To clam or not to clam, that is the question...

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@hart24601 - as a trial run I moved the clam to the top center of the tank under the light. it's now about 8" from the light. We'll give this a go through the acclimation period and a bit after to make sure that Mr. Clam is happy. I'll report back in a few weeks with an update or whether this clam just cost me an extra several hundred dollars for a new light... :)
 
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Hi all,

I wanted to give a quick update with regard to my clamming adventures...

I was pretty worried I would not have enough light so I had moved the clam to the top of the tank, set my Kessil A80 to 100% intensity and turned on the 7-day Acclimation Mode. On day 6, I noticed that a couple of my corals were not really opening up much and my clam had fallen off the top rock. I placed the clam back on the top in a much more secure position and kept an eye on the corals. Day 7 came and three of my corals were looking unhappy and the clam was not quite opening up as much as it had in the past. I did some work and came out about 4 hours later to find that my California Blue Tort completely bleached in that time. It was a mess of zooxanthellae slime. The other two corals were definitely looking stressed as well...and the clam had fallen off the rock again... I immediately turned off the lights and set the controller to 75% intensity. I did a 50% water change and looked over the tank. It appeared that the clam wasn't "falling", it was moving...I only have two snails in the tank and the last position I had the clam in, those tiny Astrea snails could not have moved it. I definitely made sure that it was secure when I I set it in between two rocks.

So, where are we today? Everything is going great. The two stressed corals are back to growing and look much happier. The clams is, well, happy as a clam sitting on the bottom of the tank. After some testing of the intensity, I landed on 65% where everything seems to be opening up well, including the clam. I use a few drops of Phyto-Feast every day or two and I do about a 30% water change roughly every week. Currently, things seem to be going well. That said, I know, it's only been about a month so we're not out of the woods yet, but there's hope... :)

PUdAeG8.jpg


tl;dr; Clam is doing great. Kessil is at 65% intensity and had to move the clam back to the bottom of the tank.
 

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Hi all,

I wanted to give a quick update with regard to my clamming adventures...

I was pretty worried I would not have enough light so I had moved the clam to the top of the tank, set my Kessil A80 to 100% intensity and turned on the 7-day Acclimation Mode. On day 6, I noticed that a couple of my corals were not really opening up much and my clam had fallen off the top rock. I placed the clam back on the top in a much more secure position and kept an eye on the corals. Day 7 came and three of my corals were looking unhappy and the clam was not quite opening up as much as it had in the past. I did some work and came out about 4 hours later to find that my California Blue Tort completely bleached in that time. It was a mess of zooxanthellae slime. The other two corals were definitely looking stressed as well...and the clam had fallen off the rock again... I immediately turned off the lights and set the controller to 75% intensity. I did a 50% water change and looked over the tank. It appeared that the clam wasn't "falling", it was moving...I only have two snails in the tank and the last position I had the clam in, those tiny Astrea snails could not have moved it. I definitely made sure that it was secure when I I set it in between two rocks.

So, where are we today? Everything is going great. The two stressed corals are back to growing and look much happier. The clams is, well, happy as a clam sitting on the bottom of the tank. After some testing of the intensity, I landed on 65% where everything seems to be opening up well, including the clam. I use a few drops of Phyto-Feast every day or two and I do about a 30% water change roughly every week. Currently, things seem to be going well. That said, I know, it's only been about a month so we're not out of the woods yet, but there's hope... :)

PUdAeG8.jpg


tl;dr; Clam is doing great. Kessil is at 65% intensity and had to move the clam back to the bottom of the tank.
Clams do move on their own. They open and close their shells so fast that propels them some. I have a Crocea that is on the bottom and is now attached to the bottom glass with it's foot. Your clam looks good.
 

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Try to have your calm attach to a piece of rock. That way, you can move the clam without disturbing it. Of course not having a pico tank, I don't have to worry about the space the little piece of rock take. I often place the clam on a oyster shell.
As long as you have adequate light, and good chemistry in the water, even tiny Crocea does not need feeding to grow.
By little, I mean 1 inch Crocea and 1.5 inches Maxima or Squamosa. I grow clams from this size without problem, and no feeding. Of course feeding can only help and would not hurt unless doing so degrade your water.
 
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Thanks for the info. I was cleaning the tank a bit yesterday and noticed it is loosely attached to one of the rocks it is sitting on. I can see the basal threads on the bottom and felt that the clam was attached when when I was trying to clean the glass and bumped the rock. Note, for the feeding, I actually wasn't going to do it at all but it definitely seems to react well to it plus, as a side benefit, my Pink Branching Cyphastrea and Tubbs Stellata seem to grow a bit better and extend more when I do. Thanks again for the info. it's much appreciated.
 

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