Young clams

[DonW]

My daughter and I both got new young Crocea clams this week-end. I guess 1 1/2" or so, could someone give me some feeding advice for these little guys. I dont feed my large clams directly but have read that babies need to be fed. I would rather not put DT's in my tank.

Don

 

[flugelnuss]

Hi all! New to the site, and am enjoying all the great posts and pics!

I'm fairly new to the marine hobby (6 months actually!) and I just got a 2 " maxima last weekend. As well, as DonW, I would like to know what the best way to raise a baby clam. I have been spot feeding DT's every day except yesterday since last saturday. TIA!

 

[Macbeth417]

I have baby maxima myself (about 1.5") and here is what I do:

I have a 1 liter plastic bottle that I cut the bottom off of and every other day I take a normal size coffee cup and fill it about 3/4 of the way full with tank water. Then I put about half a squirt of MarineBioplankton and swirl it around until it is completely disolved. I turn off the pumps and place the bottle over my clam. I take turkey baster and suck up about half the water and stick the baster into the top of the bottle, thus sealing it. I squirt in the phyto mixture and let it sit for about 10-12 minutes. Then I refill the baster and place it back in the bottle and squirt the rest in. I leave that for another 12-15 minutes or so with the baster still in the top to keep it all sealed. I then remove the little feeding chamber and switch everything back on. I do this about an hour before lights out so that any excess phyto has a greater chance of being consumed by all the night time feeders and coral.

There is no magic science behind my approach, this is just what I have found to work best for me.

Hoped that helped guys : )

-Erik

 

[DonW]

I'm fairly new to the marine hobby (6 months actually!) and I just got a 2 " maxima last weekend. As well, as DonW, I would like to know what the best way to raise a baby clam. I have been spot feeding DT's every day except yesterday since last saturday. TIA!

.

The problem I have with DT's is the phosphates going into the tank. With rowa running in two reactors I could keep the phos down, but since I quit using it my tank has never looked better with just one reactor. My thinking was that I could feed my fish more of a vegie diet and let them do the work for me.

Don

 

[flugelnuss]

The bottle technique sounds fairly easy and actually pretty ingenius! I think i will try it tonight.

.

The problem I have with DT's is the phosphates going into the tank. With rowa running in two reactors I could keep the phos down, but since I quit using it my tank has never looked better with just one reactor. My thinking was that I could feed my fish more of a vegie diet and let them do the work for me.

Don

As for DT's, I just started using it. I just got over my phosphate problem by switching to RO. Could the DT's really be leaching that much phosphate into the tank even though I'm using phosguard?

jeff

 

[NaH2O]

flugelnuss - Welcome to Reef Frontiers!!

I really like Erik's idea with the bottle over the top of the clam.

 

[flugelnuss]

flugelnuss - Welcome to Reef Frontiers!!

Glad to be here! I've been looking for a good forum to go to that is actually local to me! I've been having some issues with some of the fish stores in my area, with them being too smug and arrogant, but recently found a couple that are quite nice! One of them, Indoor Reef, actually is almost an hour away in Tacoma. But because they give really sound advice and don't make me feel stupid when I ask questions, I don't mind the driving!

Jeff

 

[DonW]

As for DT's, I just started using it. I just got over my phosphate problem by switching to RO. Could the DT's really be leaching that much phosphate into the tank even though I'm using phosguard?

jeff

DT's has huge amounts of phos. You need to keep up with it in some way. I dont think there is a cure all, but if you can eliminate as many sources as possible your better off. Stopping the use of DT's make a huge improvement in my tank quickly. In my daughters little tank there was a huge bacteria out brake after two weeks of using Dt's as directed. Again after just cutting out the DT's the tank is spotless with no rowa reactor.

Although this is no scientific study, the results are there.

Don

 

[flugelnuss]

What would you suggest using to feed my corals? Currently I only have a frogspawn, brain coral, zoo's, star polyps, cabbage, xenias, green striped, red, and ricordea mushrooms. I have a rose BTA too.

 

[Macbeth417]

I need to make correction, as I made a rather important typo:

I use and recommend Liquid Life BioPlankton (Phytoplankton) not thier MarinePlankton(Contains Cyclopeeze).

-Erik

 

[flugelnuss]

I use and recommend Liquid Life BioPlankton (Phytoplankton) not thier MarinePlankton(Contains Cyclopeeze).

Where can I get this and how much does it usually cost?

Jeff

 

[Macbeth417]

flugelnuss:
Lets try to stick with the feeding of small Tridacnids for this thread.

If you are interested in the too numerous to mention aspects of coral feeding, please take a look at one of our weekly discussion threads pretaining to that topic:
http://www.reeffrontiers.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=2674


Thanks and glad to have you,

-Erik

 

[DonW]

What would you suggest using to feed my corals? Currently I only have a frogspawn, brain coral, zoo's, star polyps, cabbage, xenias, green striped, red, and ricordea mushrooms. I have a rose BTA too.

I dont feed my corals directly. When my fish get fed the corals get lots. The lps realy like the fish blender mush.

Don

 

[Macbeth417]

Where can I get this and how much does it usually cost?

Jeff

I get mine from the fellas at Below Sea level in the University district in Seattle. I can't recall the price off the top of my head, but I know it was almost 10 dollars less than premium aquatics had it listed for and as it needs to remain refridgerated I personly wouldn't order mine online. That stuff lasts a long time too, so even if you fly threw it, and you spread the price out over 6months or so, its really nothing at all.

-Erik

 

[flugelnuss]

Thanks for all of the advice! I just discovered Below Sea Level a couple of weeks ago. All those years around the U, and I never knew it was there! Of course, however, I didn't get into the aquarium hobby, until last July, when my fiance bought me a 10 gallon tank for my birthday!

Jeff

 

[NaH2O]

What would you suggest using to feed my corals?

Here is a good read concerning coral feeding: Let's Talk About ~Coral Feeding~

Also: Is Phytoplankton a Necessity?

 

[flugelnuss]

Thanks Nikki! Those links were very informative. I found a post by TDevil that would probably benefit anyone reading through this particular thread:

"on another note, clams, most clams only need to be fed until they are around 3-3.5 inches, i fed mine phyto untill then, i took it out of the tank (so the tank wouldnt be harmed in the feeding) and placed it in a container of tank water, then proceded to feed it, i feed enough for the water to start to turn greenish, then i left it in there till it was clear and placed it back in the tank, worked for me, i never measured the amount of phyto, just put enough in there i guess"

 

[mojoreef]

Hi Jeff and welcome to Reef Frontiers. Young clams dont have enough zoox to support them yet, so what you are doing is supplimenting until they have enough mantle area exposed to really start producing zoox. Un like corals clams eat thier zoox. The only way to truely not subject your tank to excess P with phyto is to do like Tdevil metioned, big key thier is to not stress out the clam to much when doing it.


Mike

 

[Macbeth417]

... big key thier is to not stress out the clam to much when doing it.
Mike

I always weighted stressing the clam very high and with rock boring clams I don't see it as being wise to yank them in and out of the tank unless they are on a easly movable perch. Junior is on a 20lb rock, so it is not wise for me to force him to detach (with ice or any other method) so I can feed him, as I would be doing him more harm than good if I ever damaged his byssal gland tissue. And the stress of detatching and reattatching could not be considered healthy by any means. That is why I feed mine in the tank, but I do make a large effort to limit the phyto that ends up free in the tank.

-Erik

Junior is my baby maxi for those of you that are not familiar with him :lol:

 

[flugelnuss]

Thanks for the warm welcome Mike! I've already phoned one of your sponsors (Coral Beauty) that I never knew existed! I mentioned your website, and even had a conversation with Shelly that lasted like 20 minutes! I should find time to visit them this weekend.

I guess i shouldn't take my clam out, as i really don't want to do anything to harm it. I think I'll stick to the original plan of following Erik's advice on his bottle technique. Would feeding it everyday be too much? Or should i stick to every other day?

Jeff