Transfer clam to a new tank

[Patrick Cox]

I will be setting up a new tank in the next 6 months and I will need to transfer my 5-6 year old maxima clam to the new tank.

The clam currently has some hair and bubble algae on the shell that I would like to first remove as well.

My questions are…

1. are there any special requirements when handling a clam outside of water?

2. can I clean the shell with something like a toothbrush?

3. is there a way to remove the clam from the rock it is attached to?

4. Current lighting is T5. I’m planning for LED in new tank. Any concerns?

thanks

 

[MnFish1]

My questions are…

1. are there any special requirements when handling a clam outside of water?

You should not take them out of water in general.
Put the clam in a bowl, etc - *(transferred underwater) - acclimate it to the new tank water - and transfer it underwater

2. can I clean the shell with something like a toothbrush?

Yes - avoiding the growing tissue

3. is there a way to remove the clam from the rock it is attached to?

I would try to break the rock rather than remove the clam if possible.

4. Current lighting is T5. I’m planning for LED in new tank. Any concerns?

You will need to adjust the clam per standard parameters - just like you were moving it to a new tank. A PAR meter (rented or bought or borrowed) may help.

 

[Patrick Cox]

Thanks for the tips.

 

[Dburr1014]

I will be setting up a new tank in the next 6 months and I will need to transfer my 5-6 year old maxima clam to the new tank.

The clam currently has some hair and bubble algae on the shell that I would like to first remove as well.

My questions are…

1. are there any special requirements when handling a clam outside of water?

2. can I clean the shell with something like a toothbrush?

3. is there a way to remove the clam from the rock it is attached to?

4. Current lighting is T5. I’m planning for LED in new tank. Any concerns?

thanks

Tap on the shell to close it up and they can be held out of water. It will need to be burped to make sure all air is out. (most likely will be void of air)

Toothbrush will work fine. A little h2o2 on the brush(not dripping) for hard to clean spots.

Research on cutting the byssus threads. I have never done this myself. Proceed with caution. I feel this is less invasive than "breaking the rock" it is on. Thread 'Moving a clam, what exactly to cut?' https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/moving-a-clam-what-exactly-to-cut.343369/

My clam has been in led since I've had it. Get a par meter and measure what you have now to what you're going to get.

 

[minus9]

So I use to advise people not to take clams out of the water, mainly so you would not add stress to the animal. And most of the people I was talking to were novice keepers, so reducing stress was my main concern. It’s one of those situations, do as I say, not as I do.
But I’ve taken so many clams out of water for various reasons without issue. Clams in the wild are completely exposed for hours during low tide, so removing it for a short period of time isn’t going to kill it. In fact, some clams are transported completely dry out without being submerged in water. Battling pyramid snails, I pulled 3 different clams out of the water every night for weeks and there wasn’t an issue caused by my constant scrubbing of the shells, poking and prodding, etc.
It’s okay to remove the clam from water to brush it off and if you have a shallow dish with tank water to help clean off the algae and keep it wet, even better, if not, no big deal. But, do not remove the clam from the rock if it’s attached, you can damage the byssal organ and harm the clam or even worse. So, in the case of moving the clam to a new tank, take advantage of the move and do a little house cleaning, it’s perfectly fine.
As far as acclimating to the new tank, if the parameters are different, then there should be an acclimation period. Acclimating to different lighting will take a little longer. I would take a par measurement before the move to get a baseline, then tune your LEDs so that they are 10-20% less intense than the T5’s. Then over the course of a few weeks, slowly increase lighting to match. Just keep an eye on the clam to see how it’s adjusting to the new lights. The acclimation period may be longer with LEDs, there’s no specific time, the clam will tell you. Good luck and keep us posted.

 

[Alexopora]

As for removing the clam from the rock. Wouldnt recommend it hence why when my crocea arrived I place straight into my diy clam cradle thats basically a pen/baby cot for it and let it do its thing. So if i do need to move my clam I just move it together with the clam cradle. As for yours, if you absolutely must get a penknife and carefully cut the byssal threads. Wouldn’t recommend but if you absolutely must, be very careful with it and get someone to hold a torch for u so that u can see clearly as u cut.

 

[Patrick Cox]

Thanks for all of the advice.

 

[MnFish1]

The others are absolutely correct - you CAN take them out of water if closed. BUT - if you can do it without taking them out - much simpler. PS - you can do the brushing with the toothbrush underwater..

 

[Patrick Cox]

The others are absolutely correct - you CAN take them out of water if closed. BUT - if you can do it without taking them out - much simpler. PS - you can do the brushing with the toothbrush underwater..

Thanks for your reply. I’m fighting an algae outbreak and I have been removing and scrubbing rocks in a tub. This is the last rock that I needed to clean so I decided to just clean it in the tank and set my MP40s on nutrient export mode. . I also brushed the clam so this should work until I need to move the clam to my new tank.

 

[OrionN]

Just cut the clam from the rock attachment and move it. No special treatment needed. Maxima tolerates been out of the water, for a long time long enough for you to move him from 1 tank to another. You can set him in a water container for hours with no problem but keep the temperature control to decrease stress on him. Be careful when you cut him loose not to damage his foot. You should use gentle deliberate force to lean him on one side until the byssus threads show, then cut the thread. As you cut the exposed thread, it is much easier to push him further. Only cut the tread you see, do not blindly cut him loose.

 

[TCoach]

My Maxima was covered on aptasia from it’s prior owners tank. Took it out several times to try and clean off the aptasia. No problem doing that. Was out of water for several minutes.

Just be sure to “burp” it several times when back in the tank. Burping is done by spinning the clam around to help release any trapped air From inside the shell.

 

[OrionN]

I will be setting up a new tank in the next 6 months and I will need to transfer my 5-6 year old maxima clam to the new tank.

The clam currently has some hair and bubble algae on the shell that I would like to first remove as well.

My questions are…

1. are there any special requirements when handling a clam outside of water?

2. can I clean the shell with something like a toothbrush?

3. is there a way to remove the clam from the rock it is attached to?

4. Current lighting is T5. I’m planning for LED in new tank. Any concerns?

thanks

I wrote an article on how to clean and removal of parasitic snails from clams. You don't have these parasites (or your clams would be dead) but the shell cleaning procedure should be the same. Here is the link

How I deal with Pyram snails on clams.

Removal of the clam, I mention in my previous post.
For LED light, make sure you get a full spectrum LED. I am never a fand of these blue lights. Maxima, and Crocea evolved living at the surface of the Ocean. They require full spectrum light. They also look a lot better under bright full spectrum light.

 

[Patrick Cox]

I wrote an article on how to clean and removal of parasitic snails from clams. You don't have these parasites (or your clams would be dead) but the shell cleaning procedure should be the same. Here is the link

How I deal with Pyram snails on clams.

Removal of the clam, I mention in my previous post.
For LED light, make sure you get a full spectrum LED. I am never a fand of these blue lights. Maxima, and Crocea evolved living at the surface of the Ocean. They require full spectrum light. They also look a lot better under bright full spectrum light.

Thanks for your replies. On the lights, I’m looking at Radions. So it sounds like you would suggest the Pro over the Blue?

thanks!

 

[minus9]

My Maxima was covered on aptasia from it’s prior owners tank. Took it out several times to try and clean off the aptasia. No problem doing that. Was out of water for several minutes.

Just be sure to “burp” it several times when back in the tank. Burping is done by spinning the clam around to help release any trapped air From inside the shell.

Burping is completely unnecessary as clams have the ability to expel and push any trapped air within their body cavity. This is another myth that has carried on for some reason, kinda like the you must feed clams at a certain size myth.

 

[knd342]

+1 on clams can be out of water, but better if they are less stressed