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thinking about a clam under PC's


gavin123

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I'd say no as well. For the kind of clam that would be the right size for a 6 gal, you'd need MH. This doesn't take into account your tank's stability either.

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Ummm you guys don't be mean, he could, for a couple months , till it's fat reserves are gone. :P

Ummm squami's , I have seen under 32W PC, but the clam was added WWWAAAYYYYYY into the tanks life, so it had a fighting chance.

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In a word, NO.

 

I too covet the clam, but no PC is going to give it the proper lighting :(

 

Even with the right lighting, they grow really fast and what starts out at 2" today ends up being a big clam in 6 months (too big for 6 g.).

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pretty general info being thrown around here. Anyone care to elaborate on their answers? I mean this is the advanced forum. I will begin by saying not all clams will go from 2 inches to too big for a 6 gallon in 6 mos. That is completley unwarranted. The tank could have lots of space. It could be a crocea and will stop growing around the 6 to 8 inch mark, but that is a year or years away from a 2 inch clam. Another thing I have seen. I have seen squamosa living under 32 watts of PC with great extension and good color. Lets try not to be so general.

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Squamies and deresa have been grown under PC's by many people. Hell, even Max's have been done (can't remeber if it was brooklynjohnny or liquid's tank).

 

Basic guild lines say max and crocea must be under MH....squam's and deresa can be kept under PC. That being said, the other thing that most people overlook, and Rob and Birdy hinted to it, is water stability. People who have success with clams in nanos are w/c fanatics and have long established (8 months or more) tanks. Therefore, a clam in a less lite tank can survive (even florish) if the parameters are pristine.

 

I've alway loved clams and always wanted one...but waited 8 months before I even thought about adding one! Even then, I realized that the sand in my tank was too fine, and had to sawp it out. That means I need to wait another few months before my tank is ready!

 

Patience.....is the price you pay for proper husbandry!!!

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I have a 25 gallon system (with a metal halide) and I have found clams to be very sensitive to changes in water conditions. I slightly altered my pH and in 1 week my clam looked like death. Nothing else in the tank showed any ill effects, including SPS. I brought it back from the brink, but if that had been in a tank 5 times smaller, it surely would have died.

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I have a couple maxima clams under my metal halides on my 90 gal. tank. They do very well under halide, and a constant pH and S.G. are a MUST. Any fluctuations will hurt them quickly.

 

I am going to be putting a Crocea in my nano once it is well established, but I also will have halide lighting on my nano.

 

A good clam for a PC tank, and also a great clam for beginner clam keepers is the Hippopus clam. They aren't as light needy, and don't grow as quickly as some of the other Tridacna species. Again, they aren't as colorful either. But if you want to give clam keeping a shot I'd try a hippopus first, and see if you can keep it happy.

 

my two cents

Dan

 

PS--the best clams you can buy are from Eastcoastclams.com...I buy all of mine from them and they are the healthiest ones out there in my opinion.

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  • 2 weeks later...

i've seen clams kept under pc's. one of my lfs's has a 75g display tank, with only pc's on it, they have a tridacna in there, in the top 4inches, and he's been in there for at least 5 months that i know of. and i'm in there on a weekly basis.

 

but under a 32wat, i dont think it'd be a good idea.

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  • 3 weeks later...

I agree the tank described is too small and the wattage too low But it is a myth that clams can only be kept under MH lighting. I have seen very brightly colored maximas and groceas grow quickly under VHO's and PC's. The tanks that I have seen were very mature reef's however. I must admit I keep my clams under MH and PC and they are beginning to outgrow my 50 gallon reef.

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Derasa, Squamosa and Hippopus clams aren't as light demanding as Croceas and Maximas which would make them more ideal for low light conditions.

 

Most clams need to be placed in well established reef tanks, and actually will prefer a little bit of nitrate in the water (especially when small) at around 5 ppm. Supplimental feedings by pipette twice a week of some "marine snow" compounds or phytoplankton will help them thrive and grow.

 

There are some people that even set up groups of clams in their refugiums/sumps for nitrate filtering.

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A lfs near me called Fish Man in Springfield, IL has a 5 or 6" Maxima in one of their tanks. the tank is a 90 I believe with 4 55w pc's, 2 actinic and 2 10k. The clam has been in the tank for a couple years now and is doing great. It is located towards the surface however, maybe 5 inches, but none the less still does well under the pcs.

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movingshadow

in knop's book "giant clams" he states a case of a squamosa being moved from halide to pc lighting. while it survived the initial move to less light, it croaked just a few days after being re-introduced to its original position... these animals rely on us to provide them a conitnuously stable living environment....

 

I would say that the 2 most important things with clams are:

1) stability of the system (!!!)

2) lighting

 

I personally wouldn't even put a squamosa or derasa under anything but halides. Sure it can be done, but one could also put a school of yellow tangs in a minibow... ;) jmho though....

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i work at a lps and we have kept 3 maximas under 96w of pcs and they have done fin for 8 months i doesnt look to me like there dieing

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  • 2 weeks later...

i have kept a maxima under 51w in a 10g for the past 2 months the thing has done fine except for being bulldozed by the turbos in my tank from time to time. btw the tank has only been running for 3 monsth and the clam has lost no color and the mantle extends more thatn under the higher wattage and the pristine WC at the shop where i bought the thing and i do not perform regualar water changes , i may just be extremely lucky but a friend of mine (we are both pro aquarists) has also been doing so with a clam he bought on the same day as me under less watts per gallon in a more established tank. there are no hard and fast rules regarding clams mh is not necessary, and remember most posts on this forum are just OPINIONS not substantiated with the scientific method.

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sure you could keep maximas under plenty of pc... but their colors wont be as brilliant as it could be under mh. i believe gold ones dont need as intense a light to keep its color going well. i would never put a maxima under pc myself... i wouldnt pay top dollar for a ultra grade if i dont get to see all of its colors at its healthiest. take a peek at clamsdirect.com, lots of good advice from experienced calm takercarers, you can ask them. they'll probably tell you to get a hippo or derasa.. or maybe not even. my crocea is a light loving hog... shes 6 inches away from the surface with a 250 watt MH, foot planted

 

and dont think about watts per gallon, its just as dumb as inches per gallon for stocking fish. a 32 watt PC will be just as intense 5 inches away from the top in a 600 gallon tank as it is in a 6 gallon tank

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and dont think about watts per gallon, its just as dumb as inches per gallon for stocking fish. a 32 watt PC will be just as intense 5 inches away from the top in a 600 gallon tank as it is in a 6 gallon tank

 

 

not true most tanks of larger size will have much more surface movement than a tank of a smaller size resulting in more dissipation of the light due to decreased surface area per gallons of tank and refraction from the waves. WTG is also a very good indication of the amount of PAR available to the animals at the bottom of the tank...think about it

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  • 3 weeks later...

ok so i was totally wrong about the watts per gallon thing, it does give you a decent idea of the amount of light that the animals recieve, but it is far from being a good rule as petes has said.

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Originally posted by pyrrhus

... and remember most posts on this forum are just OPINIONS not substantiated with the scientific method.

 

 

Ummmm... Ok....

Science is based on opinions that are tested over and over again to test their validity. These opinions are hypothesis. It sounds like your 3 months has plenty of scientific research and time invested to back up your hypothesis...

 

Oh , and 3 new scutes on it's shell in 2 months? I'd love to see those pictures.

 

Get back to us all at the end of August with updated pictures as well, I'd love to see them. Heck, Maybe you too could write a book about giant clams. B)

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