Questions about Blue Maxima Clams

[HotRocks]

That would be fantastic, and you are absolutely right. So many clams that just glow in the dealer's tank don't look that way in mine because I can't easily look straight down on them, parallel to the direction of incident light.

I will say for these not being WYSIWYG, they look great. I will say that.

 

[alex.mccann99]

I would watch out for things that will bother it, such as your Dwarf Angels picking at it every now and then. All it takes is a nip with flesh taken out and it will get some type of disease and die. (know this from experience). I had a beautiful Maxima for over a year that always looked perfect. One day I noticed it wasn't opening all the way, thought nothing of it, until I noticed every day it wasn't opening. I didn't see an Aptasia Anemone on a back side of it stinging the flesh when it opened up. This caused it to essentially starve to death by not being able t open all the way for light. Once they start going down hill, it's nearly impossible to stop them from dying, so I've heard.

 

[rkpetersen]

Also, if you haven't read of it, you should look up 'pinched mantle disease'. (Although it might be better described as a syndrome.) About a week ago, I saw the most gorgeous new large maximas in a local dealer's tank and I probably should have but didn't tell him that they all showed what might be early signs of this fatal condition. I'm not sure he would have taken it well and also I'm no expert; if I turned out to be wrong, that might sour the relationship. But I'm probably going to stop in there again tomorrow, and maybe I will cautiously broach the subject.

 

[rkpetersen]

The bigger versions of these clams also look fantastic when you're neutrally bouyant and hanging over them on a shallow dive, sun behind you.

 

[Jeanette.iacovone]

Lots of light, rock to bore in and some dissolved nutrients in the water. Mid to high placement, low to medium indirect flow. Also, they have a better survival rate if you post pics

You know I heard the same thing....they do so much better with pics.... love it!!! Lol

 

[Jeanette.iacovone]

Horrible Bluewash I couldn’t get the AI app to connect so I could turn up whites for theclams pic

Thank you....gorgeous even with the lighting....I love these clams. With luck one of these days i can can get one. Thank you for sharing

 

[Jeanette.iacovone]

Can I ask a very stupid question? I love these gorgeous animals. I change my water using reef salt for a reef system, would I have to add anything to my water to keep them healthy? I have 90 gal and a refugium. It's running for about 2 years. I have some zoas, polyp' shrimp, a few gobies. I am taking my time stocking it so I pick what I want. All info I would be very greatful. Thanks

 

[HotRocks]

Can I ask a very stupid question? I love these gorgeous animals. I change my water using reef salt for a reef system, would I have to add anything to my water to keep them healthy? I have 90 gal and a refugium. It's running for about 2 years. I have some zoas, polyp' shrimp, a few gobies. I am taking my time stocking it so I pick what I want. All info I would be very greatful. Thanks

Not a stupid question. Feedback so far, need a lot of light. May possibly consume calcium. So you may have to supplement.

@4FordFamily keeps 2 in a 180. No calcium supplements needed. But he has enough light for (3) 180s lol

 

[Jeanette.iacovone]

Not a stupid question. Feedback so far, need a lot of light. May possibly consume calcium. So you may have to supplement.
Hi, i also have great lighting. A reef breeder. What and howmuch would I have to suppliment??? Thank you so much. Also who sells these guys and how much??

@4FordFamily keeps 2 in a 180. No calcium supplements needed. But he has enough light for (3) 180s lol

Hi,

 

[Jeanette.iacovone]

Hi,

Lost my post, sorry, what would I have to add to my tank and how much? I have great lighting, a reef breeder. Thank you so much. Also how did you guys get these clams and how much are they??

 

[HotRocks]

Lost my post, sorry, what would I have to add to my tank and how much? I have great lighting, a reef breeder. Thank you so much. Also how did you guys get these clams and how much are they??

I ordered them from @The Reef Outlet. They had a promo for 20% off when they joined R2R. They are normally $150 each. So I paid $120 each and they offer free shipping on orders over $300. (I think shipping is around $40 for orders under $300)

Side note: These clams on LA/DD would cost almost twice that for half the size.

Also @The Reef Outlet customer service was great, I even called them on the day of shipping to ask for a variety, to which they sent!

They are not WYSIWYG, but they do look exactly like the clams pictured on their website, and I would order from them again for sure!

 

[sghera64]

These are lovely clams, especially if you like the Blue/Black color mix. I agree these can gobble up calcium, but they also suck down nitrates. You may need to dose nitrates if you ever put stonney corals in the tank and want to avoid ULNS conditions.

In my experience, these are quite hardy. I’ve had calcium swings, temperature (low) swings, lighting black-outs, calcium, Alk and Mg all over the map and suppressed pH and my giant clam never looked stressed. Mine seems to adjust its metabolism accordingly. As far as feeding: I don’t. It grabs stuff (fish poop) from the water, dissolved nutrients and light. Mine grew up beneath MH/T5 at about 80-90 PAR for 5-6 years and has been doing fine for the past year under LED at about 150 PAR.

They have a powerful squirt and can kick up a lot of sand from that. I keep my nestled in a deep sand bed. His/her foot is extended sometimes, and it did manage to attach to a 2-3” piece of rubble for a few months years ago.

Watch-out for size. These get big. Mine now occupies an 8”-6” piece of realestate in my 135gallon tank. If you are going to have three, that’s a lot of NO3 consumption and a lot of space.

 

[4FordFamily]

Not a stupid question. Feedback so far, need a lot of light. May possibly consume calcium. So you may have to supplement.

@4FordFamily keeps 2 in a 180. No calcium supplements needed. But he has enough light for (3) 180s lol

Not entirely true, I do dose calcium -- irregularly! LOL

 

[DeniseAndy]

Clams are great, but can be tricky. I have kept them for almost 10 years now. My crocea finally passed after 9 years (which is not long, but it was full grown when I got it, so who knows its age - it also died very slowly compared to when I have had clams eaten or diseased). Anyway. Those are very pretty and the size is very nice. Maximas tend to be hardy in the 4-5" range FME. Small ones fail to survive long. They do need lots of light and lots of good nutrients in the water.

Good luck!

 

[4FordFamily]

A bit less blues

 

[HotRocks]

A bit less blues

Thanks for doing my dirty work!

 

[c2l2parker]

While I don’t mean to stir up the pot here, I will offer some slightly different advice regarding light for your clams. I have kept maximas for years, and I love them! Historically, the smaller ones didn’t do well in my tank, but the larger ones (4” or more) have thrived. My primary lighting is just four t5 bulbs on a 180 gallon display tank that is 6’ x 2’x 2’. My clams always sit on the sand, and despite the relatively low levels of light they have grown nicely. I will echo the comments about calcium consumption. A few years back I got lazy and wasn’t adding sufficient calcium. Within just a few weeks, I had 2 established clams die. Lesson learned.

I do feed phyto daily. I can’t say it is necessary, because I really don’t want to test that theory. I just know that the larger clams do well with my setup and routine so I try not to change anything.

Interestingly, my current maxima doesn’t even sit upright. For the most part, it is laying on its side and has been for about 3 years. That is good for viewing!