Swimming Tridacna Clam

cypho

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I have(had) 3 Squamosa's sitting in a group on the sand bed. The newest(and smallest) one has been in there for more than 6 months, and the others have been there for a few years. The little guy is about 1.5"-2" long. The other two are 3"-4" (currently - they were much smaller when I got them).

Every once in a while the little guy will tip over, and they all shift a few mm occasionally, but for the most part they have stayed put. Until this Saturday...
  • Saturday, I found the little guy in the sand bed 12" from his normal spot. I returned him home.
  • Sunday, I found him in the sand bed 24" in the other direction from his normal spot. I returned him home.
  • Monday, I found him up on the highest point of the rockwork, about 24" from his normal spot. I returned him home.
  • And on Tuesday guess what. Back up high up on the rockwork. I left him alone this time.
  • Today he was still up in the rocks, no new movements.
At first I thought that perhaps the blue urchin was taking him for a ride. But what are the chances this would happen 4 days in a row. Apparently he really does not want to hang out with his cousins any more.

Slamming his shell closed and tipping over or shifting around a bit in the sand is one thing, but how on earth did he get up high on the rockwork. Apparently he can swim.

Have any of you ever seen a Tridacna clam swim? How do they do it? Do they just rapidly open and close their shells ?
 

Tahoe61

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They use their foot to climb and move around. Perhaps the other clams are sheltering the new clam from ideal flow for that clam.
 

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