Kat's Ol' Max

[metrokat]

Goodmorning from the reef. Still blurry eyed.

[ward827]

Nice Max! How big?

I can't keep up with all the newness in here!

[Chris L]

What t5 lamps u running now kat? Love the last pic!

[metrokat]

What t5 lamps u running now kat? Love the last pic!

Thanks. It was still at sunrise with my LED's when I took the picture. One T5 module was on - blue+ and GE6500K

 

Nice Max! How big?

I can't keep up with all the newness in here!

itty bitty. 'bout 1.5 inches. She's orange!

 

Of course I expect her to die any minute thanks to interacting with Zeph for that last 1.5 years about it. I did wake up in the middle of the night to see if I had an empty shell or what.

[ward827]

I think you're fast becoming a clam master!

Where'd ya get it? Think i may need a little one.

[ZephNYC]

Thanks. It was still at sunrise with my LED's when I took the picture. One T5 module was on - blue+ and GE6500K

 

itty bitty. 'bout 1.5 inches. She's orange!

 

Of course I expect her to die any minute thanks to interacting with Zeph for that last 1.5 years about it. I did wake up in the middle of the night to see if I had an empty shell or what.

 

Any time Kat looses livestock it is somehow my fault. Thats ok....Im always the guy that takes one for the team.

[metrokat]

Any time Kat looses livestock it is somehow my fault. Thats ok....Im always the guy that takes one for the team.

Utterly absurd statement. You're only responsible for the deaths in YOUR tanks.

[tibbsy07]

Looks good. It'll last. Just treat it like a princess

[Reef_Suds]

Goodmorning from the reef. Still blurry eyed.

 

BEAUTIFUL! I've been contemplating adding a clam myself... My local supplier has some beautiful tank raised 3" maximas!

[metrokat]

Dooooo it. Those ultra blues are the hardest to keep, requiring very high levels of light.

[Reef_Suds]

Dooooo it. Those ultra blues are the hardest to keep, requiring very high levels of light.

 

All I got is high levels of light!

[ward827]

Hey Kitty . . . if the mantle of a maxima is orange or green or black or tan, etc. can it thrive with less light compared to one that has a blue mantle? Or, are ALL maxima's in need of strong light? Sorry Zeph, new sherif in town! JK. W-

[metrokat]

They all need high light, but the blue mantles reflect a good bit of light back and so are the most inefficient at energy consumption of the lot.

 

Baby maximas need high DOC, as in a nutrient rich tank and live phyto. They love nitrates, phosphates. There are pictures and posts online of people putting their clam in a little bowl and making the water green with phyto, a few hours later the phyto is gone. Some say the phyto doesn't get used in the gut, some say it can. I personally feed phyto and think it is my security blanket.

 

There is no real answer as to why clams do well for some people and why they don't for others. disease aside, it seems to be a matter of a balance of light and food. Food is debatable between foods you actually feed (live phyto being the correct particle size) and DOC which is food for all filter feeders. I don't know if it matters but sponges in my tank also do well.

[ward827]

Cool. My derasa is doing great! That said, I know it's totally a different story with a max.
I still may try one. Who knows!

[metrokat]

Don't do it with PCs. That's all I can say.

[ward827]

Don't do it with PCs. That's all I can say.

 

Ok.

[SouthFlorida_Tron]

Kat, my lfs has 4 fat mandarins, should I try one? I have plenty of pods in my sump and display but am nervous he will wipe them out... Can you train them to pellets?

[metrokat]

Yes they can be trained.

1. Ask the LFS if they have been eating. If they ate then ask what it was and ask for them to be fed in front of you.

 

2. Pick the fish that is actively picking at pods and then picks at the food the LFS feeds them.

 

3. Buy the food they have been eating.

 

4. Culture pods (tisbe pods are best but they also eat amphipods)

 

5. Put the mandarin in a breeder net or acclimation box and train it there before releasing in the tank

 

6. Order nutramar ova. It is the best foods for mandari s. Pellets are good too but nutramar ova is better

[Polarcollision]

KAT! Yesterday I saw a mandarin like Draco and Bella that was no less than 6" long and easily 1.5" thick. It was around 6 years old. Good lord, what an impressive fish! I had no idea they we so HUGE! Anyways, it made me think of you and your babies.

 

Now I'm wondering how big bella is? I always thought your mandarins were ~4", but now I'm wondering if pictures just don't translate scale well.

[metrokat]

Holy cow that's a big fish!

 

Bella is just under 2 inches and hydrated with eggs at the moment. Sam is a big fish, 3+ inches and skinny. Sign. He eats but not enough.

[SouthFlorida_Tron]

High maintenance... Just worried about the size of my display... 25x10x14 doesn't seem like much with a yasha and 2 clowns

[metrokat]

It's only tough till they are trained. Bella is a pig and eats everything. Sam is still adjusting. Takes some frozen readily.

[SouthFlorida_Tron]

Thats good to know...

[metrokat]

Also Bella trained herself after watching my first mandarin, Draco, pig out on everything. She stressed me out for a good 2-3 weeks before I was able to see that she's doing fine on her own.

[DaveFason]

looking good!