Don’t be shellfish, what is your experience with clams?

[Lowsingle]

I have had mix results from clams…..I have never kept a maxima past two years, but I have had a lot of success with derasa clams. I have had two that got so large I had to sell / trade them away.

Darren

 

[bsagea]

Years ago, before I knew any better, I had a clam that did amazing in my tank and with me. It would spit at me every time I put my hand in the tank. Had it for about three years before I had to sell the whole system due to a divorce and move. I still miss that clam. Anyway, got a very small maxima a couple of months back and thought it was doing good. Fed roids one day and maybe just a coincidence, but the thing declined, and I just couldn't save it. I thought even bringing it up closer to the light would help. It was too far gone

I am going to wait before trying again. I'm just not there yet.

I fed ReefRoids at one time and lost (2) Blue Squamosas. I believe this can suffocate a clam as they cannot filter the food properly. This is just my opinion based on a factual experience.
bsa

 

[Bitcoin Reefer]

I’m would say I’m pretty good in keeping clams. They are (five) doing well and survived multiple disasters over the that killed all corals. Somehow they and my fish all did ok. I bombard my tank with Radions AB template at peak midday at 100%. I check for parasitic snails nightly. When I get a new one I brush their shells with a waterproof electric toothbrush and use Reef Delete UV on shells daily to kill anything else.

What kind of snails should we be checking for at night? I just bought a Maxima 2 days ago. Looks happy so far. I did no dip or scrub. Straight into the tank.

 

[Mike1970]

I have bad luck with clams for some reason.

 

[HudsonReefer2.0]

I fed ReefRoids at one time and lost (2) Blue Squamosas. I believe this can suffocate a clam as they cannot filter the food properly. This is just my opinion based on a factual experience.
bsa

I don’t feed my clams I just feed the tank and give it all light. AB+ @ 85% intensity 12 hr PP 2 hr ramps. Things can go south fast w additional foods and poor nutrient export.

 

[HudsonReefer2.0]

Article regarding predatory snails “Pyrams are smaller in size than the predatory species mentioned previously, with the largest reaching about a quarter of an inch (6 millimeters) long (Cumming 1988 and Boglio & Lucas 1997) . They’re also light in color, and typically stay hidden on the undersides of a clam’s shells, or in the petal-like scutes present on the shells of some species, or buried in the sand/gravel substrate during the day. So, they can be very hard to spot and you have to look for them very, very carefully.”

 

[Kodski]

I love clams! The problem is, I also love angel fish! I'm constantly torn between the two. So far, no clams for me. I'm tempted to dedicate my new build to a SPS tank with a few clams. I currently have a male and female swallow tail angel fish that will be going into that tank, so as long as they don't nip at the clams that is. It gives me a good excuse to do a smaller second tank just so I can have a pygmy angel.

 

[HudsonReefer2.0]

I love clams! The problem is, I also love angel fish! I'm constantly torn between the two. So far, no clams for me. I'm tempted to dedicate my new build to a SPS tank with a few clams. I currently have a male and female swallow tail angel fish that will be going into that tank, so as long as they don't nip at the clams that is. It gives me a good excuse to do a smaller second tank just so I can have a pygmy angel.

U should b ok w the swallowtails. Go tank 2.

 

[Sean Clark]

Happy clams make me happy.

 

[MinnieMouse2]

I know how to keep clams alive for years upon years and have some very large ones. The problem is it is hard to be able to find clams to buy, and if you do, they need to be in good condition health wise. You often buy clams that are very weak. They will look fine but have been starved or just not a good one, then they go down fast. I spent in the last year 600.00 trying to find another pretty Maxima and lost all of them. My system has five clams of all kinds. That kind of money adds up. Something I think that is pushing people out of the hobby, it is not only clams. You get weak fish, weak corals, and even snails that fail to thrive.

 

[Sean Clark]

I know how to keep clams alive for years upon years and have some very large ones. The problem is it is hard to be able to find clams to buy, and if you do, they need to be in good condition health wise. You often buy clams that are very weak. They will look fine but have been starved or just not a good one, then they go down fast. I spent in the last year 600.00 trying to find another pretty Maxima and lost all of them. My system has five clams of all kinds. That kind of money adds up. Something I think that is pushing people out of the hobby, it is not only clams. You get weak fish, weak corals, and even snails that fail to thrive.

@Biota_Marine clams are very healthy from my experience. Also 5 clams does not equal all kinds.

 

[MinnieMouse2]

@Biota_Marine clams are very healthy from my experience. Also 5 clams does not equal all kinds.

I have most of them. I am only short two. I meant to say I have five kinds. Note I fixed with edit. Including the crocea. I missing gigas and squamosa. I have more than five clams. Who are you to jump in and try to say I am full of it. Not nice. Not my fault if suppliers can not provide a healthy clam right off from the start. When you pay money over and over and can not find one Maxima that will live, that is on their end. Otherwise all my other clams would be in heaven too. Right? Hospitality Award??????

 

[Mark Gray]

I have had my Blue Maxima, for about 5 years I guess he's about 5 or 6 inches now. When I got him I think it was around 1.5 inches.

 

[Sean Clark]

I have most of them. I am only short two. I meant to say I have five kinds. Note I fixed with edit. Including the crocea. I missing gigas and squamosa. I have more than five clams. Who are you to jump in and try to say I am full of it. Not nice. Not my fault if suppliers can not provide a healthy clam right off from the start. When you pay money over and over and can not find one Maxima that will live, that is on their end. Otherwise all my other clams would be in heaven too. Right? Hospitality Award??????

I never said you were full of it. You seam to have added a bit of flare and inflection to my post. That is on you. I shared that biota clams have been health for me. Should you choose to ignore that information again, that is on you. Perhaps your consent failure to keep Maxima clams alive is not related to the clam supplier.

I did say that 5 was not all.

 

[Cheezle]

Love clams. My clam was doing great .. until my blenny ate it and made the shell its new home

 

[MinnieMouse2]

I never said you were full of it. You seam to have added a bit of flare and inflection to my post. That is on you. I shared that biota clams have been health for me. Should you choose to ignore that information again, that is on you. Perhaps your consent failure to keep Maxima clams alive is not related to the clam supplier.

I did say that 5 was not all.

If the Maximas died, you would think my other clams would die too. Maxima clams just have a gift of offing themselves as soon as they see me. Can keep all kinds of clams alive, just not Maxima make any sense. LOL.

 

[Sean Clark]

You are why a lot of people are not participating in the forums anymore and why a lot of Facebook local groups members hardly share. If the Maximas died, you would think my other clams would die too. Maxima clams just have a gift of offing themselves as soon as they see me. Can keep all kinds of clams alive, just not Maxima make any sense. LOL. Grow up.

I would hate to be the causality for anything negative. I don't appreciate your personal attacks best of luck in your ventures.

 

[Kodski]

You are why a lot of people are not participating in the forums anymore and why a lot of Facebook local groups members hardly share. If the Maximas died, you would think my other clams would die too. Maxima clams just have a gift of offing themselves as soon as they see me. Can keep all kinds of clams alive, just not Maxima make any sense. LOL. Grow up.

Easy man, no need to turn so quickly to hostility and insults. This is a friendly discussion about the beauty and care of clams. Besides, don't we all learn from one another's experiences? Sean was just trying to share his experience by saying he has had good luck with a certain vendor and making sure people knew that there were more than 5 types of clams. Something I personally didn't know until he mentioned it. Nor was it something that I and I'm assuming anyone else here took as an insult to your care or knowledge of clams. Sean even said as much. So lets refrain from the hostility and have a good discussion on how we care for clams better and hopefully we can all learn something new.

 

[Brian Berry]

Don’t be shellfish, what is your experience with clams?

Please share your experiences with clams. Did it work out? Was it painful failure for both you and the clam? When most people are talking about corals and fish, clams often don’t get the spotlight. This is the thread to talk about clams so please don’t be shellfish, please tell us about your experiences. Do you have any tips or tricks to share about keeping clams? Maybe you have some thoughts about keeping them healthy and helping them if they are not healthy. For many, keeping clams is somewhat foreign and an area that is unfamiliar so please consider coming out of your shell and helping us understand the world of clams! If you do feel like a foreigner to clams, what are your questions?

Photo by @PacificEastAquaculture; https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/clams.311659/

I am receiving my an ultra maxima clam from Pacific in a couple of weeks. I am studying info on care. Any helpful tips would gladly be welcome.
take care everyone

 

[Scorpius]

Currently have 2 Deresa, 1 Maxima, and one getting quite large Tridacna mbalavuana. I've got some Squamosa coming tomorrow. Clams are awesome.