What is the 5th known species of Tridacna clam?

[i cant think]

So, I’ve been reading up on clams for the past few days and after reading a thread by OrionN I found there are 5 known/commonly kept Tridacna clams in the hobby. What is the 5th clam? So far here’s the Ones I know:
- Tridacna crocea (Crocea Clam)
- Tridacna deresa (Deresa Clam)
- Tridacna maxima (Maxima Clam)
- Tridacna gigantea (Giant Clam)
I know there’s another clam that is sometimes kept in this hobby but isn’t a Tridacna which is Hippopus hippopus.
Which clam of the 5 commonly kept ones is the slower grower and will be able to stay in a 3’x2’x2’ tank longterm (I think that’s the biggest size I’d be able to go for a while with my 20g nano and that’s in a few years). I know that crosses deresa and gigantea off.

Im not looking for a clam just yet since now I just need to deal with Phosphates and trying to feed my tank just a bit less (Hard to do with 7 fish, especially when some are more reclusive than others).

 

[J1a]

Tridacna Squamosa

 

[i cant think]

Tridacna Squamosa

Thankyou!!

 

[J1a]

You are welcome!

 

[i cant think]

Also, what is the easiest way to tell which clam is which species? So far my plan is to grab either a crocea or maxima when the time is right however I don’t know how to tell if the LFS were correct in the clam ID or not and I’d prefer not to walk home with a gigantea or deresa/squamosa when the time comes.

 

[J1a]

Also, what is the easiest way to tell which clam is which species? So far my plan is to grab either a crocea or maxima when the time is right however I don’t know how to tell if the LFS were correct in the clam ID or not and I’d prefer not to walk home with a gigantea or deresa/squamosa when the time comes.

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2002-07/jf/feature/index.php

This is a good article to get you started. I would also highly recommend the book by Fatherree. It's very informative and packs full of nice clam photos.

Oh. Before I forget, there are also T. noae (tear drop clams) and T. ningaloo. They are very nice as well. The even more exotic ones such as squamosina and mbalavuana are really hard to come by.

 

[i cant think]

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2002-07/jf/feature/index.php

This is a good article to get you started. I would also highly recommend the book by Fatherree. It's very informative and packs full of nice clam photos.

Oh. Before I forget, there are also T. noae (tear drop clams) and T. ningaloo. They are very nice as well. The even more exotic ones such as squamosina and mbalavuana are really hard to come by.

Thankyou so much for the help It’s really appreciated, I’ve come over from more of a softie/neutral colour coral lover to the clams ever since seeing a 12 inch deresa a few years back.

 

[OrionN]

Whatever thread you found of mine seem to have older information. There are two more species of Tridacna relatively newly named as @J1a point out, but only T. noae from Southeast Asia is a commonly import species (to the US)
For the longest time, they were consider T. maxima (Teardrop Maxima) but now classified as T. noae

 

[i cant think]

Yeah it was a thread about PMD. I’m assuming T. noae is what we used to know of as a Teardrop Maxima Clam.

 

[OrionN]

Yeah it was a thread about PMD. I’m assuming T. noae is what we used to know of as a Teardrop Maxima Clam.

Yes. I imported some “Teardrop Maxima” from VietNam around 2001. Still have pictures of them somewhere.

 

[i cant think]

Do you still own clams today? Also what species are easier to own and don’t get big quickly, I’d prefer not to have to re home it until a later date (I can’t imagine rehoming a 4 foot long gigas, I would assume that’s only in the largest of tanks that they get 4’+)

 

[J1a]

Do you still own clams today? Also what species are easier to own and don’t get big quickly, I’d prefer not to have to re home it until a later date (I can’t imagine rehoming a 4 foot long gigas, I would assume that’s only in the largest of tanks that they get 4’+)

I would say a small aquarium should probably go with a maxima, noae or crocea. Provided the light is sufficient.

 

[i cant think]

I would say a small aquarium should probably go with a maxima, noae or crocea. Provided the light is sufficient.

It’s the Red Sea Max Nano light and at 10am it hits 18k then goes down in whites, blue is always at 30%, white hits 70% at 3pm and they go on at 10am then blue and white go off at 8pm (Moonlight is on for another 2 hours and goes off at 10:55pm).

 

[J1a]

It’s the Red Sea Max Nano light and at 10am it hits 18k then goes down in whites, blue is always at 30% I’m pretty sure, white hits 70-75% at 10am

Ideally borrow a par meter to measure. Since the placement will really impact the amount of light recieved.

I suspect if thr blue is always at 30%, the PUR maybe rather low.

 

[i cant think]

Ideally borrow a par meter to measure. Since the placement will really impact the amount of light recieved.

I suspect if thr blue is always at 30%, the PUR maybe rather low.

I’ve never understood why blue lighting being on the high side is important, I prefer white lights on my tanks with minimal blue because it makes the tank look more natural. You don’t really see these bright neon corals in the wild and they will be slightly fuller than what we get them to be. If it’s not too much do you mind explaining why blues are important in reef tanks?

 

[J1a]

I’ve never understood why blue lighting being on the high side is important, I prefer white lights on my tanks with minimal blue because it makes the tank look more natural. You don’t really see these bright neon corals in the wild and they will be slightly fuller than what we get them to be. If it’s not too much do you mind explaining why blues are important in reef tanks?

This is because the chlorophylls in symbiotic zooxanthelle mainly uses blue part of the spectrum.

You are right to say that in the wild, the spectrum is broad. However, the intensity is also likely to be more than what most aquarium can offer. So turning up the blues can really help to ensure sufficient photosynthesis.

On the other hand, our eyes are rather insensitivity to blue spectrums. Therefore even as we push the blue channel output very high, as long as we have sufficient white channels, the aquarium won't look too blue.

This spectrum, for instance, seems like it's very blue. In reality, it's only has a slight blue tint.

 

[i cant think]

I’ll rise the blues a bit more then, would 45-50% be enough? Or should I try aim for more when the lights are at their peek?

 

[J1a]

I don't have experience with redsea lights. Do they have a pre-defined program? If there is, perhaps you can start from there.

Or better still, borrow/rent a Par meter. Our eyes are just horrible at judging brightness.

 

[i cant think]

I don't have experience with redsea lights. Do they have a pre-defined program? If there is, perhaps you can start from there.

Or better still, borrow/rent a Par meter. Our eyes are just horrible at judging brightness.

Yeah, I will start from there! I will most likely borrow a Par meter when the cyano is gone.

I’m really sorry to keep asking questions but I’m VERY curious, what fish should I avoid both in the future and now when it comes to clam nipping? A list of fish to avoid when I hopefully grab a 3’x2’x2’ tank would be good too if possible.

 

[J1a]

Yeah, I will start from there! I will most likely borrow a Par meter when the cyano is gone.

I’m really sorry to keep asking questions but I’m VERY curious, what fish should I avoid both in the future and now when it comes to clam nipping? A list of fish to avoid when I hopefully grab a 3’x2’x2’ tank would be good too if possible.

Wow. Either lists will be quite long.

I'd say consider reef safe fishes, except cleaner wrasses, copperband butterflies.

Dwarf anglefishe may nip and irritate clams; sand shifting gobies may drop sand on them.

I'm sure I miss out some fishes of concern, but these are what I can think of for now.