in an effort to reduce stress on the foot of the clam, do i fix the clam to a rock with glue or let the process take place on its own?
it is a maxima clam.
The best way to do this is get a clam haflshell or a flat/dished piece of LR and bury it just under the substrate. Sit the clam over it,and the clam will attach itself. THEN you can move the clam and its base to wherever you want to place it (T. maxima does best in the rockwork). This is also handy because if you need to move the clam for any reason, you can easily do so.