Just got him today and babied him probably a lot more than need be during the acclimation process, but hell, its my first clam Aqua cultured too I can't wait to see how the mantle will turn out on this little kid.



(pic above was taken after being fully SG acclimated and under LEDs for a while before I turned on my MH and snapped a shot once the mantle opened up.) He opened a little wider than in the pic today but not much more, I'm assuming to do being such a young specimen and having to make the ordeal of making it from Cali to Va and then going into a strange tank. VERY reactive to shadows, and was rather quick in extending his mantle after just a couple seconds.

Looks like a beauty! The problem I'm having, is once you have one.... you want another... and so on....

Please try for a top-down shot...I wanna see the full colors.....

Can't wait to see it fully opened in all its' glory!

tell me about it.......i have 6!!!

yeah I know...I was like that before I even got this little guy
still haven't gotten a good overhead shot, as its hard to do with my set up. Its got a sunpod on top and is underneath my 45, not to mention the ripple effect from my HOBF. Will post it up as soon as I get one worthwhile. He's also opened up a little bit further than that today as well

Congrats on your clam. I am soooo not ready for anything that fancy yet, but I do enjoy the clam thread and pico thread so much. Looking foward to more pictures as the clam adjusts to your tank.

Update:

Well he opened up more today and I believe to be as far as he can at a little shy of 2". He still has very good reaction timing to light changes and opens back up as soon as the shadow is removed.

level view:

I love the blue rim most noticeably seen around the very bottom edge of the mantle


top view: you can see the ripple effect from my HOBF as blurred lines throught the photo







Couple questions - I had difficulty finding this information and I did just pop my clam cherry so please be patient with my question and thanks in advance: My huge pods were crawling over the clam's shell (as they do everything else) and it kept retracting only small parts of its mantle in reaction to it( close to where they brushed the underside of the mantle. I'm assuming this is natural? Should I be overtly worried as to this stressing out the clam, or is this just a standard occurrence in our aquaria and out in their natural environment? Also, about how long should I expect it to take for the byssal gland to fully attach to the rock underneath him? I know that maximas don't exhibit symmetry, and on end of the mantle is smaller than the one end by the intake siphon, is this also normal?

THX for tagging along.

got some great pics today, will upload tomorrow, I'd still like some answers please

Clams do not like being touched. If something bumps the mantle, they will not usually fully retract; rather they just pull up the part of the mantle that was touched. So yes it is normal, and no it won’t do any damage to the clam. If the clam is being overly harassed, it will fully retract, usually in a quick motion, and expel water with force to try and move whatever is bothering it away.

Clams can take up to a week to attach, sometimes even longer. It really depends on how comfortable the clam is with the spot it is sitting in. If it is happy it shouldn't take too long, but if there isn't anything suitable for it to attach to, it may only have attached to a few pieces of substrate making it seem like it hasn't attached to anything at all.

Lastly, your clam looks fine. There is no real rule of symmetry or proportion when it comes to a clam’s mantle. As long as it is not pinched (which it isn't from what I can see) and as long as the SHELL aligns well, then you have nothing to worry about. The large teardrop in my Solana is wider at the inhalant siphon end than at the exhalent siphon end, which seems to be typical for maximas.

Thanks a lot for the responses TJ. He's the first thing I always look at as soon as I get to my tanks. I can't wait to see the mantle pattern mature.

Just uploaded by far the best shot of this guy I've gotten yet. I'm thinking of moving him closer up near the sponge in the middle of the tank.



I've also started a savings fund for a new clam...I've been saving all my change for the past 2 weeks and have around $20(estimate) when I have enough for a new clam, I'll start looking for a nice teardrop...just got to make room for a new guy first O.o

check out my new blue zebra maxima I got for $30 today at Mr.Coral's shop...I'm def. going to have to start dosing calcium now

front view:




top view:


My golden and blue maximas together:

a great side shot of my new blue maxima, i really love the angel of the shot


another combo top view of my maximas

Nice clams ! Glad to see you had patience and didn't go with the L.A ones !

Patience had very little to do with anything I'm still working on that particular virtue but I am getting better....maybe . Turns out I actually had $20 in quarters alone and the rest made it about $25. I had planned on making an online order with Mr.Coral since Sonny was willing to extend the promo deals from midnight madness to me since my ride fell through. sure enough the day after one of the workers from my lfs told me she was heading up there, so I just went up there with her grabbed a bunch of awesome stuff including the new guy. Beats Jakes $30 corceas Ironically unlike the hassel I had with my golden maxima moving to where he is now, this guy only rotated about 90* and has stayed put (and was in the same spot my golden maxima was originally). I tried to pick one of the larger maximas they had left with the nicest mantle pattern and ended up picking this guy.

I'd say hes apx. 2.5". I also love how the two of them contrast and compliment each other. Maybe if I get lucky they'll spawn and make green striped/dotted maximas...

so the blue maxima has turned back 45* and is know facing the glass? I'm just glad he's not trying to walk everywhere like my golden did..major pita

Those are some sweet clams! I have a Maxima and Crocea and if I didn't have to dose so much I'd try for a third!

lol yeah, I really need to go get some dosing materials...I've just been doing extra water changes to keep the alk and calcium up this week ghetto dosing.....

I still want to get either a green maxima or a teardrop in there....I know I'm addicted

Love the clams man. I dig your tank!