T. crocea in jbj 12dx, stock lights

[il0vepez]

Mike:

 

Thank you. That was a very enlightening post. I appreciate your input.

 

Scorr

[il0vepez]

Err, that's Scott

 

Anyways, I figure if I can keep a silly little clam alive for a year or two in a 12g, then I'll be ready for some an octopus in a 30g.

 

Scott

[il0vepez]

generators make electricity when I lose power for 3 days

[Caesar777]

So bottom line is you can keep them under your condition but it will not thrive and grow to perfection, it will live.

 

Maybe I'm a bleeding heart or a crazy philosopher, but that's been my point the whole time. Why keep an animal in substandard conditions (it won't survive, but even if it does)...That's it? You want the minimum and nothing more? What's the point? The point of a reef tank is for our corals to live, grow, and thrive, not just barely live. Maybe that's just me.

[il0vepez]

What kinda crazy man are you caesar? You want things to thrive in your tank? Then they won't die quickly, and you won't have to buy new livestock all the time.

 

::rollseyes::

 

What a crazy man.

[Tigahboy]

caesar is not a crazy man b/c caesar is not a man at all.

[Micro-Reefs Aquariums]

If caesar is not a man Tigah, what is he or her? I'm a little confused?

 

Mike

[Caesar777]

Not even sho' whatcha talkin' about, pez, but okay...

[Fishfreak218]

Caesar777 is a girl not a guy..(i thought you were to in the begginging..lol...sorry)

[Snoop]

mike ilo almost does not have enough light for corals but a clam ?

[Masoch]

Howdy,

 

Clams require lots of energy which they get through a combination of phytoplankton and symbiant algae. The algae photosynthesizes under the light to produce sugar for the clams. So, since your clam is light-starved, it will require a boatload of phytoplankton. Otherwise, your clam will starve. Unfortunately, starvation can take an awfull long time. If say, your clam is a smidge under the amount of energy it requires, it might take a year. If it's getting a fraction of the energy it requires, it'll be dead sooner.

 

The amount of phyto required to keep a clam going in the absence of decent light is ... ummm ... lots, probably enough to foul a stock NanoCube.

 

It's your money, and folks eat clams all the time (yes, folks eat tridacnids in the tropics) without remorse over the critter's death.

 

*shrug*

 

It's just kind of a waste to do nothing with the clam other than letting it slowly starve.

[il0vepez]

Someone give me an actual measure of light needed. As in, x number of photons per second per unit area. Lots doesn't help. I've measured the clam's light to be stronger than the light I measured from the beach in Hawaii. So, its either believe what I've measured, or a bunch of people I don't know. Right now, I'm trusting my light meter.

 

Thanks

Scott

[reef n ale]

Scott, I'm not sure what you're trying to prove here, but you sound intelligent enough to know ahead of time that you were going to get this reaction from people. Now, someone can correct me if I'm wrong on this, and I'm sure you will in either case. A 1 1/2" clam isn't even close to fully photosynthetic yet.

 

From Dr. Macs;

 

"Clams are generally hardy animals if kept in a well established reef aquarium with metal halide lighting, supplemental feeding with phytoplankton is also beneficial. Crocea and Maxima clams less than about 2.5 inches can be difficult to keep and need almost constant feeding, we do not sell these types of clams smaller than about 3 inches, at 3 inches and larger they are quite hardy in the typical reef aquarium."

 

Why be an @ss when people are trying to help you? You're going to burn alot of bridges here acting like that.

 

Rob

[Snoop]

also the kent stuff dosent even feed them right you to gro the stuff thet they eat

[Fishfreak218]

or get DT's live phytoplankton...i have only seen 1 LFS thats sells it...at least in my area it's hard to come by...ya that KENT stuff is crap..or so ive' heard..(no experience with their phtoplankton)

[Fishfreak218]

i think you should give it to a friend with the right lighting or give it to the LFS..maybe they will give you store credit

[reef n ale]

Guys; the point here,for now, is what Masoch was getting at. A clam of this size will require more phyto than the tank can handle. It either won't get enough food, or the tank will crash from severe over-feeding. The clam dies either way.

 

Rob

[Imaexpat2]

Why cant said clam be feed outside the tank?

 

I often feed my small clams in a bowl outside the tank using some of the tank water in the bowl. After about 30 minutes the water has been cleaned pretty good by my smalle clams, plus I dont pollute my displays water. Thats worked for me for about 4 years now...

 

I do agree that the stock lighting is pretty minimal. It might survive but I dont see it doing a lot of thriving. Survive or die, it would do way better under more intense lighting. A halide would without a doubt be my lighting of choice here for best results. But I have seen these types of clams pulled off in a Nano under PC's, just dont recommend it...

 

Good luck with the clam...

 

Man, what a forum......

[Snoop]

woooooo dts thats the name

[reef n ale]

That's an idea for feeding, expat. One would have to make sure the clam attached to something that is easily removed from the tank.

 

Rob

[Caesar777]

Seems it'd stress the clam, but if you've been doing it for so long, then your clams are clearly in ideal conditions. I'll bet you have MH and pristine water conditions, though.

[Imaexpat2]

Yes indeed, it would need to be attached to something small that makes it easy to move. This is the reason I have scammed on the clam shell halfs at the LFS. Each of my clams are nestled away in one which makes moving the clam from one tank to another, or aqau-scaping or just relocating it to another more appropriate spot in the tank possible.

 

Doesnt seem to stress the clams any. I do however avoid for the most part purchasing clams under 3 inches, becuase clams this size dont require spot feeding in a well set up tank although they will certianly benefit from such feedings occasionally. Sure the smaller ones close up a bit when moved from the tank to a small glass bowl but if they are under decent light open up quickly and begin to take advantage of the heavy dose of DT's in the bowl. This feeds the clam and doesnt pollute the display tanks water and makes the most of my supply of DT's.

 

Yes most of my tanks are quiet pristine, Im a Clam/SPS junkie in a most serious kinda way. Yes your right many of my tanks do have Halides, but not all of them. I did however have a 10 gallon SPS/Clam Nano-Reef that had a Maxima, H. Hippopus and several ORA SPS frags in it that was lit by only a Quad 4 96 watt PC retro-fit light fixture for about a year and a half. Tore it down and decided to slap together a 15 gallon one with just 2 x 65 Watt PC for the moment. But yeah its going to get a 150 watt halide in the not too distant future. I then will probably add another small clam or two.

 

Halides arent absolutely required for a Maxima and maybe not even for a Crocea, but they will usually color up much better and definitely grow a good bit faster under halides as opposed to PC/VHO's. For a First Grade Maxima maybe a bit of color loss aint a big deal but its kind of a waste to spend big stupid dollars on an eye popping Ultra or Super Grade clam and then put it under minimal lighting...JMHO.

[il0vepez]

Well expat, that is the most insightful post I have read thus far. Thank you.

[Caesar777]

It's the opposite of yours, hon, and quite in tune to what everyone has been saying this whole time.

[il0vepez]

Caesar, please just ignore my posts and threads all together. I do not find your input helpful.

 

Thanks

Scott