Peter Houde
Active Member
Hey all, I got my first Tridacna exactly three months ago, a ~2 inch derasa from ORA. I put it in the crushed coral bed 24 inches from my LEDs, originally prety much in the direct flow of a Rossmont Waver because I wanted to keep fish food from falling directly into it. It became ovious pretty quickly that the current was too strong because I had to upright the clam constantly. It's now shielded by live rock and I placed a couple of pieces of coral around it to help keep it upright, but it still tends to fall a bit to its side. I've avoided packing it too closely with rock or coral for fear it wouldn't be able to fully open. I also haven't been able to push it too deep into the substrate because it is so small that bits of crushed coral could easily get into the mantle. I'm hoping you all could look at the attached videos, assuming they upload OK, and tell if you think the current is still too strong and if I should move the little guy somewhere else altogether - or any other advice for that matter. Bear in mind, of course the Waver blows stronger at some times than others. I've never seen more action than is evident in one of the attached videos. Most often, the clam's mantle is fully extended and isn't moved at all. I'll appreciate any advice anyone has to share related to derasas. I seem to read so much conflicting advice - 0 nitrates and phosphates vs they need some nitrates and phosphates, etc. (mine are ~12ppm, <0.05ppm, resp., with weekly 25-30% IO water changes plus "Coral-Up") I keep wondering how long it will take me to kill the little guy
and how to recognize if it is on its way out. Thanks in advance. Cheers, Peter
