New clam, advice wanted

[jane of baden]

I just got a clam from the LFS where I work (yeah employee discount!). It was a smaller one, but it has maintained good coloration for quite a while. To prepare for the new baby I am going to up how much plankton I'm dosing (enough for sponges to grow, 8 non-photo clams, and coral) and doubling calcium added.

 

Should I:

 

-Add calcium more often? So far I just do it during water changes, 1x a week, 4 drops of aragamilk or whatever- I have reaaaaaally high calc levels (always above 400 ppm); should I add a drop every two days or so?

 

-move clam up closer to the light? I have a 70w MH 10" above the water surface, and the clam is about 4" from the bottom of the tank? move him on up? How can i tell if he's hyperextended?

 

 

it's a beautiful clam I hope we're the best of friends for many years.

thanks in advance

J

[proraptor2]

Calcium and plankton arent the only thing you need to worry about when keeping a clam.....The most important thing is keeping all your parameters stable....Make sure you calcium is over 400PPM and you will be fine. If the clam doesnt like where it is it will move.

[jane of baden]

I dont think it could get out of the cup I bought it in-- I was too scared to stress it out even more yesterday so I left it in the (very attractive, coralline-covered) cup- should I just scoop it out? My parameters are stable as uh,.... can't come up with a good analogy. basically, theyre stable.

[FishTechNH]

Just keep a good testing regimen and adjust as needed. The lighting should be okay. depending on the species, it may prefer to be placed in the sandbed anyway.