look great but why arent they fully open? lights just turned on?

idk, there new but they should open more. there about 12" below a 250wat MH. all i can think is because my alk is still a bit high. its 15 and im still working on bringing it down slowly not to shock anything or throw my other stuff off balance.

we will see.

My maxie jumped the first night it was in my tank left a ball and many of the teathers (i don't know what they are really called). I set him where i wanted him and he reattached in about 2 days. There was a nice little guide about any clam written by urchin head in this forum.

You don't need to feed tridacnids, at all. Just give them as much light as you possibly can and make sure your calcium and alk levels are stable.

You will find that clams larger than 3/4" or so exhibit absolutely no feeding response. This is because their nutritional needs can be (and generally are) entirely met through photosynthesis alone.

Just feed whatever fish or corals are in with the clams, and the resulting dissolved organic matter will be more than enough to meet their needs.

yea i know i dont NEED to feed them, however it makes me feel better knowing there is food in there for them to eat if they desire. i return the eggs and got a bottle of DT. i dont feed them every day just when ever it crosses my mind.

i also do see them feed when i put it in. its fun to watch in my opinion.