I have a maxima clam that I believe is doing alright. He has great movement with shadows or anything that comes by it, but he isn't opening up as much as he was when I bought him a week ago. I noticed he had two aiptasia on the sides of him, but I got rid of those and I do not see any trace of them. All my water levels are good and he looks healthy, just not as opened up. Any ideas?

Right now I have him on a live rock that is small and near the sand and it is somewhat leaning on another piece of live rock... is that okay? He has room to grow, he is just close to the rock. Should I move him to the sand bed or is that okay to leave on on a small piece of live rock?

Any recommendations with placement or general health would be much appreciated. Oh and I feed him phytoplankton about 3 times a week.

Let him relax....a week isn't long to get settled....remember, your water (his entire environment, AND most of his physical makeup) is chemically different from what he is used to.....

May take a few weeks for him to fully acclimate....

Thanks for the info, so it is pretty normal to have it not fully opening yet?

Leave the clam where you have it at the moment and keep a close eye on it. Hopefully it will be ok. Aiptasia can really irritate clam mantle if contact is prolonged. If the clam is not happy with its location it will jump about usually. Post a pic when possible. I love clams.

haha jump about? I did not know they were able to move that much? I will definitely add pics soon... I am waiting until I get a few more corals in there before I post some pictures, just because I want to make a good first impression with my first salt water tank

What kind of fish and inverts do you have? Could be something is bothering it. Check after the lights go out. You can also use an empty 2 liter bottle with the bottom cut off and holes drilled in it for circulation. Place the bottle over the clam and if it opens up, you know there is something bothering it. Good Luck and post some pics of it.

yea because blennys and angels can really mess them up.

hes not getting too much flow right? also are you target feeding it? if so, maybe give it a break for a couple days, and see if there is any change. like stated above, there could be a fish or invert bothering it. plus a week is a little soon to be settled, even though mine settled and opened fully over night. theyre all different though. keep us posted! good luck!

clams do not need feeding, they are photosynthetic and get what they need from the water (once they reach like 1-2"). if this is a new tank clams are not rcmded as they require established systems. they also suck up calcium like a sponge, so supplements and/or frequent water changes are a must. if your tank is less than 4 months old I'd say the clam was a bad purchase at this stage, and test your perameters often.

and what is your lighting? t5 or MH is rcmded for clams since they are photosynthetic. PC's are ok, but depends on placement and wattage to make it work.

I think aiptasia is still on it. I thought I got it all out of the clam, but there is still something on the inside of one of the small parts of the shell. Here is a pic of it, (you can't see the aiptasia) but I notice a little what I think is a tentacle coming out of it every once in a while.

In case you are wondering, I believe it is coming out of the 4th little indent on the furthest back line. But like I said, the picture isn't very good.

Looks like it is just getting settled in... if the aipista was bothering it, you should see some difference in the area around the mantle... not like pinched mantle, but kinda similar. If it is a young system and a young clam it is more than likely just getting settled in... Also, depending on teh amount of light, it may not need to extend that mantle all that much. My maxima looked just like that for several weeks when first introduced into the tank and it eventually opened up fully... nice lookin' clam.

On the calcium thing, definately stay on top of your calcium and magnesium... you will really have to work to keep them at appropriate levels. But it is well worth it.

How often should I add calcium into it? I have been using it about once or twice a week, a small capful.

Are you testing? What are you params? What kind of lighting do you have?

The params I have tested are all perfect. I haven't tested calcium, but judging by the fact that everything else is doing great (other than a bad frag I got recently) and dosing with calcium twice a week, I would imagine the calcium is good too.

The peppermint shrimp eliminated the aiptasia about a week ago, and he is more open than he was before, but interestingly... when I moved him closer to the top, he opened up fully, but I moved some other things around and now he is back to not being as open. Maybe I just need to give him more time. I think one time might be too much flow, because when I moved things around, it started to get more flow and thats when it closed up a bit more, but I am not sure how I can keep the clam on top with getting less flow. (I am afraid to move him because I don't want to break the threads on his leg.

150w metal halide

You should really list out your params, and if you are keeping a clam a calcium and alk test kit is a must.

No test no dose. Simple.


get a calcium and alkalinity test. For proper balancing you will need to test magnesium also.