Large tridacna maxima in 16G short-term (2 months)

[Muffin87]

Is it risky to keep a maxima clam for 2 months in a 16G nano?

 

I'm in the process of setting up my new tank (50G+20G sump w/refugium).

There's a maxima clam I really like, it's quite big.

It's difficult to find big tridacna clams in my country, so I'm thinking of keeping it in my 16G nano for a couple of months, and relocating it my new 50G as soon as it's cycled.

Is it a bad idea?

[Rhys]

Depends on how big the clam is and if it will have space. If it’s not too big and it has room I don’t really see a reason not to. 

[Tamberav]

Depends on lighting...how old the tank is...and can you keep up with it's alk and ca demands etc.

 

It still needs ideal conditions for those 2 months and it needs ideal conditions in your new tank too which may take time.

[Joevember]

It can be done. They need rock solid numbers for alk and Ca, especially in a small setup like yours. They suck up Ca very quick so you need to dose daily and test frequently.

Just like Tamberav said, the new setup should also be matured and ready for a healthy clam. They don't do well in an immature tank.

The derasa that I had when I first started the hobby looked in really bad shape until I managed to get my elements in order. 

[Muffin87]

44 minutes ago, Joevember said:

They suck up Ca very quick so you need to dose daily and test frequently.

Would it be easier to just do a 25% - 35% water weekly changes rather than testing frequently? That's my usual routine to remove excess nutrients.

It's a 16G cube with roughly 12G of net water content, so it's not a huge deal to do a 4G weekly water change.

2 hours ago, Tamberav said:

epends on lighting...how old the tank is...and can you keep up with it's alk and ca demands etc.

 

It still needs ideal conditions for those 2 months and it needs ideal conditions in your new tank too which may take time.

I have a Seneye reef PAR meter, and an Evergrow IT2040. I can get pretty high PAR (well over 300) on the top of my rockwork,

My 16G is about 1 year and a half.

 

How mature should the tank be to put the clam in there?

[Joevember]

26 minutes ago, Muffin87 said:

Would it be easier to just do a 25% - 35% water weekly changes rather than testing frequently? That's my usual routine to remove excess nutrients.

It's a 16G cube with roughly 12G of net water content, so it's not a huge deal to do a 4G weekly water change.

I have a Seneye reef PAR meter, and an Evergrow IT2040. I can get pretty high PAR (well over 300) on the top of my rockwork,

My 16G is about 1 year and a half.

 

How mature should the tank be to put the clam in there?

The water change schedule would work, but it would be better if you would dose to make the clam as happy as possible. If you dose you do need to test at least weekly to make sure your levels are fine.

The lighting seems good for the clam. IME they don't care much about it after they grow to 4". That's when they don't need to rely on phyto for feeding and their mantle is big enough to get enough light to self-sustain. So if it's smaller than that you would need to do regular feeding.

Maturity of a tank really means how adaptable and resistant it is. Usually after 6 months tanks get a healthy population of bacteria, algae and inverts to sustain themselves and are less susceptible to element swings or nutrient spikes. So just make sure the system will stay consistent before adding a clam.

[Tamberav]

If you are using dry rock or even partly dry rock, expect it to take longer for the tank to stabilize. Six months to a year.