Just bought a 2.5" squamosa clam! Suggestions??

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Thank you! It has been doing well so far I believe. The valve only gaped during acclimation and now I am seeing solid mantle extension every day. The clam somehow over a week inverted its position - I am assuming so the intake valve gets better flow. I literally saw the clam jump a couple days ago like an inch. I saw the new byssal thread formation which was cool.

How long until I can expect more visible growth on the rims of the shell?
 

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Thank you! It has been doing well so far I believe. The valve only gaped during acclimation and now I am seeing solid mantle extension every day. The clam somehow over a week inverted its position - I am assuming so the intake valve gets better flow. I literally saw the clam jump a couple days ago like an inch. I saw the new byssal thread formation which was cool.

How long until I can expect more visible growth on the rims of the shell?
Clams are growing all the time so the growth edge should be white.
 
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Clams are growing all the time so the growth edge should be white.
Hopefully this is not a sign of it's eventual demise. Somone told me I would have to wait a bit before seeing this growth. I have only had the clam 10 days and there was clearly no white rim growth when I got the clam in the mail. I was assuming it was just taking a month for acclimation before doing mass growth. Especially seeing it has been moving and lost it's byssal thread last week. But again totally new to clam here!
 

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10 days for shell growth to be seen?
That’s an unrealistic expectation.
6 months, if you keep your parameters in line, maybe.
He will not attach, or at least attach well, he likes the sand.
What he hates, and really hates, is being moved in any way.
They don’t need much light....but....can tolerate it if done slowly.
If he does not get enough light, then mantle will start to whiten, but that process would take months.
Easiest to keep, just leave him in the same spot.
 
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Thank you for the reply Uncle99! I have not touched the clam since putting in the tank. It has done its own moving (not much which is good). I was reading another post on here that someone's maxima had not grown for a year and it was a very healthy looking clam. The others were calming him down that as long as the mantle is extending and looking good it is nothing too much to worry about. Later on he got more growth as well. I have AI Primes 16 HD so I am pretty sure I will be okay. The mantle looks really good so far.
 

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Hopefully this is not a sign of it's eventual demise. Somone told me I would have to wait a bit before seeing this growth. I have only had the clam 10 days and there was clearly no white rim growth when I got the clam in the mail. I was assuming it was just taking a month for acclimation before doing mass growth. Especially seeing it has been moving and lost it's byssal thread last week. But again totally new to clam here!
I think, it’s best to be patient. I have four croceas currently with me and each one started displaying new growths in different time periods. Some took about 2-3 weeks to show and and some took up to a month. I think checking to see if they quickly retract whenever you hover above the tank or below the light is a better indicator of its health. That being said as your clam adjusts and realises that not all shadows=threats, it may take a bit more of hovering and movement to get them to retract. But when they do theys hould quickly retract and also quickly extend back. This is just from my experience and what I have read on this forum.
 
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I think, it’s best to be patient. I have four croceas currently with me and each one started displaying new growths in different time periods. Some took about 2-3 weeks to show and and some took up to a month. I think checking to see if they quickly retract whenever you hover above the tank or below the light is a better indicator of its health. That being said as your clam adjusts and realises that not all shadows=threats, it may take a bit more of hovering and movement to get them to retract. But when they do theys hould quickly retract and also quickly extend back. This is just from my experience and what I have read on this forum.
Oh that is good news because it opens and closes like crazy sometimes when I’m working on the tank. A couple days ago I swear I saw it jump a half inch off the sand when a hermit got close. That’s when I saw the new byssal thread.
 
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Now that I am paying attention I must have a jumpy clam. Once I get a foot away from the tank it starts receding. It must feel the vibrations of me walking towards the tank. But if I stop and watch it starts to open up again. Literally got one of these things after seeing how much movement they have. It is so cool! I saw many beautiful photos of reef clams but when I actually saw one in a LFS with the mantle receding when you put your hand over the light - it was something else.
 

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Now that I am paying attention I must have a jumpy clam. Once I get a foot away from the tank it starts receding. It must feel the vibrations of me walking towards the tank. But if I stop and watch it starts to open up again. Literally got one of these things after seeing how much movement they have. It is so cool! I saw many beautiful photos of reef clams but when I actually saw one in a LFS with the mantle receding when you put your hand over the light - it was something else.

Not unusual for that to happen. Particularly if you have the tank on a wood floor and there's vibration being transmitted around. That and shadows can also cause them to close up as well, like you've noticed.
 
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Yes wood floors and an old shakey house! Thought I would share a photo - the first time the sexy shrimp got enough confidence to venture on the clam. It didn’t seem to mind either.
 

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I agree that 10 day to see growth is too quick, especially when the clam is going to a new tank. For the slowest growing species like Crocea or Maxima, you should see white rim all the time. When you choose the clam, it should have white shell rim. If it does not I would not buy it. It is not easy to determine that shell grow unless you really observe the marking and irregularity on the shell. I normally clearly see Crocea with closely observe, or take clear weekly pictures of the same area of the shell. Doing this you will see the shell is growing.
Large species like Gigas, Derasa and Squamosa, you can see grow with just visual inspection.
The easiest way to see grow, for me, is looking at the scutes and see the shell grow after new scutes formed.
 
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Hey everyone! The clam has been doing really well. Showing no signs of gaping since the first day. It has moved a bit and turned itself around so the valves are on different sides. Is this the white growth that I have been waiting for??
 
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It looks like white growth to me but unsure
 

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On the clam fence, also run a 13.5 with an AI prime. Curios how it’s gone for you and your clam.
 
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On the clam fence, also run a 13.5 with an AI prime. Curios how it’s gone for you and your clam.
Hey! It seems like it is doing pretty well. Has made it thus far with lots of growth. Probably has grown 1/3 in size. I can get an update photo tomorrow.

- edit - I just checked the thread and looks like its been around 4 months now since I got it!
 

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Hey! It seems like it is doing pretty well. Has made it thus far with lots of growth. Probably has grown 1/3 in size. I can get an update photo tomorrow.

- edit - I just checked the thread and looks like its been around 4 months now since I got it!
So cool!!! Where in the tank has it been the happiest? I’m currently getting my tank stable and in check. Had a few issues a couple of months ago with parameter swings and losing a couple of corals but seems to be slowly getting in control. Just need to see if I can get my nutrients dialed in a bit and then I can seriously start considering a clam. I can’t see the video, maybe due to the fact that I’m in a mobile device. I’m sure it’s cool!
 

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