THE OFFICIAL TRIDACNID CLAM THREAD

[phoenix91]

Don't spot feed it "chokes" the clam do broad cast feeding , just feed the whole tank

 

Okay, thank you

[ZephNYC]

Haa, yes sorry i should have been more obvious with how big the tank is. This is my first clam so no diseases that it could catch at my house.

 

I'm busy transferring everything from my 20g tank to my 40b tank and the lights haven't really been rigged over the 40b yet, most of my sps is in the 3 gallon waiting for at least 1 light to go up over the tank, hopefully tomorrow if i can convince my dad to come help me string it up. A few days in qt won't do too much damage will it?

 

When i move it should i spot feed? I've just had a quick measure of it and it looks closer to 2 3/4 inches, i was guesstimating before. The tank has low bioload for now but i'll be getting more fish at some point in the future.

 

Another quick question, how do clams do with flatworm exit? I hope i won't have to use it again in the future but you never know.

 

Hey Buddy, True, you cant spot feed clams because they choke. You have asked the sacred question !!!! Im sure others on NR may have tried FWE on clams, but I myself have always been to scared. I only had a FW problem once and a malanerus wrasse Is the 100% cure for them anyway.

I would also like you to know that those small squamosas have had very VERY bad luck for most people over the last year, but this Is primarily the ones coming from Live Aquaria, but not always. Most of them, even the ones from your LFS are ORA farmed, Let us know how its doing every few months if you don't mind.

[phoenix91]

Hey Buddy, True, you cant spot feed clams because they choke. You have asked the sacred question !!!! Im sure others on NR may have tried FWE on clams, but I myself have always been to scared. I only had a FW problem once and a malanerus wrasse Is the 100% cure for them anyway.

I would also like you to know that those small squamosas have had very VERY bad luck for most people over the last year, but this Is primarily the ones coming from Live Aquaria, but not always. Most of them, even the ones from your LFS are ORA farmed, Let us know how its doing every few months if you don't mind.

 

I'll keep everyone updated. I'm moving it to the 40 today and installing the better light. I'm sure at some point I'll try out FWE on this tank with the clam and report on how that goes. No flatworms in there right now but the tank I'm transferring from is flatworm hell, hence the qt. I hope none will move over but there's a chance.

 

Thanks for the heads up, I'll keep the thread updated as to how this clam does; it was $40 and I couldn't pass it up, so as a first tester clam I think I'm okay with just seeing how it does. If as you say most of the squamosas have been having issues recently well it might not survive and it wouldn't matter how much I'd payed for it. I'm hoping for the best.

[Tamberav]

True that, but the ex wife has also reported that I have illegal fish in my fish rooms.

 

Rough stuff, sorry to hear.

[ZephNYC]

Secret Clams !!! Dr. Mac has 50 BIG BOY Maximas, but hes not saying a word !!!! These babies are going to stay on the shelf till the Manhattan Frag swap and will not be posted. Of course Ive got mine already.

 

Hardyyyyyy harrrrr harrrrrrrrr !!!!!!

 

a member asked me this morning why we don't see anymore Blue Squamosas around, which were high in abundance last year, and I have the scoop on that as well. Fact is those wetre squamosa/.crocea hybrids from the Palau farms. Now the first batch came out correct and produced electric blue squamosas and everybody freaked out !!!! But when they tried to do it again all they got was brown croceas - BOOOOOOO!!!!! Which didn't sell very well. Hopefully they will get the next batch correct.

[ZephNYC]

Hey there Nano reefers !!! ltns ...

Ive been trying to put up new shots of clams but am having troubles on my new computer, which is made for gaming and doesn't have a photo card slot. Not only that but photobucket is not working, so I will have to work on it.

 

So instead, I will share my favorite dumb blonde joke.

 

 

So this blonde chick is driving down the street, speeding, and gets pulled over by a female blonde police officer. The cop says " Can I see your drivers license please ?"

The driver starts looking through her purse cluttered with female paraphernalia " Im not sure I can find it ??" " What does it look like again ?"

The blonde cop says " It's a little square with your picture on it."

The driver is digging and digging through her purse and come up with a small personal cosmetic mirror, " Oh here it is!!" and she hands it to the blonde police officer..

The blonde cop looks at it,and hands it back to the blonde driver.

 

" That's ok, you can just go. I didn't realize you were a cop."

 

:lol:

[tetraodon]

Hey there Nano reefers !!! ltns ...

Ive been trying to put up new shots of clams but am having troubles on my new computer, which is made for gaming and doesn't have a photo card slot. Not only that but photobucket is not working, so I will have to work on it.

 

So instead, I will share my favorite dumb blonde joke.

 

 

So this blonde chick is driving down the street, speeding, and gets pulled over by a female blonde police officer. The cop says " Can I see your drivers license please ?"

The driver starts looking through her purse cluttered with female paraphernalia " Im not sure I can find it ??" " What does it look like again ?"

The blonde cop says " It's a little square with your picture on it."

The driver is digging and digging through her purse and come up with a small personal cosmetic mirror, " Oh here it is!!" and she hands it to the blonde police officer..

The blonde cop looks at it,and hands it back to the blonde driver.

 

" That's ok, you can just go. I didn't realize you were a cop."

 

:lol:

 

O.o hahahaha

[Cameron6796]

Omg i knew that something like that would nphappen

[Tamberav]

Crappy cell phone pic so it doesn't do the clam justice... but here is a pic from last night. Thursday will be 8 months in the tank. My little green banded goby is hanging out in the bottom right corner.

 

[ZephNYC]

Crappy cell phone pic so it doesn't do the clam justice... but here is a pic from last night. Thursday will be 8 months in the tank. My little green banded goby is hanging out in the bottom right corner.

 

That is a real REALLY nice maxima!!!!! Wowzers!!!!

[Tamberav]

That is a real REALLY nice maxima!!!!! Wowzers!!!!

 

PEA baby! I need more clams So poor right now though

[FlowerMama]

Sure is. and you have a rock flower nem!!! You know I'm so stuck on those.

[Tamberav]

Sure is. and you have a rock flower nem!!! You know I'm so stuck on those.

 

I love rock flowers!! I am soo jealous of your tank! I would love to have a tank full of them but don't have the funds right now. I have a second green flower in there somewhere but he is being kind of a butt and hiding under the macro lately.

[ZephNYC]

44 thousand pounds of eligal Gigas clams seized

 

http://www.reefs.com/blog/2014/04/17/dozens-of-huge-tridacnid-clams-seized-from-vietnamese-fishermen/

[tetraodon]

44 thousand pounds of eligal Gigas clams seized

 

http://www.reefs.com/blog/2014/04/17/dozens-of-huge-tridacnid-clams-seized-from-vietnamese-fishermen/

wow good arrest, hopefully will show poachers the police mean business

[TJ_Burton]

Its about time for another update.

 

My beautiful little lady is growing up so fast; she had outgrown her spot in the tank, and was pressing against the glass. For me, this was a pretty clear indication that she needed more space. Lucky for her, I needed to do a water change, and figured it was also an opportune time to give her a bit of a scrub, and move her to the center of the tank where she will have more room to grow.

This is the first time she has been moved since she was put in the tank more than a year ago. This meant I had to cut through her byssal threads, and uproot her from her beloved nook. I will say, she took it very well, and being attached to the bottom pane of my tank made it pretty easy to slide a flat razor blade underneath her and gently remove her.

Once out, I took her to the sink with a nice stiff brush and scrubbed her shell. Much of the algae came off, but some stayed (no big deal really). Took some pictures of her as well since she was out and in my hands. You can easily see the division between the scutes grown during aquaculture, and the scutes grown in my tank. She has more than doubled in size!

After a session of burping (I still practice this even though some believe it isn't necessary) I plopped her down into her new roomy spot in the tank. Hopefully she settles in quickly, its been about 15 min and she is still looking a bit upset. I don't blame her though.

This isn't something I have to do often, but it does happen in smaller systems more frequently than in larger systems.

Pardon the crappy cell shot and dreary SPS colration - in the process of rectifying a metal poisoning issue that took me FOREVER to find.

 

 

[FlowerMama]

She's a pretty thing.

[ZephNYC]

Its about time for another update.

 

My beautiful little lady is growing up so fast; she had outgrown her spot in the tank, and was pressing against the glass. For me, this was a pretty clear indication that she needed more space. Lucky for her, I needed to do a water change, and figured it was also an opportune time to give her a bit of a scrub, and move her to the center of the tank where she will have more room to grow.

 

This is the first time she has been moved since she was put in the tank more than a year ago. This meant I had to cut through her byssal threads, and uproot her from her beloved nook. I will say, she took it very well, and being attached to the bottom pane of my tank made it pretty easy to slide a flat razor blade underneath her and gently remove her.

 

Once out, I took her to the sink with a nice stiff brush and scrubbed her shell. Much of the algae came off, but some stayed (no big deal really). Took some pictures of her as well since she was out and in my hands. You can easily see the division between the scutes grown during aquaculture, and the scutes grown in my tank. She has more than doubled in size!

 

After a session of burping (I still practice this even though some believe it isn't necessary) I plopped her down into her new roomy spot in the tank. Hopefully she settles in quickly, its been about 15 min and she is still looking a bit upset. I don't blame her though.

 

This isn't something I have to do often, but it does happen in smaller systems more frequently than in larger systems.

 

Pardon the crappy cell shot and dreary SPS colration - in the process of rectifying a metal poisoning issue that took me FOREVER to find.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Good job on the movement of the clam. I like having them attached to the glass, like you said, because the they are easier to cut when/if needed. How did you know you had metal poisoning going on? What was the culprit? Poly filters are very good at removing metals.

[TJ_Burton]

Good job on the movement of the clam. I like having them attached to the glass, like you said, because the they are easier to cut when/if needed. How did you know you had metal poisoning going on? What was the culprit? Poly filters are very good at removing metals.

 

It took months to figure out why my SPS and LPS were bleaching, and why my softies would not open fully. I did plenty of water changes, parameters were optimal, and feeding was minimal. For a while I had an ULNS and figured that was the cause, so I boosted feeding and increased nutrients. When that didn't fix the problem, I spent more time considering the different options that could lead to this sort of problem. I will admit, it was only by chance that I realized what was actually going on...

 

During routine maintenance, I decided to pull apart my Coralife Turbo Twist 3X UV sterilizer to make sure it wasn't bogged up with grime. I hadn't done this since the sterilizer was installed more than a year ago since the bulb hasn't had issues and I really don't have a lot of dirt or debris in the system. The sterilizer looked pretty darn good on the inside, save for one very big issue... Keep in mind, I was not aware when I installed the unit, but the newer version of this sterilizer includes a stainless steel sleeve that is in direct contact with the water at all times. This sleeve (according to Coralife) is to protect the plastic from UV degradation... unfortunately stainless steel and saltwater do not get along well, especially not long term. My unit had started rusting pretty badly which was impossible to see until I opened up and dismantled the sterilizer. I have since discontinued using the sterilizer, and implemented a media reactor with Cuprisorb to remove any metal contaminants in the system.

 

Before someone mentions it, let me say now that stainless steel rust is not just harmless "ferric oxide" that will not cause issues. Stainless steel is often comprised of Iron, Carbon, and Chromium, but can also contain just about any other common metal you can think of. This means it may also contain copper, nickel, etc. and many manufacturers use cheap stainless steel from china (infamous for their white pot metals). Only god knows what is really in that "stainless steel" sleeve.

 

It has only been a couple weeks since I removed the sterilizer, and about a week since I started using Cuprisorb. You'd be shocked at how much color has already began to return in the SPS and LPS, and how much larger the softer corals are opening compared to a couple weeks back. I am relieved to finally figure out what the mystery issue was in this system... it had been plaguing me for 8 months! I am excited to see my tank recover over the next 4-6 weeks; I know I will have some amazing before/after pictures to post up.

 

I will say this though, the clam didn't seem to be affected by the presence of 'harmful' metals in the water.

 

 

 

[ZephNYC]

It took months to figure out why my SPS and LPS were bleaching, and why my softies would not open fully. I did plenty of water changes, parameters were optimal, and feeding was minimal. For a while I had an ULNS and figured that was the cause, so I boosted feeding and increased nutrients. When that didn't fix the problem, I spent more time considering the different options that could lead to this sort of problem. I will admit, it was only by chance that I realized what was actually going on...

 

During routine maintenance, I decided to pull apart my Coralife Turbo Twist 3X UV sterilizer to make sure it wasn't bogged up with grime. I hadn't done this since the sterilizer was installed more than a year ago since the bulb hasn't had issues and I really don't have a lot of dirt or debris in the system. The sterilizer looked pretty darn good on the inside, save for one very big issue... Keep in mind, I was not aware when I installed the unit, but the newer version of this sterilizer includes a stainless steel sleeve that is in direct contact with the water at all times. This sleeve (according to Coralife) is to protect the plastic from UV degradation... unfortunately stainless steel and saltwater do not get along well, especially not long term. My unit had started rusting pretty badly which was impossible to see until I opened up and dismantled the sterilizer. I have since discontinued using the sterilizer, and implemented a media reactor with Cuprisorb to remove any metal contaminants in the system.

Before someone mentions it, let me say now that stainless steel rust is not just harmless "ferric oxide" that will not cause issues. Stainless steel is often comprised of Iron, Carbon, and Chromium, but can also contain just about any other common metal you can think of. This means it may also contain copper, nickel, etc. and many manufacturers use cheap stainless steel from china (infamous for their white pot metals). Only god knows what is really in that "stainless steel" sleeve.

 

It has only been a couple weeks since I removed the sterilizer, and about a week since I started using Cuprisorb. You'd be shocked at how much color has already began to return in the SPS and LPS, and how much larger the softer corals are opening compared to a couple weeks back. I am relieved to finally figure out what the mystery issue was in this system... it had been plaguing me for 8 months! I am excited to see my tank recover over the next 4-6 weeks; I know I will have some amazing before/after pictures to post up.

 

I will say this though, the clam didn't seem to be affected by the presence of 'harmful' metals in the water.

 

 

Wow that's great news. I bet you're excited over the improvements. I was once cutting some clams from a large reef scape in my 210, and dropped the stainless steel blade behind the extensive scape. I decided to just leave it there, as aposed to tearing down the extensive scape to fetch it out. In the next few months I had problems like you described. At the advice of other hobbyists I eventually fished it out about 6 months later. It was heavy rusted. So much for "stainless".

[TJ_Burton]

Wow that's great news. I bet you're excited over the improvements. I was once cutting some clams from a large reef scape in my 210, and dropped the stainless steel blade behind the extensive scape. I decided to just leave it there, as aposed to tearing down the extensive scape to fetch it out. In the next few months I had problems like you described. At the advice of other hobbyists I eventually fished it out about 6 months later. It was heavy rusted. So much for "stainless".

 

It is relieving to finally know what the problem was, and be able to resolve it. It is mind bogglingly frustrating to take 'perfect' care of your system and have a chronic issue that you are not able to rectify. I have 10 years of reef keeping under my belt; to feel like my aquarium is failing out of my control is a humbling experience. I will say, I am proud that I was able to sustain a packed SPS reef without losing any corals and while maintaining growth, while it was being poisoned. That IMHO is a testament to my husbandry.

 

I always try and see the good in the bad... it keeps me sane

 

 

[ward827]

So, is it just a wive's tale that you should never, ever let your clam come in contact with the air?
Another fallacy from my LFS? I never really paid attention to it, but the above pictures pretty

much debunk that theory. W-

[TJ_Burton]

So, is it just a wive's tale that you should never, ever let your clam come in contact with the air?

Another fallacy from my LFS? I never really paid attention to it, but the above pictures pretty

much debunk that theory. W-

 

That is certainly wives tale; if you ever see photos of clam nurseries, you'll often see large adult clams left out of water in the sun. This helps trigger spawning! Both crocea for instance (and maxima in some cases) are found in areas where the tide gets low enough that they can become exposed to air.

 

They will be just fine!

 

Here is a pic of her today. She is still a little off kilter, but she is sorting herself out (digging, shifting, and getting comfy).

 

[jedimasterben]

Both crocea for instance (and maxima in some cases) are found in areas where the tide gets low enough that they can become exposed to air.

Don't forget gigas!

 

[TJ_Burton]

Don't forget gigas!

 

 

These should also help throw that myth under the bus