Tridacnid Work Shop

[Sherman]

Two questions, Barry.

1: Can you help clarify which are rock dwellers and which are sand?
2: I'm heading to the wholesalers this week to pick up a T. crocea. The spot I have intended for him is quickly being taken over by a plating montipora (I'm not positive it's a capricornus. It's the "Idaho Grape"). Assuming the clam and montipora eventually meet, what should I expect could happen?

Will the monti encrust onto the shell? I find that hard to imagine.
Will the crocea move? I hope not.
Will there be a stand-off, and everyone agrees not to touch the DMZ?

 

[Barry N.]

Can you help clarify which are rock dwellers and which are sand?

Tridacna croceas and maximas are considered rock dwellers and the other Tridacnids are nornally found on the substrate. With that being said, nothing says you can't keep maximas or croceas on the substrate but I would recommend placing a flat rock just under the sand to keep them from digging all the way to the bottom of the tank.

As far as being close to the coral such as a monti, the monti could and will grow large and start tp shield the clams from some of the light.

 

[Sherman]

Actually, the monti and crocea will both be mounted on the same flat rock, with the crocea being just "uphill." It's just the encrusting of the monti that's creating the threat. The shading shelf plate spans out the other direction.

 

[Maxx]

Barry,
I'm curious about all the Blue Squamosa clams I'm seeing for sale on alot of online retailers....

Where are they coming from and why are they so expensive? Arent they farm raised also?

Nick

 

[Barry N.]

I'm seeing for sale on alot of online retailers....

I am aware that there was a few that came in a few months ago but was not suppose too. No CITIES yet!

Yes they are farmed and come from Bali.

 

[Maxx]

I find their coloration very interesting. This may be off the conversational track...but are these being bred with specific colors in mind or is this more of a "Hey, Look. We've got another Blue one!" kinda thing?
What is their growth rate like?
I would imagine that they would need to be started out several years in advance before they were large enough to be sold....

Nick

 

[sandlot13]

awesome thread! great work barry!

 

[Tigger240]

i think it would be useful to cover pm, and how to treat it. i lost 2 clams to it, and i had to treat all 5, they were infected before i figured out what the heck was going on. i dont know if its true or not either, but dosing iron(probably oding), has had some effect with increasing pm. i also posted on another forum about using ozone or uv to combat the protozoans that cause pm, and got little response.

 

[Maxx]

Tigger,
Here is a link to a whole thread devoted to PM and treating it.

Pinched Mantle

Nick

 

[jeffkeith_us]

http://www.dtplankton.com/articles/necessity.html
http://www.dtplankton.com/articles/sandbeds.html

 

[chris&barb]

that first article is completely ridiculous. it has so many holes in it i dont even know where to begin

 

[matts125]

Great thread I just spent about an hr reading through it all!
I will definatly follow this thread there is a lot of good info in here for clam lovers such as myself..


Matt

 

[quicksilver]

Hey barry do you think snails and hermits will kill your clams i think mine are by knocking them over or moving them befor they ever get time to attach even my big dersa clams seemed to be botherd by clams on there sides all the time. Please I lost to squamosa's and my water was perfect with 600wats MH of light on a 90 gallon so light is no factor. When they go in they seem so happy and get stressed and die about 2 to 3 weeks latter. Any help would be great.

 

[Barry N.]

That is a hard question to answer. Most people think that they will not bother clams unless it is sick.

My thoughts are, if you have a large populations of them are they are not getting enough food then there might be a problem.

I have seen some hermits that are very aggressive and when they keep picking at the clam, then before you know it the clam will not open and then it will be a matter of time.

It is not uncommon when you introduce a new clam into your system that crabs and hermits will clean the side of the shell and if the clam is already stressed, it will just cause more stress.

 

[quicksilver]

ITs more my snails terbo and zerbras always on them knocking them all over the place and then hermits have there go they are not pecking on them but i think its taking its toll.

 

[Tone]

Barry, I have been battling Bryopsis sp for well over a year ... have done the Mg thing, etc., and am currently doing week long periods of no lights to kill it off. Here's the rub, I have 4 squammies, one is about 2' another 1-1/2' and 2 smaller ones of around 1' each. Will the dark periods harm the clams? I have already been through one week-long dark period followed by a week of antinic and a week of normal 250W MH (12,000k Reeflux) and am launching into the next cycle to finish off the bryopsis. I have noticed that the clams have a white border around the siphon but that has been like that since before the darkness cycles ... might have been caused by the high Mg (2800ppm) and elevated salinity (1.027/1.028) from the magnesium chloride / magnesium sulphate. I'm currently working on pulling the salinty down to standard levels.

Thanks,

Tone

 

[morgan]

if a clam gets a hole in its mantel can it self repaier the hole? its still extending the lips but i can not see the hole or mouth or spout be cause it is quiet shut?

 

[Tone]

if a clam gets a hole in its mantel can it self repaier the hole? its still extending the lips but i can not see the hole or mouth or spout be cause it is quiet shut?

A couple of years ago, whilst scrapping corraline off the glass the blade dislodged and fell onto the mantle of my big squammie. In attempting to retrieve it, the clam closed shut on the blade and it cut through the mantle. It healed without problem.

Tone

 

[joker577]

would you say that is decent growth for the clam for about 8 months?

 

[morgan]

well thats good to know but how long was this proccess? the flesh has come away from the the inner mantel it still opens but looks messed up on one part?