best clam for a nano

[burtbollinger]

I have a 30g finnex with 14000k 150w MH + @50w of t5 actintic....

 

I have two black and white clowns...

 

I've never had a clam before....

 

what would be the best beginner clam for me? I'd like to keep him on the sandbed if possible...

 

I tried the search function, didnt get anything good...

[StevieT]

have you looked over ez's thread on clams?

 

http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?...475&hl=clam

 

I added a Maxima to my RSM, have it up close to the lights and with weekly water changes and and eye on calc and alk, everything is going very well.

[burtbollinger]

thanks StevieT....leaning towards a crocea....sounds like I need to wait till the tank is a few months older?

[StevieT]

yes, make sure your system if very mature. I added mine 6-7 months after I set up, stability is key. they are an awesome coral, just watch out for any gobies or bottom dwellers if you put it on the sand bed.

[Urchinhead]

Crocea will work fine in your tank at just about any level as will a maxima. Crocea will be the smaller of the two by the way. They reach 6" in size and take about 5-7 years to get that big. Make sure to buy one that is over 2" in size.

 

Also you should not put them directly on the sandbed. They have fine gills and depending on the size of your grains it can clog their gills and choke them. They are also rock dwellers in nature. So if you absolutely must have it on the sand bed then put a small rock underneath them.

 

The reason why you want to wait 6 months before adding one is that your tank is still undergoing its maturation period and you can get short but sharp spikes and falls in things like ammonia, nitrate, nitrite and the like which will hurt and possibly kill your clam. Clams do like a bit of nitrate in the water as a part of their feeding cycle but not too much by the way.

 

Speaking of feeding, you will also want to think about feeding yours. Reef Chili works well as does marine snow and the like. They are filter feeders and thus need the smaller particulate matter for feeding. You will also need to stay on top of your calcium and kH as they need Ca to build their shell and will draw it from your water. Generally you want to maintain a level of about 420 with a kH of between 7-10.

[burtbollinger]

thanks for the to-the-point info...I'll def. wait...just got excited to finally have MH lighting

 

I'll be getting a nice 3"+ crocea at the end of this summer...

[TheUnfocusedOne]

you guys thinks its possible for me to stick a clam in my ap12 with 70w mh? i figure yes so long as its higher up

[SPS20]

Either a maxima or a crocea should be fine in your setup, burt. Steer clear of derasas and squamosas, they get huge in the long run, unless you plan on getting a larger tank or have a friend with a larger tank who can take them off your hands when they get big.

[UWW]

another note, they will be sucking a lot of magnesium up so I would test for it and dose accordingly

[RG Rude]

I have a blue maxima clam (about 3") in a 29 gal. with outstanding closed loop flow and HO T-5's. I keep it on the highest rock shelf I have which makes it 8" inches from the direct lighting. The clam has been doing great for the 3 months I've had it and I'm a newby. It is my favorite creature in my tank. I do religiously conduct a water change of 5 gal. per week using Tropic Marin Pro Reef. I test my salinity constantly ( 1.025/26) but almost never test anything else (which I'm not recommending).

[Reef Goddess]

Croceas are much easier than maximas especially since it can be hard to find maxis over 2". Its too bad squamis and derasas grow so fast because they really are much better beginner clams than rock boring clams and they can handle lower light situations better.

But with your lighting you really should have much trouble trouble with maxis and croceas as long as your tank conditions are stable. Best to start with croceas first, then if those do well move on to maxis.