Where to buy healthy clams?

basser1

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I contacted tlreefs a few days ago, but have not heard anything from them. They do have some deresas, but not what I'm looking for.

I was on Divers Den and I saw a nice crocea, so I snapped it up for $8o bucks plus shipping. Where I live, we don't have a LFS, other than Petsmart, so I have to do my purchases online. I don't understand why their clams don't have better success rates as it's my understanding that all of their livestock goes through a QT process before being put up for sale. They do have a 14 day guarantee and I usually do have good success on their stuff (fish, corals, inverts, etc.), so I'm willing to give their clams a try. The one I bought is about 1 3/4". Wish me luck!!

BTW, here's a pic:
crocea_clam.jpg
 

cwalton00

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Best of luck! Like plenty others I have a dead clam from DD. Hopefully you will not have the same experience.
I contacted tlreefs a few days ago, but have not heard anything from them. They do have some deresas, but not what I'm looking for.

I was on Divers Den and I saw a nice crocea, so I snapped it up for $8o bucks plus shipping. Where I live, we don't have a LFS, other than Petsmart, so I have to do my purchases online. I don't understand why their clams don't have better success rates as it's my understanding that all of their livestock goes through a QT process before being put up for sale. They do have a 14 day guarantee and I usually do have good success on their stuff (fish, corals, inverts, etc.), so I'm willing to give their clams a try. The one I bought is about 1 3/4". Wish me luck!!

BTW, here's a pic:
crocea_clam.jpg
 

Shigshwa

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DD has been hit or miss for me. I got lucky and have a surviving blue squammy from them. My other clams have survived in captivity for at least some years before coming into my possession, a large Biota derasa and a small wild Hippopus of 2 years.

I don't think it's a matter of specific vendor so much as it's a matter of the clam size and the time survived in captivity, alongside the lighting given in that time in captivity.
 

basser1

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I contacted tlreefs a few days ago, but have not heard anything from them. They do have some deresas, but not what I'm looking for.

I was on Divers Den and I saw a nice crocea, so I snapped it up for $8o bucks plus shipping. Where I live, we don't have a LFS, other than Petsmart, so I have to do my purchases online. I don't understand why their clams don't have better success rates as it's my understanding that all of their livestock goes through a QT process before being put up for sale. They do have a 14 day guarantee and I usually do have good success on their stuff (fish, corals, inverts, etc.), so I'm willing to give their clams a try. The one I bought is about 1 3/4". Wish me luck!!

BTW, here's a pic:
crocea_clam.jpg

UPDATE: Well, I received my clam today from the good Doctors. The clam arrived in good shape and after acclimating it for an hour, it is extending the mantle and is looking good, (from what I can see of it, that is)! According to the DD web-site it is 1 and 3/4", but WOW! Is this thing tiny! If I can get it to grow to a decent size, I'll feel like I've accomplished something!

I have my work cut out for me......
 
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Orcus Varuna

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UPDATE: Well, I received my clam today from the good Doctors. The clam arrived in good shape and after acclimating it for an hour, it is extending the mantle and is looking good, (from what I can see of it, that is)! According to the DD web-site it is 1 and 3/4", but WOW! Is this thing tiny! If I can get it to grow to a decent size, I'll feel like I've accomplished something!

I have my work cut out for me......

My issue with divers den is their clams look good but come in very weak. My hunch after speaking with a friend that works at the university where ORA is located is Divers Den heavily utilizes ozone on their systems stripping the water of beneficial nutrients. So in essence your getting a staved clam which struggles to handle the shipping from DD to your tank. At his suggestion I purchased a clam directly shipped from ORA (purchased from live aquaria’s ORA page not divers den) and it looks good so far. But only time will tell.
0b535953d314f7bf29ea085bd993da94.jpg
 

cwalton00

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My issue with divers den is their clams look good but come in very weak. My hunch after speaking with a friend that works at the university where ORA is located is Divers Den heavily utilizes ozone on their systems stripping the water of beneficial nutrients. So in essence your getting a staved clam which struggles to handle the shipping from DD to your tank. At his suggestion I purchased a clam directly shipped from ORA (purchased from live aquaria’s ORA page not divers den) and it looks good so far. But only time will tell.
0b535953d314f7bf29ea085bd993da94.jpg
I'm anxious to see how this clam does Orcus. Please keep posting updates.
 

basser1

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Opus

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Are ORA clams harder to get now? Years ago I used to see ORA clams everywhere locally. Now, no one carries them.
 

gatorbait01

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Are ORA clams harder to get now? Years ago I used to see ORA clams everywhere locally. Now, no one carries them.
Just bought a ultra blue maxima via live aquaria shipped directly from Ora. It's been just over a week and so far so good.
 

Opus

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If I'm not mistaken DD are ORA clams

I meant are they harder for LFS to get? I know in the past, a LFS would have to buy a certain amount of coral or fish to get the clams. We used to have a LFS that would send out the current ORA availability list to his customers to see if there was enough interest to put an order together.
 

itisjp

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I am at my wits end with Buying clams from Divers Den. I have tried four over the past few months and all have died within a week and two have gone up in smoke overnight. These clams seem to look great upon receiving but I am guessing they are very sick by the time I get them because of the speed of their death. My water parameters are perfect and I even boosted nutrients a bit prior to getting the clams to give them some goodies to feed on while establishing (SG 1.026, dKH 6.8-7.2, pH 8.0, Ca 440, Mg 1380, PO4 < .03, Nitrate < 10, Temp 80-81). On the recommendation of LA I have been drip acclimating for 3 hrs+ and have been placing them in a low flow low bother area (my very well lit refugium) which removes all sources of irritation. I have plenty of other difficult to care for critters (anemones, acro's etc) and have kept clams successfully in the past. Actually found them previously to be quite bomb proof if provided a good stable environment. My question is where are you all buying and receiving healthy specimens? I am sick of killing a bunch of animals so thank you in advance for any help!
I just put a blue Maxima in my tank from Aqua SD today. It opened up soon as it went in. I will let you know how it goes over time. I ordered a lot of coral from them too. Everything came in great.
 

jda

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Hard for a lot of LFS to meet a ORA minimum order anymore.

DD used to be better when they were not owned by Petco. I am done with their clams after having two shipments come in significantly smaller than advertised, a few DOAs and the rest dying quickly. No thanks.

Keep in mind that clams that are in tanks for a long time are not good. I want them as close to the ocean as possible so that I can get them under high quality, high quantity lighting and stuff. I do not want them to go through 3-4 weeks of QT in a 3x6 frag flat with one Radion up 3 feet over the tank lighting them all.
 

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Hard for a lot of LFS to meet a ORA minimum order anymore.

DD used to be better when they were not owned by Petco. I am done with their clams after having two shipments come in significantly smaller than advertised, a few DOAs and the rest dying quickly. No thanks.

Keep in mind that clams that are in tanks for a long time are not good. I want them as close to the ocean as possible so that I can get them under high quality, high quantity lighting and stuff. I do not want them to go through 3-4 weeks of QT in a 3x6 frag flat with one Radion up 3 feet over the tank lighting them all.

Have you tried Reef Koi to see what he can get? He used to get some nice clams, but not sure if he still has a source.
 
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Orcus Varuna

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Are ORA clams harder to get now? Years ago I used to see ORA clams everywhere locally. Now, no one carries them.

If you go to live aquarias ORA page (not divers den) you can order clams direct from Ora shipped from their facility in fort pierce Florida.
 

Opus

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If you go to live aquarias ORA page (not divers den) you can order clams direct from Ora shipped from their facility in fort pierce Florida.

True but they are not WYSIWYG. I like to see my clams before buying since each one is unique with color/pattern.
 

Phycodurus

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Greetings, everyone.

I have read and re-read this thread (and many others in this Clam sub-forum) with great interest. Unfortunately, I am also now a member of the “dead DD/LA clam club.” My first clam was a beautiful gold & purple DD Crocea that made it to almost 4 weeks before suddenly expiring (it closed up tight one morning for a day and a half, prompting me to pull it up and inspect it). :(

I successively ordered several more DD clams (Maximas) … all beautiful little gems, and losing each one was a big disappointment. Some expired the day after receipt (despite drip-acclimation for 2-3 hours); others lasted a week or two. For the time being, I’m not ordering clams from LA/DD, but I’m willing to try other online vendors in the near future. Water quality was not the issue as far I could tell - - other inverts including sea urchins, sea cucumbers and xenia soft corals are thriving. More pertinent parameters for clams like Ca and Alk are also in good ranges.

Assuming the DD/LA clams are shipping in a weakened state (be it due to ozone use or other factors), what are some actions to help improve their constitution? For example, a longer drip acclimation period; not moving them around (I was initially unaware of this); lower placement in the tank while the clam adjusts to the lighting. Frequent phytoplankton feeding is another possibility to rebuild health - - for the first several days at least (and I realize there’s ongoing discussion about phytoplankton feeding for clams, even on small ones, having any real benefit, and is a whole other sub-topic).

Reading this thread and others, I came to realize however that one possible tactic not mentioned or discussed (as far as I’m aware) is an extended, continuous photo-period right after receipt & introduction … albeit at a reduced intensity since there's light acclimation to still juggle ... nevertheless, a 24-48 to even 72-hour run? Might this have some merit? Thoughts? The only other concern I can think of is carrying this out in a QT as opposed to the main DT so that undesirable algae growth is not encouraged. What a game changer this might be if it's the missing piece of the puzzle re: successfully keeping small DD/LA clams alive.



** Apologies to the OP for not contributing a direct answer to his original question.

** basser1: the Crocea I lost was quite similar to the one you purchased. I remember seeing that clam, and I exercised a lot of will power to resist clicking the buy button. (>_<)’ I hope it’s thriving and doing well. :)



Respectfully,
Rick
 

basser1

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Greetings, everyone.

I have read and re-read this thread (and many others in this Clam sub-forum) with great interest. Unfortunately, I am also now a member of the “dead DD/LA clam club.” My first clam was a beautiful gold & purple DD Crocea that made it to almost 4 weeks before suddenly expiring (it closed up tight one morning for a day and a half, prompting me to pull it up and inspect it). :(

I successively ordered several more DD clams (Maximas) … all beautiful little gems, and losing each one was a big disappointment. Some expired the day after receipt (despite drip-acclimation for 2-3 hours); others lasted a week or two. For the time being, I’m not ordering clams from LA/DD, but I’m willing to try other online vendors in the near future. Water quality was not the issue as far I could tell - - other inverts including sea urchins, sea cucumbers and xenia soft corals are thriving. More pertinent parameters for clams like Ca and Alk are also in good ranges.

Assuming the DD/LA clams are shipping in a weakened state (be it due to ozone use or other factors), what are some actions to help improve their constitution? For example, a longer drip acclimation period; not moving them around (I was initially unaware of this); lower placement in the tank while the clam adjusts to the lighting. Frequent phytoplankton feeding is another possibility to rebuild health - - for the first several days at least (and I realize there’s ongoing discussion about phytoplankton feeding for clams, even on small ones, having any real benefit, and is a whole other sub-topic).

Reading this thread and others, I came to realize however that one possible tactic not mentioned or discussed (as far as I’m aware) is an extended, continuous photo-period right after receipt & introduction … albeit at a reduced intensity since there's light acclimation to still juggle ... nevertheless, a 24-48 to even 72-hour run? Might this have some merit? Thoughts? The only other concern I can think of is carrying this out in a QT as opposed to the main DT so that undesirable algae growth is not encouraged. What a game changer this might be if it's the missing piece of the puzzle re: successfully keeping small DD/LA clams alive.



** Apologies to the OP for not contributing a direct answer to his original question.

** basser1: the Crocea I lost was quite similar to the one you purchased. I remember seeing that clam, and I exercised a lot of will power to resist clicking the buy button. (>_<)’ I hope it’s thriving and doing well. :)



Respectfully,
Rick

Sadly Rick it died yesterday. I knew better than to buy such a tiny clam (1 3/4"). But I thought I would roll the dice and take a chance. The mega clam I ordered from Uniquecorals (at least 5 1/2"), is doing great! The pattern looks like blue lightening!
 
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