What happened to the Pacific East Aquaculture clam supply? Good alternatives?

[eag]

Does anybody know what happened to @PacificEastAquaculture maxima clam supply? I spent a bunch of time building a frag cart under the assumption that I was going to go over and buy a clam at the end, only to find that they no longer have wysiwyg clams?!

Pacific East was always the go-to for maxima clams in my opinion .. now they are super cheap and store pick only. Does anyone know what's going on? And where else I may be able to shop for high quality wysiwyg maximas in the meantime?

 

[hart24601]

Biota has direct sales now and their site has some nice clams. I snagged a crocea from them a year or two ago, very healthy. Ora are good too direct from Ora but not wysiwyg photos.

 

[PacificEastAquaculture]

Does anybody know what happened to @PacificEastAquaculture maxima clam supply? I spent a bunch of time building a frag cart under the assumption that I was going to go over and buy a clam at the end, only to find that they no longer have wysiwyg clams?!

Pacific East was always the go-to for maxima clams in my opinion .. now they are super cheap and store pick only. Does anyone know what's going on? And where else I may be able to shop for high quality wysiwyg maximas in the meantime?

Just in-between shipments from the farms. Have 250 Maximas coming in a couple of weeks from the Polynesia farm and 150 mix of Squamosa, Crocea, and Maxima from the Bali farm.

 

[eag]

Just in-between shipments from the farms

Glad to hear that .. I was worried that something had happened. I'm looking forward to seeing them back in a couple weeks

 

[MartinM]

I will say that the quantity of clams available to the hobby seems to be way down compared to 10+ years ago. An LFS owner I know says it’s because they require too much light and people prefer SPS and don’t want to run 400+ PAR. Maybe CITES has had a hand in it, also? I’m not sure.

 

[KiloG]

Does anybody know what happened to @PacificEastAquaculture maxima clam supply? I spent a bunch of time building a frag cart under the assumption that I was going to go over and buy a clam at the end, only to find that they no longer have wysiwyg clams?!

Pacific East was always the go-to for maxima clams in my opinion .. now they are super cheap and store pick only. Does anyone know what's going on? And where else I may be able to shop for high quality wysiwyg maximas in the meantime?

About 6 months ago when i went there they had like 50 in one of their fish rooms. I went about a month ago and there were maybe 5? I'm not sure where they all went.

 

[MinnieMouse2]

I put in a mail-order to Pacific East in the Spring. My clam came cold, the heat pack failed. It also was very small and did not show new shell growth at all. The shell looked dry and old. I do not know what all the hype is about. I do not see it. My first order was a dud. Clam lasted about a month and then died. It is not the only clam in the tank I have two others in that tank that have been in there for years, one being a crocea. They did have good customer service and got right back to me when I told them the heat pack had failed and the clam arrived in the 50's. They kept in touch. I think I will pass. The clams come in better condition when you buy from ORA or Biota.

 

[jsweir]

Seems like a shortage again, looking for ultra croceas or maxima, can't seem to find any lately

 

[eag]

Yea I've noticed the supply seems to come and go, even when it's there it doesn't seem anywhere near as strong as it used to be. I also read on a different thread someone saying that quality has also gone way down. Maybe I'll hang tight and watch for a while before trying to buy another one

 

[wjgeese]

They are trying to sell the business

 

[HudsonReefer2.0]

Been waiting on a squamosa they were supposed to get soon. They had a good showing at rap ny but no updates since then.

 

[PacificEastAquaculture]

They are trying to sell the business

The fact that we are looking to retire in the next year or two has zero impact on the daily operations of our business. The issues with clams at the moment are permits and availability.

 

[MartinM]

Red tale for clams is way up as opposed to 15 years ago. It’s definitely impacted availability and quality.

so I’m the meantime, are they all just going to the locals for food?

 

[LeftyReefer]

Sounds strange, but you can try Petco.

They currently show Maxima, Derasa, and Crocea clams all in stock and available for shipping.
Shipping is free at $139, which is not hard to reach when shopping for clams and maybe a fish or two.

unfortunately, no WYSIWYG at Petco, so it would be a crap shoot as far as what you get.
Their prices are more than reasonable, so I've been thinking of taking the chance and ordering a couple clams from them and hope to get something nice.

 

[Bucs20fan]

Sounds strange, but you can try Petco.

They currently show Maxima, Derasa, and Crocea clams all in stock and available for shipping.
Shipping is free at $139, which is not hard to reach when shopping for clams and maybe a fish or two.

unfortunately, no WYSIWYG at Petco, so it would be a crap shoot as far as what you get.
Their prices are more than reasonable, so I've been thinking of taking the chance and ordering a couple clams from them and hope to get something nice.

Its really funny you bring up Petco, Ive had lots of success buying corals for steals at petco, but mine had a deresa for 140 dollars that was probably 5 inches long and was beautiful. Some petcos have definitely stepped up their games.

 

[areefer01]

Let me make it easier for you. Just sign up for notifications from Pac East and you will know when they are in stock. Having purchased a Maxima from him 2 years ago it is well worth it.

Biota is another good source but I only purchase fish through them (which are amazing btw. Anthias inbound this morning in fact). So can't speak for clams.

Clams are something you don't want to mess around with and someone who has 20 plus years of managing them from source of origin to destination raises the chance of success ten fold.

YMMV.

Edit: not the greatest picture but here is mine:

 

[LeftyReefer]

Well I decided to take the chance on the petco clam today. They also had a wrasse that I had been wanting on sale for $40 which is usually $60+ at my LFS, so I decided to grab both and get free shipping.
I grabbed one of their "Ultra Blue/Turquoise Maxima Clam (Tridacna maxima)" clams that they have on sale for $99.
with free shipping.

I'll post pics when my $99 Ultra Maxima shows up.

not expecting something crazy, just hoping for something respectable. Every other vendor was at least double that cost with shipping. Petco has good 7 day alive warranty too, so if something happens or it shows up DOA, I'll just get a refund.

 

[jsweir]

I've had luck buying blue legged hermits from petco, but a clam I'm hoping for wysiwyg

 

[LeftyReefer]

It's pretty low risk.

I thought Petco had a 7 day alive guarantee, but the email I received after ordering the wrasse and clam said its actually a 30 Day alive guarantee. (!)

Petco takes great care to ensure that the Live Fish & Invertebrates you order arrives safely and in healthy condition. All Aquatic Life are guaranteed to stay alive for 30 days from the day they arrive at your home or we will gladly refund your money. Returns or refunds cannot be offered on Live Fish & Invertebrates that you decide you do not want. Please ensure the items you order are what you want before finalizing the order. If you experience a loss of your marine fish, freshwater fish, or invertebrates within 30 days of delivery please contact Customer Relations at 877-738-6742.

 

[LeftyReefer]

Looks like my Petco maxima clam is shipping from Quality Marine.
Just got a notice that the label was created tonight and the package is scheduled for overnight delivery tomorrow. I'm having the package held at the UPS center so that I can go pick it up as soon as it shows up instead of it being bounced around on a truck half the day.