Collected them from the Surf Zone, as soon as they are acclimated going to put them in my Refuge. Just wondering if anyone has experience with them.
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To my knowledge, there are only three species of Donax (A.K.A. Coquina) clams in Florida, so - assuming you collected them there based on your profile saying you’re from Orlando - I would assume it’s one of those three (all three are harmless/beneficial by themselves). Fair warning, though, these guys can be a vector for flukes (the kind that can kill fish), so that is something you will want to watch for. I’m not sure what an effective treatment would be for any infected bivalves, so I’d refer you to the disease forum here on R2R if that turns out to be an issue.
D. variabilis
D. fossor
D. texasianus
The information below is specific to D. variabilis (the most common), but I would assume it would be at least somewhat applicable to the other two species as well:
Lifespan seems to be anywhere from about 8-18 months on average, with some specimens living possibly as long as 3 years.
They stay very small - generally less than 2.5cm (1 inch)
They’re filter feeders, and it seems phytoplankton is ideal for them (specifically a blend of Isochrysis spp. and Chaetoceros spp., but, from what I can find, any phyto 20 microns or less would likely be of benefit - particularly Dunaliella and/or Tetraselmis, possibly Pavlova too; not as much Nannochloropsis). I’m not sure what the specific ratio of the blend should be, but I would assume (possibly erroneously) 1:1.
They should be able to spawn on the Isochrysis/Chaetoceros blend if you slowly (likely over a few days - the info I found is lacking in specifics on the timeframe, but they noted sudden changes don’t work) raise the temperature by 2-3 degrees Celsius (a change from 75-81F or 76-82F, for example, over the course of a couple of weeks or so would likely do it relatively safely).
Cool little clams!
Ah, yeah that's just left over from the thread my quote is from - the clams you have are most likely Donax variabilis, and their care is detailed in the quote I posted.I collected them in the Carolinas. I’m not from Orlando. I absolutely do not go to Florida, have a crazy relative, that’s tried everything she can to get an arrest warrant on me, in Florida.
I don't know, unfortunately. Maybe @Jay Hemdal would have an idea, but - if not - you could just fallow them and that should allow the flukes to die off before they can have a chance to infect the fish.I put them in my Coral tank after removing the Corals. What can I use on them to treat any Flukes they may have?
I don't know, unfortunately. Maybe @Jay Hemdal would have an idea, but - if not - you could just fallow them and that should allow the flukes to die off before they can have a chance to infect the fish.
Yeah, they're known to host three different species of digenean trematodes; I've read reports that they may transmit a monogenean trematode as well, but looking into at least one of those claims a little further, it may be a misidentified digenean (Lasiotocus choanura specifically) as it has two eyespots that I can see - good to know.If the type of fluke transmits vertically through the food chain, then it is a "digenean". These have such specific host requirements that I don't think they would be an issue. Many of the infections require a gastropod, a fish and a bird to complete their life cycle. I think there are some digeneans that go between mollusks and fish, but if the clams die out, the flukes would also.
I tried keeping this genus many years ago and they didn't thrive. I didn't specifically culture algae for them, and I'm guessing they need that. It also is unknown to me if they are so developed for living in the surf zone, can they even adapt to a static aquarium?