Largest clams in private aquariums?

[Shigshwa]

Actually picked a maxima up at petco when getting cat food. They originally had 3, two maxima and a derasa. The higher grade maxima and derasa were empty shells. Bought the other out of fear for its life.

Did not expect it to live. That was 4 months ago. So far all is well. It’s about 2.5-3 inches. It has a new scallops on the shell and the mantle is significantly larger.

Just realized my peppermint shrimp molted in the photo! I’m too lazy to take another. Also battling cyno... ugh.

That's a good save, the shoddy lighting that they have in their tanks are a sure death sentence for any clam placed inside!

 

[Yuki Rihwa]

I'm still surprised that Petco else where still selling saltwater fish species in their store.
Their title "pet shop" does not mean they are have a right to sell whatever live animal in store without a dang clue to keep it healthy!
If you ask the staff that working in the fish section and 99% they will give you really dumb suggestions like "fish only grow to the size tank" or 1x fish per gallon rules....

 

[Havoks]

Was able to get a better pic of my derasa, just wanted to note that they do constantly grow, it always has those white edges on the shell.

 

[Yuki Rihwa]

Was able to get a better pic of my derasa, just wanted to note that they do constantly grow, it always has those white edges on the shell.

Yep, I can see the rapid growing from my Derasa once its settled in my tank, so I traded them for Crocea/Maxima because Derasa will out grow my tank within 2 years while maxima will need 5 to 10 years, and Crocea will stay small for the rest of its life.

 

[Troy V]

I was at local petco , they start pay at $18.00 an hour for the fish tech person and said he cannot find anyone qualified..

$18 an hour!! That would be a fun retirement job for a few days a week. That might be more fun that greeting at Walmart. All kidding aside I would really enjoy doing something like this in retirement. Just relax and talk to people about their aquariums for a few days a week. I would be the happy go luck guy that walks around kissing babies with a big grin on his face.

 

[DSC reef]

I was at local petco , they start pay at $18.00 an hour for the fish tech person and said he cannot find anyone qualified..

That must be your area, that's not starting pay in Florida. My wife used to work at a petco and it starts at 8. She got 10 but was a manager.

 

[Lovemyreef2015]

I'm still surprised that Petco else where still selling saltwater fish species in their store.
Their title "pet shop" does not mean they are have a right to sell whatever live animal in store without a dang clue to keep it healthy!
If you ask the staff that working in the fish section and 99% they will give you really dumb suggestions like "fish only grow to the size tank" or 1x fish per gallon rules....

The good news is, is that petco is now focusing on being a service-based company. ( dog training ) so I would suspect that in the next 5 to 10 years they will no longer be selling fish. My friend is a GM at one and she gives me the inside scoop of what's going on. Petco isn't doing well in animal sales including fish ( not surprised)so they are moving their focus.

 

[DSC reef]

Crazy to see the different pay rates.

 

[Lovemyreef2015]

Funny thing is i bought my clam from petco , the had two , one wild caught $29.99 , one aquacultured $39.99 , the wild caught looked healthier and bigger than other, the real problem with petco is management, when the management don't understand what it takes to do the job, the job is never preformed properly..

As a former manager at a petco store, I can tell you putting the blame on the employee you see is not putting the blame in the correct place. Anything to do with animals has to be approved through corporate. There were many times I wanted to treat a sick fish and could easily grab something off the shelf but you can't do that under petco policy and will be reprimanded. Their testing alone for new employees is subpar. The employees are only doing what they are told. Like I said before petco is moving away from pets and is focusing on being a service based company. A lot of the employees would like to do the right thing but can get in trouble for doing so. Some are hired knowing only what there shown. Petco sets the standard that there known for.

 

[Lovemyreef2015]

I was at the league city store one day and there was a guy there trying to teach them, about 15 or so, I hung out snooping around, tanks were spotless, came back two weeks later , tanks dirty, dead fish in many, ick, all the frags were dead and brown, I open up the frag tank with the kid to look, it was about out of water, skimmer all the way full and turned off filter socks overflowing, that is management , also simple husbandry

Yes I understand where you are coming from, but they just don't clean fish tanks all day. A regular employee that is hired for "just register work" will also have to do ad, truck, customer service, answer phones, resets, and scrub floors all while handling customers at the register. Their are employees that truly care for the animals and there are ones that are just looking for a paycheck. I myself have gotten in trouble for quote "caring to much". The blame should be put on petco as a company. The hiring process no where states that you have to know anything about animals to get hired. You just have to have a clean background. This is a main reason my friend which is in upper management is leaving petco. I don't want to derail this thread. So let's get back on topic. I always wanted to see a nice size gigas clam in person.

 

[Yuki Rihwa]

Yes, more picture of giant clams! Please

 

[Troy V]

I finished putting together the video of the clam move from over a year ago. I apologize in advanced for how simple it is. Video editing isn't my forte.

 

[Havoks]

Quite a task. Didn’t have to burp it? It was out of the water for a bit.

 

[Troy V]

Quite a task. Didn’t have to burp it? It was out of the water for a bit.

There is about 2 months between the videos. After part 1 we put the clam and the corals into the smaller side tanks, which I had to put in my dining room until I could remove the old tank, and replace it with the new.

I have read mixed ideas on burping. It was a lot more difficult to articulate the clam in the new system because the clam was surprisingly limp. I feared I could do more damage to the clam.

 

[djreef]

Many clams are completely exposed at low tide. Nobody burps them.

DJ

 

[DeadHorizon]

Im suprised i havent seen anything on dr.mac at pacific east .
Here is there website we had a few clams from him years ago
https://www.pacificeastaquaculture....&sortField=idProduct+desc&pmaxitemsperpage=12

 

[djreef]

Wow! $129 for a 3 inch clam, plus shipping? I’m thinking we should raise our prices for the monsters we have. That’s funny, though because we can’t sell them for the paltry amount we’re asking even though they’re tank tested, and absolutely gorgeous. My suspicion is that those guys don’t move many clams either.

DJ

 

[john472]

Tiny 2 inch clam, hoping to grow it out. She was tan with a blue rim. after a week under t-5 she is purple and blue. If I can grow it out to 6inch then I'll pull the trigger on a maxima.

 

[Reef of Fillory]

The closest store to me which has clams in stock had Durasas at around 6" for $130 and Ultra Blue Maximas at ~2.5" for $130

Did not pull the trigger on either, although I really wanted to!

 

[Yuki Rihwa]

The closest store to me which has clams in stock had Durasas at around 6" for $130 and Ultra Blue Maximas at ~2.5" for $130 Did not pull the trigger on either, although I really wanted to!

I would say do it! The price not bad at all plus you don't have to pay shipping charge.
All my babies Maxima grow quite fast, they're already grew a new set of scute that huge and shiny, they are in my tank pretty much around 1 month. I'm expecting they will slow down after they grow to certain size.