Maxima clam placement

[thegriffer]

Today I went to my LFS and finally decided to get a Maxima clam. I had done some research prior to buying the clam but I didn't really remember much when I bought it. I chose the one I wanted and remembered that some like to to be on the sand bed and others on the rocks. My LFS told me that it would be fine to put it on the bottom since that's where they keep theirs but they do not have a sand bed just a bare bottom tank and I do have a sand bed. So for the past few hours I've just left it on the sand bed and did some more research and from what I have read they are supposed to be on the rock but they are ok to be on the sand as well. So I'm a little confused and I would really appreciate some advice on where to put it.

Thanks.

 

[Tahoe61]

In the wild they are rock boring clams, as are Crocea. Maxima and Crocea really appreciate the most intense light. In the average current systems with a good fixture both Crocea and Maxima can go on the sand bed and do fine. What type of lighting do you have?
Squamosa, Derasa, Hippopus are found in on the sand bed in the wild.
Making sure that the clam can not fall from the rock work is really important, but you do not want to wedge clams into tighter areas, they need to be able to move about.

HTH, and congratulations on your new clam.

 

[MaccaPopEye]

I have 1 maxima on the sand and one on a rock (which is flat on the sand bed). Either way if it is happy then after a week or so it will settle and put its foot down, if its on a rock then it will attach to the rock and IME if its on the sand the foot will generally go down and attach to the glass.

I tried to put my first one up midway on the rockwork but find that it would keep moving itself and knocking itself off the rocks and land upside down in the sand, so by placing them on the sand they cant land upside down. As long as your lights are good enough for stony coral the clam should be sweet.

 

[reef lover]

I like to let the clam attach to a suitable shaped rock in the sand bed with no risks of falling. Then you can move them as you like.

 

[thegriffer]

Ok well I guess I'll just leave him alone then. I appreciate the responses. Unfortunately as for lighting I know I don't have the greatest but I have had success with pretty much all of my corals like torch, frogspawn, chalice, montipora, zoas, mushrooms and bitdsnest. So I hope he can do well I also read that when they are smaller sizes (which he is) they rely more on phytoplankton than photosynthesis.

 

[MaccaPopEye]

Ok well I guess I'll just leave him alone then. I appreciate the responses. Unfortunately as for lighting I know I don't have the greatest but I have had success with pretty much all of my corals like torch, frogspawn, chalice, montipora, zoas, mushrooms and bitdsnest. So I hope he can do well I also read that when they are smaller sizes (which he is) they rely more on phytoplankton than photosynthesis.

I am pretty sure the thing about small clams needing to be fed was disproven, they are fine with good light. I got my clams at 5cm and 3cm, they are now almost 15cm (1.5yrs) and maybe just over 5cm (5 months) respectively and neither of them ever got fed more than light and anything that was floating around the tank.

Also sounds like your lights will be ok if they can grow stony coral. I have some Mars Aqua LED lights so they are also far from the "best" you can get but they do fine.

 

[thegriffer]

I am pretty sure the thing about small clams needing to be fed was disproven, they are fine with good light. I got my clams at 5cm and 3cm, they are now almost 15cm (1.5yrs) and maybe just over 5cm (5 months) respectively and neither of them ever got fed more than light and anything that was floating around the tank.

Also sounds like your lights will be ok if they can grow stony coral. I have some Mars Aqua LED lights so they are also far from the "best" you can get but they do fine.

Wow I had no idea they grow that much so quick! It's good to hear that they don't need much feeding. I was not really prepared to start feeding a clam anyways. Thank you for the input.

 

[MaccaPopEye]

It's probably closer to 2 years of growth for the larger one but its certainly grown very fast and it looks like the second one is going to be a fast grower too. They absolutely soak up Alk and Ca. Water changes alone were fine until I added that first clam and then I had to start dosing.

My clams are pretty plain compared to most but all clams are absolutely awesome.

Smaller

Larger

 

[thegriffer]

It's probably closer to 2 years of growth for the larger one but its certainly grown very fast and it looks like the second one is going to be a fast grower too. They absolutely soak up Alk and Ca. Water changes alone were fine until I added that first clam and then I had to start dosing.

My clams are pretty plain compared to most but all clams are absolutely awesome.

Smaller

Larger

Wow those are beautiful I really like the colours. Mine is only about an inch and a half so I really hope he does well and I can see some growth. I'd put up a picture but I got it yesterday and I don't really have a good one yet.

 

[MaccaPopEye]

Thanks, I got them from a local coral collector who also aquacultures clams (both of those were aquacultured) and they are nothing compared to some of the other clams he breeds (they were the cheapest he had by far).

Let yours settle in for a couple of days and post up a pic of it!

 

[Mark Gray]

Wow they look great, if you could let me know where you got them. My new lights will be arriving soon!!!

 

[MaccaPopEye]

Wow they look great, if you could let me know where you got them. My new lights will be arriving soon!!!

If you are talking about the 2 pics I posted then Australia haha. But the collector does ship to wholesalers world wide, Monsoon Aquatics have some truly amazing stock

 

[thegriffer]

Thanks, I got them from a local coral collector who also aquacultures clams (both of those were aquacultured) and they are nothing compared to some of the other clams he breeds (they were the cheapest he had by far).

Let yours settle in for a couple of days and post up a pic of it!

Ya mine was the cheapest to haha. I don't know where abouts your from but it seems like in Canada things are a lot more pricey than in the states. For a reason of course. But ya I will for sure I'll post a pic when it relaxes a bit.