Best thing to feed a Clam?

[coolwaters]

just a random Q. since it only needs light and CA. and good water par.

 

im only putting zooplantion in the tank. wats the other thing they eat?

 

also its ok if a marine pellet falls into its mouth right???

[organism]

They don't eat zooplankton, but some people feed them phytoplankton which is pretty much a waste of money and water quality. All clams need is good water and clean light, they'll do great just feeding off of the dissolved nitrates, phosphates and organics that are already in your system. Also, you don't want to get pellet food into their mouths...

[coolwaters]

yeah i'll try to avoid that. totally accident.

 

i'll probably use phytoplankton for my ric.

[BKtomodachi]

Rics don't eat phytoplankton, really.

[hazmat]

My Ric eats mysis....FWIW

[horizons2098]

my lfs sold me a freeze dried phyto plankton container and a liquid bio plankton container; both of which i'm considering returning. from what i'm gathering: the maxima clam will do just fine with the right lights and water conditions. does anyone use an extra supplement to feed smaller maximas on this forum?

[coolwaters]

a little bit of live phytoplankton wont hurt the water quality right?

[BKtomodachi]

Clams make a gradual transition from getting most of their energy from feeding to getting most of it from photosynthesis. This usually happens at roughly 2" or 2.5" in size. Any clam above this size does not require any feeding whatsoever for the most part. Phytoplankton is the food of choice for clams under this size, but they should be purchased with extreme care, as they are delicate and without feeding will often do poorly.

 

Phytoplankton can absolutely damage water quality if not dosed in small amounts, and gradually. Any food you put in the tank will damage the water quality, but only in proportion to the amount you use.

[horizons2098]

Clams make a gradual transition from getting most of their energy from feeding to getting most of it from photosynthesis. This usually happens at roughly 2" or 2.5" in size. Any clam above this size does not require any feeding whatsoever for the most part. Phytoplankton is the food of choice for clams under this size, but they should be purchased with extreme care, as they are delicate and without feeding will often do poorly.

 

Phytoplankton can absolutely damage water quality if not dosed in small amounts, and gradually. Any food you put in the tank will damage the water quality, but only in proportion to the amount you use.

 

thanks for clearing this up bk; the clam is about 3 inches so i returned the unecessary crappy food that i was sold

[basser1]

Also want to add... if you have fish and you feed them, the clams get nutrients from the fish waste. Lights and fish poop, great combo!

[ianiwane]

Even small clams don't need supplemental feeding. The only thing I would ever try to feed a clam with is phyto. Just feed the tank. If you place the clam in a saturated solution it could clog its gills.

[JKUNZ]

I agree that they don't require supplemental feeding. Water changes alone replenish some of the nutrients, the rest, like stated above, comes from waste, phosphates, etc. They're actually a great natural filter.

 

I happen to feed my tank phyto, cyclops, and a faunamarin seafan mix, but those are primarily for the other corals, not directly targeted at the clams.

 

I love clams, I have a handful myself.

[IslandCrow]

Clams make a gradual transition from getting most of their energy from feeding to getting most of it from photosynthesis. This usually happens at roughly 2" or 2.5" in size. Any clam above this size does not require any feeding whatsoever for the most part. Phytoplankton is the food of choice for clams under this size. . .

 

That's a popular rumor, but it's simply not true. Studies have been done, and even small clams can meet CZARG, or Contribution by Zooxanthallae to achieve Growth (OK, that's paraphrased). So, there's really no need to directly feed any clam regardless of its size. As someone else already stated, there's plenty of other nutrients in the water to satisfy a clams need. Lighting of course is still the most important factor.

[BKtomodachi]

That's a popular rumor, but it's simply not true. Studies have been done, and even small clams can meet CZARG, or Contribution by Zooxanthallae to achieve Growth (OK, that's paraphrased). So, there's really no need to directly feed any clam regardless of its size. As someone else already stated, there's plenty of other nutrients in the water to satisfy a clams need. Lighting of course is still the most important factor.

source?

[xbwolfx]

source?

God

[davidr2340]

God

FTW!!!

[Urchinhead]

God

 

Anthony Calfo is God!?!? Wow! I had no idea! I thought Mr. Anderson was God...

 

Seriously though I believe he said something about this though I thought it was the other way around which was that clams can and do sustenance from things other than light but it had to be in the 50 nano meter range for them to be able to take it in. I do know that they (Clams) do draw nitrates from the water as a nutrient source.

 

FWIW I do end up feeding my clam with reef chili. As I am feeding my SPS and other corals I tend to gently shoot a cloud around it. It always perks up and extends it's mantle and feeding tube/mouth (sorry the scientific name escapes me). At first I was worried about it getting shocked by the local saturation in of the RC in the water around it but I have found that when I do not 'cloud' it it still perks up and starts trying to filter any stray particles that come through.

[disaster999]

this makes me wanna try a clam...seems easy enough. clean water and good light.

[KMP]

another source is "giant clams in the sea and the aquarium" by james fatherree. he came and spoke at our meeting last night. bought his book. not necessary to feed any size clam; good light, good water.