I bought a maxima clam about 1.5in a week ago. Placed it in the sand bed. After trying to move it I felt it had dug in my shallow sand bed and attached itself to the glass. After being put of town for 2 days. I come back and it looks to have loved a few inches. Is this normal?
Do Maxima Clams Move?
- Thread starter Pnori89
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Welcome to R2R and congratulations on the new clam!
@OrionN - any additional advice to add about the clam?
@OrionN - any additional advice to add about the clam?
MERKEY
Cronies
Oh yup they sure do 
It's fun to watch them if you can catch it. They open and close and wiggle a little to adjust the slightest hahah but overnight can move A LOT! They like rocks over sand but be careful placing them on rocks too high as they could walk off. I made a clam "nest" where I wanted them out of little pieces of my rock so if they do move they dont fall off. They will climb so watch out for that as well!
If you have your Maxima on the sand try to put a flat piece of rock under it so it has something solid to attach to.
Maximas also like A LOT of light so put them in a PAR at least 250 but as high as you can give them would be best.
With the right amount of light and a little phyto/oyster/reefroids depending on size you will really grow a Clam pretty fast
It's fun to watch them if you can catch it. They open and close and wiggle a little to adjust the slightest hahah but overnight can move A LOT! They like rocks over sand but be careful placing them on rocks too high as they could walk off. I made a clam "nest" where I wanted them out of little pieces of my rock so if they do move they dont fall off. They will climb so watch out for that as well!
If you have your Maxima on the sand try to put a flat piece of rock under it so it has something solid to attach to.
Maximas also like A LOT of light so put them in a PAR at least 250 but as high as you can give them would be best.
With the right amount of light and a little phyto/oyster/reefroids depending on size you will really grow a Clam pretty fast
they do. The can let go of attachment, they can even shed the entire basal thread buddle, and secrete a new bundle of basal thread.
Found this picture of the basal thread bundle online, not my picture
Found this picture of the basal thread bundle online, not my picture
The resolution of the picture is not high enough for us to zoom in and see it. What you see there is likely the basal thread bundle that the clam let go. Once attach, they can only move by let go of the bundle. I don't think they can self cut the thread.
A bundle of protein fiber like that got to be energy consuming for them to produce so I think you need to make sure you put them in optimal situation so they don't have to waste energy and raw material to make these bundles then discard them.
Good luck with him. Need good water, high ca and alkalinity, high light and somewhat low current
A bundle of protein fiber like that got to be energy consuming for them to produce so I think you need to make sure you put them in optimal situation so they don't have to waste energy and raw material to make these bundles then discard them.
Good luck with him. Need good water, high ca and alkalinity, high light and somewhat low current
Welcome to R2R!!
Small clams are much harder to keep then clams 3+ inches. They will move to a spot they like with flow they like. Which is the main thing for them to get comfortable in the right amount of flow. You can also get a ceramic clam hammock which may work!
@DSC reef is a clam guy who probably can help the most.
Small clams are much harder to keep then clams 3+ inches. They will move to a spot they like with flow they like. Which is the main thing for them to get comfortable in the right amount of flow. You can also get a ceramic clam hammock which may work!
@DSC reef is a clam guy who probably can help the most.
MERKEY
Cronies
Thanks Orion on it all
He moved up higher on that rock on his own so I knew it was time to put him up in the clam nest higher. Just waited until he did it on his own as he was acclimating to light and tank.
Gotta baby the babies
But not to hijack a thread Billdg dont worry if your clam moves a little or a lot!!
He moved up higher on that rock on his own so I knew it was time to put him up in the clam nest higher. Just waited until he did it on his own as he was acclimating to light and tank.
Gotta baby the babies
But not to hijack a thread Billdg dont worry if your clam moves a little or a lot!!
It's normal for small clams to move a lot to find a happy spot. Sometimes where you want the clam is not where the clam is happiest. Could be from light shock, flow, etc. Typically I would start low in the tank and gradually move from there.
Jay Z
Valuable Member
When I first got mine, a gold and blue I set them in them in the middle of the tank height wise. Gold attached in 5 minutes and has not moved in 7 months.
Blue climbed down to the substrate. I moved him 3 times over 4 months to see if I could find a spot on the rocks it liked but he kept climbing back down. I ended up moving him to my 6 gallon, in the middle of it. He ended up attaching in that spot and did not move again.
Blue climbed down to the substrate. I moved him 3 times over 4 months to see if I could find a spot on the rocks it liked but he kept climbing back down. I ended up moving him to my 6 gallon, in the middle of it. He ended up attaching in that spot and did not move again.
They do move and move quite a lot probably to the direction where they can filter the most food out of the water column. Also, they can even jump from rock to the bottom of the tank and I've seen that happen with my own eyes lol and they do that probably due to flow or light to their unliking.
jd371
Valuable Member
When I first got mine I placed it on a flat rock that was just under the sand so it had something to attach to. Each day I would find it on the sand away from that rock, gave up moving it back after a few days.
Five years later it's still in the same location. It's not attached to anything and can be picked up, I've removed it from the tank to scrub it's shell of aptasia a couple of times.
Five years later it's still in the same location. It's not attached to anything and can be picked up, I've removed it from the tank to scrub it's shell of aptasia a couple of times.
Wilsonbem
Community Member
I had a small clam on a rock halfway up for some weeks then today its missing. It has clearly fallen off its ledge but i cannot find it.... i presume it will perish if its behind rock work on its side
Chee-tomorpha
Active Member
I got one that is moving too. I had used a small dab of glue to hold it in place until it stuck, but after removing the glue it moved. I got video of it trying to move, but after reading this thread I helped it back to it's old place. It continues to adjust itself. Hopefully it doesn't stress out and die.
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