i have a 180 gal with 3 150 watt mh's and was wondering what clams i could keep under such low lighting. its 2 ft deep. can i make up for some of the light with phyto?

The maxima and crocea are "rock clams" so you could place the mid way to right on top of the structure for them to get the needed light. The electric variety of course, as high up as possible under the circumstances.

i dont know how that would work with the fact that i dont have a stable rock structure and it is not leaning on the back wall as per (amphibious) suggestion. so i would have to put them up on the rocks to keep clams

Rock clams belong in the rockwork. Sand clams should be placed in the sand.

You could get away with a hippopus, derasa, squamosa or a gigas in the sand.

the only colorful nes i have seen are the croceas and the maximas. this sux as i got the mh's for clams and sps. dang first tank ignorance

Why can't you put them on the rockwork? They will attach themself so it can even be at an angle. My rockwork is all mid tank since it is viewable from 3 sides. I have lots of arches etc in there as well and have 3 clams. 2 crocea and one maxima. You just need to take care if you re-aquascaoe the tank just like you are with the corals.

thats great i always wanted clams. now i just have to hope my cba can behave or he is coming out with the damsels

While it's true, Maximas and Croceas are considered "rock" clams, anytime you have a hard and fast written rule, it's meant to be broken. I keep my 3 Croceas on the sand with great mantle extension and growth. I've posted pics of them before but here's a reminder.

http://www.theculturedreef.com/Clams-11-16-06-1.jpg

Put them where you want them. they will be fine. Your lights will support them. In eight month's, I've never feed mine Phyto. I do feed them a blended mixture of sea foods from time to time. Their thriving.

Dick

how long should you wait before adding it

Before adding what, a clam? If you are positively past the cycle, why wait?

Be sure to note the "positively" in that statement. You want to have the tank pretty well established. Also you shoud avoid the little baby clams unless you are willing to target feed and give them the special attention they need. A decent size clam should be fne with good water parameters and light.


Before adding what, a clam? If you are positively past the cycle, why wait?

Dick, I feel breaking the rules should be left to those that have experience with the critter. Once you keep clams awhile, and are better able to recognize what a stressed clam looks and acts like, then is the time to test the limits. And if you never had a clam in your life and wanted to put a sand clam in the rockwork.... you have years of experience behind you to hopefully identify a problem before it's irreversible. Jamal here just got into the hobby in Sept....

Renee, my statement above about breaking the rules was tungue in check, meaning it isn't a hard fast rule that Crosea and Maxima are always found in rock work in the wild. Therefore it isn't imparative they be placed in the rock work in our aquariums. I've found many clams mis-identified in stores and on-line so unless a buyer can make his/her own postive ID it's likely they will put a "rock" clam in the sand and some "sand" clams in the rocks. Placing them in the "wrong" location isn't the end all of the clam's life. In fact giving them the proper location under lights is more important than in the rocks or sand.

I'm aware of Jamal's limited experience. I've followed his progress and have been responding to his posts from the beginning. I think his system, if stabalized, is ready for a clam. If he were working with a small system I would have responded differently but, a stabalized 180 offers a great deal of forgiveness. If he doesn't buy a clam, he can't gain experience with them.

yea i am definitely a newb. i am still trying to do the plumbing on my first drilled tank but i have a no3 level of .5 and nh3 level of .5 so i will have to do several water changes and wait on the clam. i like to get info early about thngs i have never kept until i feel adquately prepared and then i ask more questions. thanx for all the help. everyone keeps telling me that i cant keep croceas on the sand but these are the clams that i want and i am scared that they will not get sufficient light from 150 watt lights on the sand

Well I have one on the sand in my 18in deep 125 w/3 150w mh and 4 96w actinics. It was given to me by someone tearing down their tank and is too big for anywhere else in the tank. It seems to be doing just fine where it is though and amphibious definitely knows what he is talking about so if he says it will work it likely will.

i agree with your assessment. dick is a very skilled aquariologist and i hoe to reach that level of knowledge someday as i intend to do something with aquariums as a business someday

i beg to differ on the "adding a clam once a tank is past cycle". clams are definitely one of the critters that require a MATURE system. the general rule of thumb with Tridacnids is to have a system that has been up and stable for at LEAST 6 months. clams need the stability of an "aged" system which helps feed the clams as well since it has had time to develop microfauna in the water column.

as for lighting, i realize some folks DO keep their croceas and maximas on the substrate, but i'd like to point out that croceas are the most light-hungry of the clams we keep in the hobby, and 150W HQI's is a bit dim for a 2 foot deep tank. this is especially true if one is dealing with baby clams (2.5" or less) since they simply don't have the mantle mass to subsist on their zooxanthellae alone (they actually require bowl feedings to thrive).

Placing them in the "wrong" location isn't the end all of the clam's life. In fact giving them the proper location under lights is more important than in the rocks or sand.

lighting is certainly important for the maximas and croceas, but the substrate-dwelling clams almost never secrete byssal threads, which are what rock-dwellers use to attach themselves securely to the rockwork. instead, they rely upon their size and weight to keep them in place. so, feeling unstable, a substrate-dweller may continually bail off the rockwork and may injure itself or something below it in the process.

on a final note, T. crocea is the most sensitive of the Tridacnids. they have very fine gill structures that can become clogged (a good reason to keep them off the substrate), they're EXTREMELY light-hungry, and need a stable, mature system in order to thrive.

the absolute best clam for a clam noo-be is T. derasa, which is a substrate-dweller. i'd recommend keeping a derasa first, after the system in question matures that is.

Why can't you put them on the rockwork? They will attach themself so it can even be at an angle.

:o Do the clams a favor and do NOT keep them at an angle. They may be fine for a short time, but ultimately, they will suffer. If kept at an angle, the total weight of the clam is pushing downward toward their inhalant siphon. This puts too much stress/pressure on the gills and other "innards". They are rarely, if ever, found in the wild in any other position but horizontal.

The only angle or pitch that they should be "set in" is that natural tilt foward, toward the inhalant siphon, which is properly dictated by the shell structure and the natural angle of the byssus port.

So... just to make me happy :) crocea, maxima.. on rock, inhalant siphon in the natural downward position. If you keep them on a sand bed, I'd still suggest putting a smallish piece of flat, live rock, or as I've done in the past, tile or seashell, so they can attach and protect the byssal gland. Gigas, squamosa, derasa, on the sand, same positioning.

Thank you for letting me ramble.

Dave

:o Do the clams a favor and do NOT keep them at an angle. They may be fine for a short time, but ultimately, they will suffer. If kept at an angle, the total weight of the clam is pushing downward toward their inhalant siphon. This puts too much stress/pressure on the gills and other "innards". They are rarely, if ever, found in the wild in any other position but horizontal.

The only angle or pitch that they should be "set in" is that natural tilt foward, toward the inhalant siphon, which is properly dictated by the shell structure and the natural angle of the byssus port.

So... just to make me happy :) crocea, maxima.. on rock, inhalant siphon in the natural downward position. If you keep them on a sand bed, I'd still suggest putting a smallish piece of flat, live rock, or as I've done in the past, tile or seashell, so they can attach and protect the byssal gland. Gigas, squamosa, derasa, on the sand, same positioning.

Thank you for letting me ramble.

Dave

SOMEbody's been doing their clam homework... ;) nice ramble, my brotha...

SOMEbody's been doing their clam homework... ;) nice ramble, my brotha...

Homework? I always equated homework with "totally not fun"... :)

No... I'm actually NOT a newbie with clammage.. When all else gave me troubles in my system(s) my clams were a constant.. they remained well... Happy as a clam!

D

http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d176/JustDavidP/right.jpg

http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d176/JustDavidP/duo12.jpg

http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d176/JustDavidP/Ultra6.jpg

http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d176/JustDavidP/squamosa1.jpg

oooo...i'm lovin' that squammie! nice pattern indeed.

Yeah... he rocked.. I had to sell him when I broke down the reef... I want more clammage..and now!

i want a clam myself... prolly get one this weekend.. will post pix if i decide to get one =]

Where ya shopping... I'm in the market! Any good bivalves around?

I've put rock clams in sand, and sand clams on rock...IMO, I don't see a difference in how they react to their enviroment.