Howdy everyone,
I'm looking for a 3" - 6" aquacultured T. derasa clam. My minimum is 3". Anything under that is too small and shipping is too hard on them. Most don't survive the stress. I've been looking for a while now and can't seem to find anyone who isn't pushing them out at 2". I've had and grown clams out for years and never once brought them in under 3". I did note someone in this thread mentioned a pinched mantle on a clam he bought, and just to add some user friendly information here, pinched mantles indicate a protozoan is present, and it's typically easy to remedy. Whenever I bring in clams and discover a mantle pinch, I dip them for 20 - 30 minutes in straight RO water--yes, RO water, no salt, heated to tank temp and buffed to pH of 8.2 or 8.3. This is a sure cure for protozoans. I learned this process from a licensed wholesaler friend who brought maricultured clams in from various island vendors and always dipped them as I mentioned here. I used a clean 5G pail with gentle circulation. That process saved many a clam. Hope you don't mind my sharing that here. I'd be happy to hear from anyone who might know of a retailer who has T. derasa clams anywhere from 3-6" in size. I prefer T. derasa and T. squamosa over Maximas and Crocea for a couple reasons. They can grow to almost 2 feet if they're well-cared for, and they're much hardier than Maximas and Croceas, too. Thanks so much for having a look at my post, and I look forward to any retailer info anyone might provide on the clammies.
