Will a maxima self-regulate light level?

RuuToo

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My small but mighty long-term QT system has a slot for my new ORA gold maxima. Light levels in the QT vary from 100-400 PAR. Should I slowly acclimate to the light, and move it upwards or should I just get it into the right position immediately and mess with it less?

Also, is there such a thing as "too much" food in the water for filter feeding? My QT setup has incredibly stable parameters and gets a 50% daily automated water change from the outflow of the main tank, so I have the opportunity to really expose things to a very high level of particulate food that has a very high "dwell time", without noticeably increasing nitrate/phosphate etc. Just wondering if I just create soup / intermittently do very high then very low food levels / whatever...
 

Bleigh

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It depends on a few things. Was the clam shipped or picked up in store? If shipped, I would acclimate it. How old is the tank? How big is the clam? I was recently told not to target feed the clams cause its like shoving a hotdog down someone's throat. Having more food in the water column though sounds good. But I am certainly not the expert.
 
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RuuToo

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The tank is extremely old (the contents have been in a series of my tanks for 18 years, the current one having been in place for 4 years). Since I moved to auto water changes and trident controlled dosing I probably crossed the boundary from “pretty good” to “extremely good” from a water quality and stability perspective.
The clam itself is teeny - maybe 2”. I wanted something small because I was under the impression (which has been accepted for quite a few years now, but may or may not be true) that small meant a heavier reliance on filter feeding, and I actually wanted to treat it as a part of my biological filtration for the QT system. The tank is operating like a small experimental area more than QT though - I’ve split some frags between it and the main tank and I’m feeding heavily to see if it affects growth rates. It’s nice to watch parameters remain pretty stable despite all that - 50% daily water changes can flush some pretty large issues down the drain, since it essentially resets itself to the main tanks chemistry every 3 days or so no matter what.

The clam had been in the store for a while under decent light (but I don’t know exactly how different and it’s hard to eyeball), and had good response and seemed to me to be pretty healthy. It’s been a few years since I did my last clam, but I know roughly what looks good.

What’s fascinating to me is how much microfauna remains in the water column when you have such a low turnover and no skimming/other mechanical filtration. I’m probably easily fascinated though.
 

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Tridacna clams don't need feedings, they require light. It's an absolute myth that small clams require feeding. If the clam resides in less than optimal lighting conditions, then feeding is a supplemental way of keeping up with nutrition, but it should never be used as a long term solution. Simply ask the seller to give you par readings from where it was kept. If no information is available, then start in the low 200's and work your way up. Acclimate, incorrect for pyramid snails and scrub the shell for good measure. Place it in a tray of rubble or small rocks for it to attach to and you'll be fine. Post pics when it arrives.
 
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RuuToo

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4C200391-6C04-4605-BC1E-1187B0DDE3D2.jpeg

Color representation is pretty horrible, but you get the idea
 

MartinM

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There are no controlled studies I’m aware of to answer that question for certain, but I have several maximas and a noae, and started them all out on the sand at about 220 par for 5-10 days, then moved them to their final spot at ~350-450 PAR (measurements are exact using an Apogee, but PAR depends on the clam’s location in ny tank: some clams are around 350, some are nearly 500). They do self regulate, it probably takes them about a month to open fully and become fully adjusted to captivity (mine are wild caught from Okinawa, not farmed).
 

rgulrich

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They do (at some point in time) self regulate for higher light levels:

Iridocytes Mediate Photonic Cooperation Between Giant Clams (Tridacninae) and Their Photosynthetic Symbionts​


It really does make for a good read.;Nailbiting
Cheers and enjoy the new reef inhabitant!
Cheers,
Ray :cool:
 
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RuuToo

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They do (at some point in time) self regulate for higher light levels:

Iridocytes Mediate Photonic Cooperation Between Giant Clams (Tridacninae) and Their Photosynthetic Symbionts​


It really does make for a good read.;Nailbiting
Cheers and enjoy the new reef inhabitant!
Cheers,
Ray :cool:
That is interesting. I wonder if my PAR meter is accounting for the “adjustment” of UV wavelengths into usable PAR? Highly doubtful :)
 

MartinM

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You’d have to look up the specs of your PAR meter, but it’s also unlikely you have any true UV light being emitted. And thanks for the find, @rgulrich!
 
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