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ADA - the 2 island reef


Andreww

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New clam arrived healthy, went through the almost 2 hour acclimation and is in the tank. Sand was too much flow and couldn’t find a good spot so I put it up on the monti cap.

Looks like it’s loving it. Time will tell.

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Got the Aquarium cam app, now we’re talking.

Gotta love this app, especially the orange filter that filters out the blue light. 

More realistic pictures now... here’s a few. Interesting how the clam looks rusty gold from up top and navy/grey from the side.

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flatlandreefer

Glad the second clam is doing well so far. I had the same thing happen with my dd clam that I ordered last winter, arrived all but dead. I will say LA's customer service is very easy to deal with and will refund with very little hastle so it can definitely be worth the risk. 

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Yes I even offered to send some pictures of the sick clam not just take my word for it but they didn’t even bother, got a store credit cuz I asked for another clam and next day it was on its way.

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Thank you...

First clam is long dead. Mantle started separating from the shell. It’s a shame but what can you do...at least I tried...

Now if I can get another big maxima or  crocea in blue at around 5-6” I’m going to be satisfied lol.

Ill probably have to dose a lot of the 2 part and feed the fish more but it’s a challenge I’m willing to accept given that they should filter out a lot of the nitrates and phosphates, at least in theory haha

 

On another note, my ELOS ALK test it empty, and no one carries it anymore. Stores around me or online, looks like it’s discontinued.

It used to cost me 17$ and be so easy to test. I’m not a cheapskate by any means but now I have to get a Red Sea at 25$ or something else and I’m not sure which one’s more accurate...

Heard the Red Sea is not that accurate. What’s your opinion? Worth jumping up to the Hannah Alk checker? 

 

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Is it growing? YES it is. Here’s a before and after of the supposedly forest fire montipora. Just need some more green in the skin to believe it’s really a forest fire lol but growth is there. This is 12 days apart. 

 

 

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Well things aren’t looking too good for the clam. It started gaping this morning and noticed when full throttle , the reef crest mode was kinda flapping its mantle around. So I looked closely and noticed it was not attached, moved it out of the flow on top of the tank a few inches from the anemone. 

Will see how today goes for it but by tomorrow I should know something for sure, either dead or alive. 

Makes me wonder if specimens this small are best left alone and just buy 4”+ clams.

If this one goes, I’m not purchasing small clams anymore....

 

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I said whatever a fresh water dip will not kill it in this state it’s in.

I prepared a small container with RO/DI water and flipped it over while taking it out of the tank so I don’t get squirted in the eye and the clam shut completely. I’m like ok what in the world and flipped it over and put it back on the rock...a few air bubbles came out of it and not it stays shut and slowly opening its shell and showing the mantle.

This thing saw the freshwater and though, no way I’m going in there I better behave LOL

What a weirdo...

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Second clam is dead. So much for looking pretty last night...

Here is the thing, I hate to keep asking LA for another clam, just to have it die a day or so later. So at this point I might just search for something locally.

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Not really sure what was wrong. I did all the necessary steps to acclimate it the right way, out of the high flow, plenty of nutrients in the water...I even took my carbon reactor offline.

At this point I’m only willing to get bigger clams, and locally.

 

One thing that seems to kill the small ones in particular is the shipping stress combined with their need of food and light and not rely on light alone.

 

Then there’s the other 1000 reason no one knows why clams die. 

I do believe that bigger specimens have a way better chance of survival given no other parasites or bacteria invades them.

Such a delicate invert fares way better in my opinion from the LFS to the tank being only like 20 min in a bag compared to the 24 hour if shipped overnight from a supplier.

Oh well, lesson learned.

 

I found some small ultra blue maximas for like 45$ each locally but they’re like 1.5”-2” only. While the price is tempting I’m not willing to gamble on such small clams anymore.

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1 hour ago, Andreww said:

Not really sure what was wrong. I did all the necessary steps to acclimate it the right way, out of the high flow, plenty of nutrients in the water...I even took my carbon reactor offline.

At this point I’m only willing to get bigger clams, and locally.

 

One thing that seems to kill the small ones in particular is the shipping stress combined with their need of food and light and not rely on light alone.

 

Then there’s the other 1000 reason no one knows why clams die. 

I do believe that bigger specimens have a way better chance of survival given no other parasites or bacteria invades them.

Such a delicate invert fares way better in my opinion from the LFS to the tank being only like 20 min in a bag compared to the 24 hour if shipped overnight from a supplier.

Oh well, lesson learned.

 

I found some small ultra blue maximas for like 45$ each locally but they’re like 1.5”-2” only. While the price is tempting I’m not willing to gamble on such small clams anymore.

Not all clams are as difficult though. For instance, I know it’s not the same, but I bought a zoa frag at a lfs and it came with an unknown black clam. Figured it was dead, considering it was my first frag ever and the tank was just cycled when I threw it in. Well it’s nearly a year later and it’s thriving. It snaps closed still if you put your hand inbetween it and and the light.

 

I REALLY want to try a nice clam, but the tank is only 3 gallons. I didn’t think any clam would survive in a 3G but the mystery one is thriving. And I’m not even trying, I don’t dose anything. Really temps me to try a small one and just dose some filter feeder food.

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Yeah that hitchhiker is not even in the same galaxy as the tridacnas. 3 gallons is very small and the calcium and alkalinity would get depleted very fast, likewise, feeding it will pollute the water super fast. What kind of light do you have over the 3g?

I’m no expert in clams by any means I’m just talking from the experience I had with these 2 and another blue maxima that I killed a year ago by ripping apart its byssal threads and gland while trying to move it around the tank and didn’t know any better. 

 

 

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3 hours ago, Andreww said:

Yeah that hitchhiker is not even in the same galaxy as the tridacnas. 3 gallons is very small and the calcium and alkalinity would get depleted very fast, likewise, feeding it will pollute the water super fast. What kind of light do you have over the 3g?

I’m no expert in clams by any means I’m just talking from the experience I had with these 2 and another blue maxima that I killed a year ago by ripping apart its byssal threads and gland while trying to move it around the tank and didn’t know any better. 

 

 

Yeah I know it’s not the same. I do think it’s a good sign my tank is healthy though, it is very stable now that it’s about a year old. Ive not really looked into dosing Calc/Alk but I think it would be plausible if I was determined to try a clam. I don’t think feeding it will pollute the tank like you said, when I had a NPS gorg I (over)dosed phyto pure and had no problems. The thing about it being 3 Gallons is nearly full water changes are not a problem. Doing so replenished minerals and removes organics. I’m using one of the Par LEDs, which are quite strong over a small tank like it is. I can grow acropora and cant imagine clams needing more light than acros

 

I’m sure Its not worth the effort or money to try one but I REALLY want one lol. To me, nothing says a reef like a beautiful healthy clam.

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It depends on your bioload, how much you feed and how much water you change , how often.

If you do 100% water changes, you gotta be sure you’re not shocking the tank with different levels of ALK and CA than what you already have in the tank.

Soft coral might not care and some LPS won’t mind the shift in these parameters but sensitive inverts like clams do care and won’t like it.

Another thing, clams like nutrients in the water, that doesn’t mean elevated phosphates and nitrates but surely a bit of each . Fish poop is pure ammonia, which is the source of the nitrates so a clam feeds on that.

If you don’t have anything like that, the clam “might” die.

If you really wanna try one, Id get a fully grown maxima and have a fish in there. 

Why a fully grown 6” maxima...because it already reached the max size and won’t grow new shell and take out ALK and CA out of the water (at least in theory) , plus it’s supposed to be hardier.

Is it worth it though? Only you can say...that’s gonna cost a pretty penny and if it’s going to die then....it was a expensive experiment.

3 gallon is small for even a fish if adequate filtration isn’t in place .

Maybe more suitable for shrimp and zoas or smaller coral??

Not trying to sound like a smart Alec because I do not have long time experience with clams , but over the last 2 years I read pretty much every article that is available on clams and the majority of reefer comunity’s experiences seem to align with those articles ...high mortality on small clams and sometimes death coming out of nowhere on healthy specimens that have been established for years in a tank. 

 

On another note, some crocea and hippopus clams, as well as some maximas are found at a depth of 6meters or so.

That’s as intense as it gets PAR wise. Only you can tell if your light can sustain something like a clam or acropora long term.

A PAR meter is essential to figure out placement of various coral or clams and I’m planning to get one so I can get numbers instead of guessing.

 

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Looks like snail eggs to me. 

 

Sorry about your trouble with the clams.  It's heartbreaking to lose animals like that.  I think the small ones can be successful when they aren't put through too much shipping stress.  I had one I got from my LFS at under 2" that did great for almost 2 years before a power outage took out everything.  I don't think I'd be brave enough to order one shipped, especially after seeing more than a couple  stories like yours. 

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Yeah I’m with you on that one. Went to see a few small maximas today locally but they were too small. Ended up with a fighting conch for my sandbed. This thing is HUGE. Close to 3”. Threw it in the sump to acclimate and left for a few hours. Gotta go drip acclimate it now and put it in the tank. Can’t wait to see it work on that Fiji pink:)

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This rainbow nem is coming home with me.

we tried to take it off the rock at the LFS and it wouldn’t budge. Pointed 2 powerheads at it hopefully it’ll move in the next couple hours if not I’ll have to pick it up tomorrow.

So beautiful, it’s been a while since I’ve seen a specimen like this. 

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