Gigas or Deresa?

[i cant think]

How much light is it getting in that corner? Have you measured the ppfd (par)? I’m also not seeing new shell growth in the other “natural” light pic

His mantle extends quite far out in the early mornings usually, also that photo was from when I first got him (I think it was the morning after introduction). As for Par, I’m unsure but was told the lighting is a good amount for this clam.

I see the nice white of the shell, but it is retracted back in more than it should be. Can you try to put it up a little on stable surface to get more light? Will not hurt at this point.

I can try this yes, currently he’s on a flat rock just off of the sand bed, I’m not near the tank at the moment but when I’m back I will try.

 

[minus9]

His mantle extends quite far out in the early mornings usually, also that photo was from when I first got him (I think it was the morning after introduction). As for Par, I’m unsure but was told the lighting is a good amount for this clam.

I can try this yes, currently he’s on a flat rock just off of the sand bed, I’m not near the tank at the moment but when I’m back I will try.

I would rent a par meter and know for sure, otherwise you're just guessing and that's not a good thing with clams or other animals that require light to live.

 

[ArachnoJoozt]

Fun fact. The stars pictured are not asterina (as true asterina stars are much bigger), these are aquilonastra and consumers of all things algae and detritus. You can certainly use a harlequin to eat them or simply give them away to other reefers. These guys get a bad rap, because people think they eat certain corals and zoanthus. In my nearly 40 years of doing this, I've never witnessed one actually eating a coral or zoanthus (but that's not to say there aren't species out there that do), they typically eat algae (and coralline) and simply reproduce when they have an abundance of food. We need to start sharing this info and passing it on to others.

Not quite my experience. I have 2 kinds of these starfish, one very small and blueish, and one a little larger, grey with small red spots. The blue ones eat algae and corraline. The grey ones I've seen eating my bigger Zoa's (Pink Diamond and Alien Explosion), wrapping around a head of Zoa and leaving not much.
That said they probably eat algae too, and i'm fine with them eating Zoa's in my tank.
They don't seem to go for the Zoa's with the smaller polyps, but I don't have a lot of these so that could be a coincidence.

On topic: Ive seen the little starfish crawling on my Squamosa and Maxima, but it doesnt seem to bother the clams

 

[minus9]

Not quite my experience. I have 2 kinds of these starfish, one very small and blueish, and one a little larger, grey with small red spots. The blue ones eat algae and corraline. The grey ones I've seen eating my bigger Zoa's (Pink Diamond and Alien Explosion), wrapping around a head of Zoa and leaving not much.
That said they probably eat algae too, and i'm fine with them eating Zoa's in my tank.
They don't seem to go for the Zoa's with the smaller polyps, but I don't have a lot of these so that could be a coincidence.

On topic: Ive seen the little starfish crawling on my Squamosa and Maxima, but it doesnt seem to bother the clams

Yeah, as I mentioned, there are some that have a taste for the things we like to keep, but that’s usually not as common as people think. If they would only target certain palys, that would be a benefit.

 

[i cant think]

Just did a water change and moved him over to the other corner where he originally was placed when he went in. Also fed him phyto as I haven’t done that in a few weeks (Atleast 4).
hes showing a different reaction to what he showed in the opposite corner (Moved the hammer there).

 

[FishOkay]

Derasa! Crazy growth and lovely mantle with the blue around the edges! That's mine, you can see the new shell growth that's 3 weeks!

 

[i cant think]

Derasa! Crazy growth and lovely mantle with the blue around the edges! That's mine, you can see the new shell growth that's 3 weeks!

I assume yours has burrowed itself into the sand?

 

[FishOkay]

I assume yours has burrowed itself into the sand?

Yeah when I first put it in i just popped it on top of the sand where I wanted it but it slowly moved and burrowed itself deeper. They prefer a sandy bottom I think.

 

[i cant think]

Yeah when I first put it in i just popped it on top of the sand where I wanted it but it slowly moved and burrowed itself deeper. They prefer a sandy bottom I think.

I have mine against the sand but he’s on a rock base as that’s how I bought him. I haven’t moved him off because I don’t really want to damage the foot plus he looks relatively happy (Well- Happier) now.

 

[FishOkay]

I have mine against the sand but he’s on a rock base as that’s how I bought him. I haven’t moved him off because I don’t really want to damage the foot plus he looks relatively happy (Well- Happier) now.

Yeah I don't think it matters so much when they are smaller itl eventually outgrow the base on its own anyway id imagine. If I remember right derasa clams eventually lose their 'foot' or threads whatever they are anyway when they are bigger and their weight supports them.

 

[minus9]

I'm not really seeing any new growth on the shell and that's going to be a problem. Did you ever find out how much light it's getting? In that size of derasa, you should see constant new growth. There could be some new growth there, but it's really hard to tell in blue pics.

 

[i cant think]

I'm not really seeing any new growth on the shell and that's going to be a problem. Did you ever find out how much light it's getting? In that size of derasa, you should see constant new growth. There could be some new growth there, but it's really hard to tell in blue pics.

I can see what seems to be some new growth, I agree that it doesn’t help that it’s blue.
As for lighting, I didn’t find out (I moved it after the water change as it seems it was doing better in the corner it is now than the corner it was previously).

 

[i cant think]

There’s already a noticeable difference in clam behaviour.

 

[minus9]

So if this is as far as the mantle extends, then I would be concerned. I don't see new growth and the lack of mantle extension causes me to think it's not getting enough light. No amount of phyto or feeding will help here, it's just pure full spectrum lighting at about 200 micro moles for at least 8hrs. At this age/size, you should see new visible growth on the shell free of algae just under the mantle on the upper margins. It should stark white. You need to rent or borrow a par meter and map your tank, without it, you're just guessing and that's not a good way without knowing what you're dealing with. Refresh my memory, what light(s) are you using and how long is your photo period?

 

[i cant think]

So if this is as far as the mantle extends, then I would be concerned. I don't see new growth and the lack of mantle extension causes me to think it's not getting enough light. No amount of phyto or feeding will help here, it's just pure full spectrum lighting at about 200 micro moles for at least 8hrs. At this age/size, you should see new visible growth on the shell free of algae just under the mantle on the upper margins. It should stark white. You need to rent or borrow a par meter and map your tank, without it, you're just guessing and that's not a good way without knowing what you're dealing with. Refresh my memory, what light(s) are you using and how long is your photo period?

My Lighting period is 10 hours of heavy white then 3 hours of blue (That corner gets hit with sun in the morning so it’s a bit longer than 10 hours in that side of the tank).
It’s the red sea 50 light. As for the Par meter, It’s hard if not impossible to find one here.
As for growth, I can see a bit of growth.

 

[FishOkay]

My Lighting period is 10 hours of heavy white then 3 hours of blue (That corner gets hit with sun in the morning so it’s a bit longer than 10 hours in that side of the tank).
It’s the red sea 50 light. As for the Par meter, It’s hard if not impossible to find one here.
As for growth, I can see a bit of growth.

You could try the seneye reef monitor it's on board par meter is supposed to be pretty accurate and it's priced reasonably. Or I don't know how you could but maybe try and raise it in the tank closer to the light for a week or so and see if it responds better.

 

[i cant think]

You could try the seneye reef monitor it's on board par meter is supposed to be pretty accurate and it's priced reasonably. Or I don't know how you could but maybe try and raise it in the tank closer to the light for a week or so and see if it responds better.

I’ve gotten a hardy Acro now and I’ll see if he grows (I also have a predatory blenny but hope the way I plan to do it will avoid that issue).

 

[minus9]

And I wouldn't count on sunlight through a window as anything worthy of life sustaining. I would raise the clam up to a higher light area (as @M16JXM suggested), at least until you upgrade your light or find out how much it's providing.

 

[i cant think]

I wanted to update this thread as I now have this clam in a custom made 3’x16”x1’ tank under a new light. He’s growing nicely and has been in the tank for 2 months now. Before he went in, he didn’t look too promising (Photos in this thread are actually what he looked like when going into this tank).