Kona Diver
Active Member
It’s not even necessarily that the angel will eat the clam but will nip on it causing injuries to the clam and leading to its demise. Clams don’t handle harassment very well. If they get stressed they’ll quickly die.
What can stay with a clam?
- Thread starter Boaz1021
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Boaz1021
Active Member
I got rid of the Emperor Angel a few weeks ago and put my clam in the main tank (after talking my wife into letting me get rid of the Angel and get a Coral Beauty instead).
The clam is doing great in the display tank and is completely open most of the time. (Except when a crab or snail is cleaning around it).
No regrets.
Kona Diver
Active Member
Nice!!
Chrisv.
2500 Club Member
Man I was reading this thread with a sense of dread, and I am so surprised that you had this (the best) outcome! For anyone else out there, clams can live a very long time and grow very fast, and do horribly in nano tanks. The big problem is that if they are healthy, an actively growing clam should be an alkalinity sucking sponge. When they build their shell, they fix so much calcium and alkalinity so quickly that it really is extremely difficult to keep up. If a future reader does want to try a clam in a small tank, an 3+ inch crocea is the way to go imho. Their growth has slowed a bit by then and they don't get as large in general. A crocea with a max size of 5 or 6 inches is a far more manageable beast than a squamosa that WILL become huge if it is in even "adequate" conditions. Crocea do tend to like a little higher par though.
Clams make fantastic inhabitants in the right tank!
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Boaz1021
Active Member
Thanks! Lol. It really just came down to me showing my wife that the Emperor (I named him Palpatine... should have known he'd kill everything.. lol) was attacking my corals and would do the same to my clam (found out its a Durasa, not Maxima) if I put it in my main tank. So then I told her we could get a second Display tank for the clams and corals, or get rid of the Emperor and she agreed to return the Emperor Angel. When she went to the LFS with me, she fell in love with the Lion Fish, Picasso Trigger, Clown Trigger, Magnificent Angel and a freaking puffer.... I had to tell her the problem is that she likes the fish that eat everything in our tank.... So, when (if) we move, I'll likely end up setting up a FOWLR Predator Tank for her in addition to our 150. Having a second tank already set up and running would be ideal for moving all of our fish at this point, anyway.
Side note, the LFS had a real Maxima Clam there that was GORGEOUS (I can definitely tell the difference now) but it was about 4-5" in size and $200.... I'm gonna have to wait on that one.
Chrisv.
2500 Club Member
The sweet spot for maxima clams is also "medium" size. When they are too small they are often still depending on phytoplankton for nutrition and many starve within a month or two. When they come in as maricultured 5-6 inch clams, they often die in the 5-8 month range. It's not entirely clear why. People used to speculate that they became dependent on the ultra bright conditions in the mariculture facilities and couldn't adapt to aquarium light. Keep in mind that they grow them in 2 foot deep raceway tanks near the equator. It really is a super super high light scenario.
So be careful. Pick carefully. Buy a 3 inch clams if you can. Check out the croceas too. High end croceas are also stunning. While you're at it, check out blue squamosa clams on the googler.
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Boaz1021
Active Member
They had some smaller Maxima's about 2-3", but I was worried about them not acclimating well to my tank. They also had a couple more Durasa's and some other ones, that I forgot what they were, but they were rare from what I remember.
Which website is a good place to get clams? (Without parasites, etc) I have an LPS tank, so I can't do anything with high PAR needs.
Chrisv.
2500 Club Member
Honestly I haven't seen great maxima and crocea clams recently. I'm not sure if they haven't done well with the general shift in the hobby to LEDs, or what. I suggest that you closely watch the live aquaria divers den for clams. It's absolutely the sort of thing you want to buy wysiwyg. They haven't had fantastic clams in a while, but from time to time they have great ones.
If you have the space, squamosa clams (like the derasa you have) are okay with less light. They are less frequently super bright colors, but blue squamosa clams (which are quite rare and tend to be expensive) are beautiful blue. They are worth waiting for if you plan to be in the hobby long term, and honestly one of the few reef creatures that I think is actually worth the insane price.
My suggestion is that you take some time and let your current one grow for a while. At his current size you will probably notice growth on a monthly basis, assuming your calcium and alk are sufficient. They REALLY suck up ca and alk. You need to test more frequently while you're adjusting how much you dose. A big healthy clam is stunning and your derasa will be 8-10 inches before you know it.
Hopefully other folks here in the clam subforum will chime in with other places to buy nice clams.
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Boaz1021
Active Member
Awesome, thanks for the info! My Ca is at 480 and has been steady for a month, but I have been checking it every 3-4 days. Alk has been at the top of the specs as well. I've been dosing All For Reef and adjusting the dosage amounts, I've been doing
Those Squamosa are absolutely gorgeous, how much do they normally go for? I saw one of the articles that said "down to $99" but I don't think that's the one you were referring to.
*edit: nevermind, that article was from 2013.
Chrisv.
2500 Club Member
Sounds good! Keep track of your parameters and adjust if needed!
So every now and again (almost never) a wild blue t. squamosa hits the market. Even 10 years ago they cost like $800. Who knows what they would command in the age of stupidly names corals. The farmed ones are not the same. I don't know why they are so different. I wouldn't be surprised if the farmed blues were a hybrid. Maybe someone else knows and can chime in.
The ones that look like the May 14 2010 and the November 23 2015 reefbuilders posts are extremely rare. They are the kind of clam that you may have the chance to buy once or twice in the span of your hobby if you stick around long enough. That is, if nothing changes. Who knows. There WAS a big influx of farmed (maybe hybrid) blues that had the more speckled appearance. Still beautiful, but not the same. For a while even live aquaria had them for like $200. I haven't seen one for a few years. At the time I asked them if they had a sustainable supply of them and if they would be here in the hobby to stay and they said yes, but alas, they are not here. If the more muted speckled blue was my only option I would for sure go for it...if I had a big enough tank. They really do get massive!
Chrisv.
2500 Club Member
Seems reasonable!
flourishofmediocrity
Active Member
That's awesome! glad it is doing well! I want to setup a 50 gallon in addition to my 200 G peninsula so I can keep clams separate from the main reef and I've been wondering what kind of fauna options are open to me in that tank? I really want a pistol shrip/goby pair and eventually a mandarin after the pod population is good, but I have no idea what else to put in there except maybe a tang or two? Any suggestions?
Chrisv.
2500 Club Member
What about some nice fairy wrasse in there? Good for a 50g.
Chrisv.
2500 Club Member
Looks happy as a ....clam.
.... an update on my clam.
The water is a little cloudy at the moment, but it's getting better.
Cloudy from bacteria?
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Boaz1021
Active Member
2 tangs might be a bit much in a 50 gallon. *but* it sounds like you have a good selection of fish to put in it. Only other fish I could personally recommend is a yellow foxface, midas blenny, diamond Goby, blue damsel, purple dottyback and a longnose hawkfish. I gotta say though, the hawkfish turned into one of my favorites (other than my Naso Tang), with the way he likes to perch on the frag racks, power heads, etc and just hang out and watch everybody including waiting on me to come by with food.
Good news for you though, is that you can put your tangs in the 200 once they get too big for the 50.
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