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clam for my 6 gallon?


Disturbed22

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Disturbed22

I started up my 5.5 gallon tank back in the beginning of November and I upgraded to a 6 gallon about 3 weeks to 1 month ago. I have about 9-10 pounds of LR. 2 different kinds of zoas, a nice frogspawn, mushrooms, and I think 2 types of vacant corals. I have a clown fish and cleaner shrimp and they have been doing fansltastic since I set up the tank. I never had a test kit and never dosed my tank with anything. I have a mp10 es, a AC70 modded to a tugs, a AC 50 with that pillow stuffing, chemi pure elite, and those things that come with the filter ( I forgot what they are called). Yesterday I went to petco and bought a light for the fuge, the chemi pure elite and some Kent calcium. I heard I need the calcium to grow coralline algea. But I also know that you need to dose calcium for clams. If I get a clam what is a good clam to start out with and will I need to dose calcium and need to buy a test kit?

 

 

Thanks

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C.I._Reefer
I started up my 5.5 gallon tank back in the beginning of November and I upgraded to a 6 gallon about 3 weeks to 1 month ago. I have about 9-10 pounds of LR. 2 different kinds of zoas, a nice frogspawn, mushrooms, and I think 2 types of vacant corals. I have a clown fish and cleaner shrimp and they have been doing fansltastic since I set up the tank. I never had a test kit and never dosed my tank with anything. I have a mp10 es, a AC70 modded to a tugs, a AC 50 with that pillow stuffing, chemi pure elite, and those things that come with the filter ( I forgot what they are called). Yesterday I went to petco and bought a light for the fuge, the chemi pure elite and some Kent calcium. I heard I need the calcium to grow coralline algea. But I also know that you need to dose calcium for clams. If I get a clam what is a good clam to start out with and will I need to dose calcium and need to buy a test kit?

 

 

Thanks

 

 

You need test kit... there just isnt any way around it really if you wanna be successful. Cal, alk phos and nitrate at the least probably. IDK if a clam is a good idea in a 6g

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I would say that you wait couple months before you put a clam inside. I have a 6 gallon and I only put a clam after 8 months or so of having a stable tank. You do need a test kit but not really to keep a clam. If you are doing a good amount of water change every week then you don't need to worry about the Cal, alk.

 

I have had a clam now for almost 5-6 months and it doing really great with growth of almost an inch without any additional dosing. I do 30% weekly water change. Here is the pic of my clam which i took yesterday.

 

LastNanoTankPics-41.jpg

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Disturbed22
I would say that you wait couple months before you put a clam inside. I have a 6 gallon and I only put a clam after 8 months or so of having a stable tank. You do need a test kit but not really to keep a clam. If you are doing a good amount of water change every week then you don't need to worry about the Cal, alk.

 

I have had a clam now for almost 5-6 months and it doing really great with growth of almost an inch without any additional dosing. I do 30% weekly water change. Here is the pic of my clam which i took yesterday.

 

LastNanoTankPics-41.jpg

Thanks for the input. And nice clam by the way. I will wait a few more months to get one but what kind should I get. Also should I even dose my tank with the calcium? What can I be doing to make the coralline algea to grow. And finnally, what can I do to get my clown to host my frog spawn.

 

Sorry I know its a lot to ask

 

Thanks

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acropora1981
Thanks for the input. And nice clam by the way. I will wait a few more months to get one but what kind should I get. Also should I even dose my tank with the calcium? What can I be doing to make the coralline algea to grow. And finnally, what can I do to get my clown to host my frog spawn.

 

Sorry I know its a lot to ask

 

Thanks

 

I'm only going to answer one of your questions; get a crocea clam. They are the smallest of the giant clams.

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randythefishdude

IM NOT SHURE ABOUT THE OTHER STUFF BUT AS FOR CORALINE GET A REALLY THICK COVERD PICACE FROM UR LFS AND SCRAP SOME OFF ONCE A WEEK IN YOUR TANK......SOME SAY PURPLE UP CHEMICAL HELPS BUT I JUST STARTED USING IT YESTUR DAY SO I DONT KNOW FOR SHURE

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I'm only going to answer one of your questions; get a crocea clam. They are the smallest of the giant clams.

+1 to that. I have a crocea too and i went with them for the same reason mentioned above. As far as the coraline goes...may i ask why do you need that? I don't have much coraline in my tank and i am actually happy about it since that much less i have to scrape of my glass. In such a small tank i would stay away from dosing and just keep up with the water change.

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TheKleinReef
And finnally, what can I do to get my clown to host my frog spawn.

 

i wouldn't try to force that. euphyllia corals (torch, hammer, and frogspawn) aren't natural clown hosters. sure it can happen and both can thrive but if you get an antsy clown it can damage the soft tissue. my torch hated my clown hosting it. when i finally got them separated it opened back up again. and frogspawns have even weaker tentacles than torches.

 

its preference but i wouldn't force it.

good luck

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Disturbed22
+1 to that. I have a crocea too and i went with them for the same reason mentioned above. As far as the coraline goes...may i ask why do you need that? I don't have much coraline in my tank and i am actually happy about it since that much less i have to scrape of my glass. In such a small tank i would stay away from dosing and just keep up with the water change.

 

 

I just want some coralline in my tank because I think it makes it look mature. And are crocea usually sold at LFS or should I buy online and if online what site?

 

 

Thanks

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i wouldn't try to force that. euphyllia corals (torch, hammer, and frogspawn) aren't natural clown hosters. sure it can happen and both can thrive but if you get an antsy clown it can damage the soft tissue. my torch hated my clown hosting it. when i finally got them separated it opened back up again. and frogspawns have even weaker tentacles than torches.

 

its preference but i wouldn't force it.

good luck

 

I agree with TheKleinReef. My clowns didn't host anything for almost 9-10 months and then suddenly one day the hairy mushroom started hosting the clowns. Pic below.

 

I just want some coralline in my tank because I think it makes it look mature. And are crocea usually sold at LFS or should I buy online and if online what site?

Thanks

crocea clams are available everywhere. My LFS sells it but i bought mine on ebay from a reputable seller. In case of clams you really want to check them (especially near the foot/base of clam) for any pyramid snails. They multiply every 90-120 days and can kill your clam. Use a magnifying glass to make sure that your clam is pest free before you put in your tank.

 

 

LastNanoTankPics-18.jpg

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i<3nanotanks

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are you serious about the clam? i mean really?

 

if so please don't, odds are you're going to kill it they suck up alk and cal like you wouldn't believe. 100ppm of cal daily isn't uncommon. your lights may be "good enough" to put some high par down but a small clam (2-3.5") isn't fully matured to survive solely off of photosynthetic energy, it must eat. or it'll look and seem fine for 6-8 months, then it will just die outta no where. trust me don't buy a clam until you have a bigger system that can support the demands a clam will exert on your system. and yes i do mean having a cal reactor or auto dosers to handle the loads your clam will need. (keep in mind the bigger it gets the more it will need) and your 6 gallon sure as hell isn't a good start. you think you'll dose daily until you get annoyed at having to test and dose often, then it will become cost or time prohibitive to do it. and you'll start to slack off.

 

get your basics down and experience way up before you try a clam in a tank that small. all i'm saying is you're obviously not testing for ALL of your parameters and you're considering buying an animal that needs a very stable system to grow. this just sounds like a bad idea. but most newer folks do what they want instead of listening to more experienced reefers. Because they will only see responses that they want to and not the plain and simple facts. good luck.

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acropora1981
Well why is everyone else saying it will be fine and to get a crocea clam?

 

Honestly, what gabe is saying is probably the best advice. I wanted to say that, but I didn't want to crush your hopes and step on your toes.

 

You asked which would be best, so i answered; crocea is best. But personally, I wouldn't do a clam in a tank that size at all ;)

 

I also wouldn't do a clam without a ca reactor or an auto dosing system, due to the extreme pressure they place on cal an alk demands. My tank has a ca reactor and a kalk reactor to keep up with clam and SPS.

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i thought i was pretty clear, with out coming off as a douche bag. but let me try again.

 

they probably are as new as you. so, they probably read somewhere that blah blah blah. 1 guy actually has a clam in a tiny tank but its only been 8 months. thats not really what i consider long term. but to each their own.

 

so that brings me down to a few points

A) they are too new to know better

B) they don't care, becuase they think they know better

C) its not their money so if it dies you're the only one who takes the loss.

 

i'm just saying save yourself the trouble and wait until you have a bigger system to get a clam. i really wanted to buy a clam for my ADA 60-F when i started but i decided against it. because of all the reasons i listed earlier. time went by and i out grew the tank so i upgraded to a 40br with 20l sump then i finally got my clam which still required dosing but not as any where near as much. in that time i researched how to best care for clams, issues in keeping them, and as much general infromation as i could find. so when i finally did buy one i was fully prepared and capable to care for it properly. i did eventually lose the clam along with most of my other livestock during a tank crash caused by a massive anemone diving into a powerehead.

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