Clam placement?

[Kool-cat]

Where is the best place to place a crocea clam? I purchased one yesterday for my 20 gallon long which is lit by 150w mh. I tried placing the clam on liverock but is didnt attach, it keep moving. Now I have it in the sand bed. What is the best place top place a crocea? thanks.

Crocea Clam that cost me $85

 

I now have it on the sand bed on top of a flat piece of live rock which it has attached to.

[bobioden]

Where is the best place to place a crocea clam? I purchased one yesterday for my 20 gallon long which is lit by 150w mh. I tried placing the clam on liverock but is didnt attach, it keep moving. Now I have it in the sand bed. What is the best place top place a crocea? thanks.

 

I have mine in the sand bed directly under the MH. I just buried a piece of flat rock under the clam in the sand, and he attached to that.

 

I went this route as I have NO room in my LR.

 

Bob

[RayWhisperer]

Agreed, sand bed w/ a thin piece of slate buried under it.

[Nuhtty]

Crocea are generally rock boring clams but many people keep them in the sand bed with graet success.

 

I think Ray mentions a piece of slate because the last thing you want is a crocea to burrow and attach to the glass on the bottom of the tank...it is extremely difficult to remove it should you have to.

[Bluelegs]

I don't have a crocea yet, but would 130 watts be enough for a 20H? I don't gots no fancy-shmancy metal-halides.

[Nuhtty]

I don't have a crocea yet, but would 130 watts be enough for a 20H? I don't gots no fancy-shmancy metal-halides.

 

 

130w of what? PC?

 

Personally I think it would be OK but I would recommend keeping the clam closer to the middle section of the tank and not on the bottom. Try to have a nice rock crevice to place the clam in that is high enough that it can benefit from the lights.

 

Interesting to see how you can fit 130w over a 20g.

[andre]

I think he has the 24" Current USA Dual Satellite or Dual Orbit. Those pack in 130W of PC.

 

I would think that crocea's need more light than that, especially if there mantles are large. If it is still small, you may be able to pull through with feeding it more regularly. Once it grows larger say over 3 inches, I would upgrade your lighting. If you reall want to keep a clam for a long period of time, go with a Squasmosa or Derasa. I'd prefer a Squasmosa as they do not grow as large as the Derasa.

[kahunakatz]

At a store that I use to work for they had a 2-3” crocea, long term, in a 20 gal long tank with 130 Watts of Coral Vue PC light. It did not grow much and is not ideal but I certainly think that it can be done.

 

Much Thanks,

Barry Katz

customerservice@kahunacorals.com

[Mojorizn]

I remember reading posts on this.

Wasn't so much the wattage of light as the spectrum.

I have the same setup with a 10k.

Got my eye on a 2.5" Crocea as well.

From what I remember, smaller clams require

frequent feedings like andre said.

[smy168]

Croceas are probably the most light needy clams in the trade. What I've done in the past was place them on the sandbed with a small rock beneath so that if I needed to move the clam, I could do so without disturbing it. As far as lighting goes, I think the key with PC is that it's the distance from clam to light. If you have a deep tank under PC, then you would need to move the clam higher up, if your tank is shallow, then it should be fine on the sandbed.

 

I kept my Crocea about 6-8 inches from the light on my rockwork, I had a total of 96 watts PC with a 50/50 PAR ratio and it did fantastic. I would check out Clamsdirect.com forum for more details on distance and PARs, those guys are pretty knowledgeable.

 

Good Luck

[sheen]

The smaller clams (under 3") don't need as much light, they need more feeding. As they grow larger, they will need more light and will entirely depend on photosynthesis for food. The 2-3" would stay alive with 130W PC, if it is kept high up. That is, however, not a long term solution.

Croceas are the most light demanding of all Tridacnids and I wouldn't attempt to keep them (at least for the long term) without the use of MH or T-5 HO lighting.

 

As for placement, they will be fine in the sand, as long as they are attached to a flat piece of rock. One way this is accomplished is allowing the Crocea to sit on the sandbed, and place a flat piece of rock maybe 1/2" to 1" below the clam. It is imperative that you do not keep the Crocea on the sandbed unless you have MH or T-5 HO. It will attach if the lighting is suitable (if not, it will attempt to move to an area with more lighting, which can be dangerous as it could tip over and if left unoticed, die).

 

If you're starting out with a clam in a PC lit environment, especially a crocea, you have to allow the clam to attach a few inches under the light, on a piece of LR. They will do fine as long as they can get their byssal filaments attached well. Make sure that if you intend on moving the clam that the piece of rock it's attached to is a free-moving piece, or when you try to move it all your rock will tumble.

 

My last suggestion, if you don't have the crocea already, and don't intend on upgrading your lighting, why not try a T. squamosa or T. derasa? They are much easier to care for, as far as I know T. squamosa prefers the sand bed, and will likely do just fine under 130 W PC in a 20 gallon tank (since it's not that tall of a tank anyway). Just remember to keep your calcium high and the clam will fluorish and grow.

My last suggestion is,