MartinM
Valuable Member
Yep, gigas, maxima, crocea will receive thousands of par in their natural habitat, with the latter two often exposed during low tide. I’ve walked on reefs and seen hundreds of them exposed during low tide.
Unhappy gigas
- Thread starter ReeferHD
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- clam pinched mantle reef
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Fishgeek88
Active Member
LIght Intensity (PAR) and Tridacna Clams
The following are from my 25-year old notebook: "Tridacna": 180 PPFD (PAR) "Tridacna": 85 T. maxima: 160 T. maxima: 250 T. gigas: 120 T. gigas: 286 - Smithsonian tank. Clam was 10 years old. T. gigas: 130 Hippopus hippopus: 400 These measurements were made in tanks from Baltimore to Seattle...
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minus9
5000 Club Member
What was your average PPFD for that gigas? Larger gigas can capture/utilize more light, but I think it’s kinda dangerous for people to have the generalization that any tridacna clam as low light, especially among new hobbyists who have never kept a clam.
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ReeferHD
Well-Known Member
unfortunately the clam didnt make it. i waited a few more days and the mantle kept getting worse and worse, so i FW dipped for 30 mins (RODI, temp matched) i think it was just too far gone, i really liked this clam and since my crocea was doing so well i thought this would do well too, i think between shipping and being acclimated to the lfs' tank and then mine just a day later just stressed it too much.
minus9
5000 Club Member
Sorry to hear.
minus9
5000 Club Member
Sorry, I'm not trying to be a jerk here, but need to clarify for others reading about clams. You said they need lower light compared to maxima and crocea, which is false. They can adapt to lower light conditions compared to maxima and crocea, but that's if they have been healthy and putting on new shell growth. Gigas are found right along maxima and crocea, completely exposed in low tide. I will always say this, don't treat clams as if there are "lower" light species compared to others. All of the clams that we keep in this hobby are found is very shallow waters, while a few can be found lower, they shouldn't be treated differently, unless you have the experience keeping them and know the signs of a healthy clam. There are exceptions, but those exceptions shouldn't be generalized as fact regarding their care requirements. I kept a spotted mandarin for many years in a nano system, but I would never tell someone that they are nano fish or can be kept in such a small tank, that would be irresponsible of me and most likely lead to the death of the fish for others. The same applies to clam(s) lighting requirements. I've been keeping and caring for tridacna clams since the 90's (sorry, not trying to be that guy) and the one thing that always leads to clam deaths is insufficient lighting and the lack of experience in keeping them and knowing the signs of a healthy clam. My point here is this, we need to stop thinking of clams as having "lower" light species and "higher" light species. I think we'll find that there will be more successful keepers of clams if we move away from this mindset. Again, I'm not trying to be a jerk here, I care deeply about these animals and I want others to be successful keeping them, but we as a community have to change the way we view them in regards to their care. All the information about them is out there and we can help each other, but we really need to be careful on how we pass on information and how others view that information as fact.
Happy reefing and happy new year!
Gigas do need lower light than Maxima and Crocea. They live much deeper I. The water. They don’t live in the sallow then move to the deep when they get older. They start out I. The deeper water then grow up there.
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