Blue Squamie Take 3

[Huskymaniac]

Here it is and its davorite hermit crab that constantly cleans it shell.

 

[Huskymaniac]

Figured I would post an update. Clam is alive and has full mantle extension. Still showing 0 growth at 2 months. Hopefully its just a matter of time. Shocked this thing made it this long.

 

[tenten900]

Cross your fingers and hope for the best!

 

[campaign000]

2 months is long enough. Maybe you should enhance the light.

 

[DSC reef]

Not seeing any new growth on the shell is concerning.

 

[Huskymaniac]

Its in 150+ par under a hydra 52 running at 100%. Should be plenty of light for a squamy. When I got the clam from DD it had 0 growth. They sent me a bad clam which is why I will never order a DD clam or a clam from their facilities. This was the third one they sent me after the first died within the first few days.

 

[Huskymaniac]

Here is an updated photo.

 

[Oberst Oswald]

Looks like a healthy clam to me. Best of luck with him and please feel satisfied that you are doing something right...

 

[Huskymaniac]

Now at 3 months. Clam looks the same but still no growth. Trying to overfeed my tank a bit to see if it helps but still nothing. Just very odd.

 

[RickD]

Now at 3 months. Clam looks the same but still no growth. Trying to overfeed my tank a bit to see if it helps but still nothing. Just very odd.

Have you tried moving it higher in the tank?

 

[Huskymaniac]

Shouldnt squamies be on the sand?

 

[bsagea]

Now at 3 months. Clam looks the same but still no growth. Trying to overfeed my tank a bit to see if it helps but still nothing. Just very odd.

I have always added phyto when I had all my clams though many insist that light is all they need. They thrived for years. Clams do filter the water. Besides phyto, once a week maybe my tankmaster would add New Life Spectrum Reef Micro-Feeder. He is a beautiful clam for sure!
bsa

 

[Shigshwa]

Young squammies will still attach to the rockwork. Blue squamosas seem to like tons of light, actually. As long as you can support it on the rocks, I'd place it higher up. My blue squamosa is seeing 300 PAR on the sand, and has added a set of scutes every month on average. You really can't hit a clam with too much light, as long as the acclimation is slow, so more will likely get it to grow.

I also find that after a stressful situation like shipping, the clam will start growing shell material from the foot area upwards over again, until it pops over the old shell margin as new growth. It could take a while to finally see it growing again.

 

[Joshky]

I also find that after a stressful situation like shipping, the clam will start growing shell material from the foot area upwards over again, until it pops over the old shell margin as new growth. It could take a while to finally see it growing again.

That's super interesting. I had a crash back in December and lost 90% of my stony corals, my blue squamosa lived but after the crash happened I also switched over to LEDs from T5s and after that I saw zero growth on my squamosa. I was working on the tank yesterday and saw it close up enough to see new growth further inside the shell than I was used to seeing, it seemingly is just now reaching the top of the shell again which correlates with what you've said.

 

[jda]

They have to grow the shell thicker before it can get larger. They can "reboot" if they get stressed part of the way through. If you want fast clam growth, they need to be super stable for long periods of time... especially with the light since it is their #1 source of food.

 

[campaign000]

Young squammies will still attach to the rockwork. Blue squamosas seem to like tons of light, actually. As long as you can support it on the rocks, I'd place it higher up. My blue squamosa is seeing 300 PAR on the sand, and has added a set of scutes every month on average. You really can't hit a clam with too much light, as long as the acclimation is slow, so more will likely get it to grow.

I also find that after a stressful situation like shipping, the clam will start growing shell material from the foot area upwards over again, until it pops over the old shell margin as new growth. It could take a while to finally see it growing again.

IMO some clams' color would fade in weeks/months under overmuch light.
What kind of light do you use and what's the distance between clam and light?

 

[Shigshwa]

IMO some clams' color would fade in weeks/months under overmuch light.
What kind of light do you use and what's the distance between clam and light?

It's a 40B with an Orphek Atlantik V4, clams sit on the sand some 16 inches away. I do note that my Derasa doesn't extend its mantle as much as it did at the LFS.

 

[campaign000]

It's a 40B with an Orphek Atlantik V4, clams sit on the sand some 16 inches away. I do note that my Derasa doesn't extend its mantle as much as it did at the LFS.

Any sign of color fading?
I'm using 15000k T5, 20" to clams, lux reading on the water surface is 15k (equal to 300, no par meter ). Almost all of clams (maxima squamosa derasa crocea) have faded in past months.
Now I rise the light and keep monitoring.

 

[Huskymaniac]

Totally missed all the responses. Still not seeing any new growth at all. I had the clam for 4 months so not really sure whats ups. I just got the par meter from the lFS so will retest. Not sure what else to do. Is the clam just doomed and unhealthly from the get go? Do I invest another $700 or so to add addtional led lights to increase par?

 

[Huskymaniac]

So par is fluctuating between 180 and 240 depending on the flow from the gyre.

Totally missed all the responses. Still not seeing any new growth at all. I had the clam for 4 months so not really sure whats ups. I just got the par meter from the lFS so will retest. Not sure what else to do. Is the clam just doomed and unhealthly from the get go? Do I invest another $700 or so to add addtional led lights to increase par?