Got a clam question? We've got you covered right here.

[jda]

Any growth is great.

 

[pecan2phat]

I got my Derasas in Sept. and I see almost 1/2" growth spurt off their shells already.

 

[locito277]

You could try a freshwater dip, but I do not think that it will do much. It might kill it, but if it does, it was not going to live long anyway.

Dr. Mac has some evidence that these clams come with the protozoan perkinsus, which eventually gets them in the end. Healthy clams can fight off the protozoan, but they are getting shipped out of water and are too weak to fight it off, but strong enough to survive long enough to be sold.

If I ever get the chance, I want to try some Praziquantel on some wild Tahitians... no idea if the drug will kill them, so it would be a risk. This "should" kill the protozoan if it can into the shell and stuff - no idea if it can penetrate to where it needs to be.

Good luck with it.

I’d like to chip in on the cost of test subjects for your trial. Sure we can make it so your cost will be more about time than money.

 

[DSC reef]

So, I got my deresa July 7th, 4 months ago

How is this for growth? It’s a good 1/4”.

Very nice! Happy the clam is thriving for you.

 

[Docpayne82]

Hey team, I just got a new clam and was wondering if they get less “jumpy” over time? It looks great other than drawing in any time a fish gets within inches of it. I worry doing this constantly is going to stress it out.

 

[DSC reef]

Perfectly normal and is actually a good sign. As the clam settles and acclimates it will become less active to drawing in the mantle due to fish, shadows, etc.

 

[Docpayne82]

Perfectly normal and is actually a good sign. As the clam settles and acclimates it will become less active to drawing in the mantle due to fish, shadows, etc.

Ok, glad to know it was stressing me more than the clam. Thank you for the quick reply!

 

[DSC reef]

Ok, glad to know it was stressing me more than the clam. Thank you for the quick reply!

Your welcome

 

[mikes686]

I have a small squammy that got nipped by a racoon butterfly, the offender gas been removed, my fault for not doing the research. It is open and closes quickly. I'm hopeful he heals. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[DSC reef]

Can you post pics? Typically nips at the mantle can be ok as long as the clam was healthy to begin with. Since the fish was removed and as long as your clam has been healthy and growing I'd wager it will be fine.

 

[GoPitt88]

So I got a Squamosa clam about 5 months ago, and he's doing really good, but he keeps moving. I have him on the sand, and just about every night, he moves a bit until he's up against the front glass. Should I just let him be? I'd prefer that he wasn't against the glass, but I don't want to stress the little guy. Please advise.

 

[DSC reef]

I would leave him be. Hes finding his happy spot in the tank. With the flow and lighting in the tank the clam is positioning himself in the most comfortable area. Our big guy liked to be right up on the glass in the corner.

 

[DSC reef]

@GoPitt88 good to see you posting again. Any new pics of the squamosa? You know we like pics

 

[OrionN]

If he is growing I would just leave him be. Squamosa does not usually attach to anything when they get a little larger.

 

[GoPitt88]

If he is growing I would just leave him be. Squamosa does not usually attach to anything when they get a little larger.

He's not attaching to anything, just moving along the sand [emoji13]

 

[GoPitt88]

@GoPitt88 good to see you posting again. Any new pics of the squamosa? You know we like pics

At work now (as you can see......hardly working, lol), but will post a pic when I get home tonight. I recently bought the AquariClip photo lens for my cell phone camera from Algaebarn and anxious to try it.

 

[DSC reef]

At work now (as you can see......hardly working, lol), but will post a pic when I get home tonight. I recently bought the AquariClip photo lens for my cell phone camera from Algaebarn and anxious to try it.

Awesome! Looking forward to it

 

[Endeavour]

Hello Everyone!

I could use some advice with a recent clam addition that seems to be unhappy. My tank parameters as of yesterday afternoon are:

10 Gallon IM Nuvo, 6mos.
Weekly ~1-2g water changes with RS Coral Pro
Ammonia: 0.25
Nitrates: 5
Alkalinity: 9.5 dKH
Calcium: 490
pH: 8
Salinity: 1.026
Temperature: 80F

The clam looked good at the LFS, and was responsive to light, movement, etc. The first day in the tank the clam kept jumping off the rocks. The second day I replaced the lights with a Kessil 160WE, which has been running in acclimation mode and will wrap up this Sunday. With the change in lights the clam stopped jumping and attached threads to the rock it was on (the first day it was run at higher power before acclimation mode was set).

Since that time, I've noticed the clam occasionally move itself - it rotated itself 180 degrees from its original position, and not infrequently it would close hard as though trying to expel water from itself. Lately it doesn't move as much as it did a few days ago. It has also expanded less, especially on one side of the shell.

It is still responsive to light, though more sluggish than before.

I've read about PMD, and I'm not sure if that's what's going on here. I don't think there are pyramid snails in the tank with it. Last night I swapped out the ~1mo old carbon with Chemipure Blue and this afternoon will be adding in fresh carbon in another filter compartment per skinz78's PMD treatment methods.

Possible causes of stress:
The ammonia was discovered after a fish was unhappy about a week ago, and I've been able to slowly bring it down. I suspect a small sea cucumber died - the last time I saw it was a little bit before the ammonia spike. I also found a dead margarita snail recently. Both of these issues should be on their way out, and I've added Fritzyme to the tank to try to speed up the process. I am a little surprised it wasn't immediately taken care of by the CUC, but I'm not sure where the cucumber died.

Maybe the acclimation period has been too long and the clam needs more light?

Clam Photos:

Day 1



Position in tank


Yesterday


This morning.

The mantle seems a little but more extended than yesterday, but the intake slit also seems substantially larger than before.

I am reticent to do anything that might further stress the clam, and am grateful to all of you for your advice on what to do next - thank you very much for your help!

 

[DSC reef]

Welcome to R2R @Endeavour
The first pic is showing bleaching which could be attributed to light shock from a direct change in lighting intensity from what the clam was previously under compared to your lighting. While maximas need a lot of light they do need to be given time to photo adapt to a more intense light, especially when smaller. The last pic of the clam does not look to bad so I'd leave it be. While having ammonia is not good for aquarium inhabitants, tridacna do have the ability to absorb ammonia, phosphorus, etc, through their mantles. The clam will position itself due to flow and lighting as to where it is comfortable.

 

[OrionN]

Here is my Squamosa