prolly bad.

[Geoff]

i just got a T. crocea last weekend. it looks like it is doing fine. expands fully. and will contract if it feels threatened. i put it on the sand upright but over the course of the week it has listed to the side. i decided to take a peak at it. when i picked it up to examine it i noticed that the bottom where i would assume the foot would be is a hole! do the clams have holes on their bottoms. am i worried about nothing. i thought they had a foot there.

i moved it up onto the rocks just in case. it is a 3-4" crocea. it is under 400w mh. with VHO actinics. i feed frozen plankton. i also have more feather dusters than brain cells, so there seems to be plenty of other plankton. all of my SPS are doing great.

thanks,

G~

[aliendomain]

Geoff,
That hole is where the byssal gland will extend to attach it's self with small thread to rocks or substrate. I think that croceas do best on rock ledges where they can soak up as much light as they need, and it sounds like you have more than enough light there. Do yourself a favor and get the book Giant Clams by Daniel Knop, it has some great info.
AlienDomain

[Geoff]

aliendomain-thanks! i will hunt down that book. unfortunately i have to order my books online. none of the LFS's here cary many books.

G~

[aliendomain]

Geoff,
Contact Barry of clamsdirect.com, he has the book for less than amazon. Barry Neigut (619) 593-0565 barry@clamsdirect.com.
AlienDomain

[Sue Truett]

Geoff, tridacna crocea is noted for having the largest byssal gland of all the giant clams. I have noticed in my clams that sometimes they will shed their byssal glands and grow new ones. Whether or not this is what your crocea is doing is hard to say. If it is opening and reacting I would think it is maybe doing this. I have 2 crocea's but most of my clams are maxima's. Both do this. I can't leave my clams on the sand bed due to my copperband but I place all of my clams in clam half shells and place them in my rock structure. They will sit up in these and not jump and I think they feel a little more anchored.

Do contact Barry if you have any more problems or questions as he is the "clam man".

[Doug1]

Good Call on the book , I will add it to the book list if its not already on there

[Sue Truett]

Doug, Daniel Knop's book is a must have for clams, but there is also a new book out with an excellent chapter on clams. It is by Bob Fenner and Anthony Calfo. Reef Invertebrates is the name. I got mine last week and the clam section is awesome. Finally some new stuff about these beautiful creatues.

[tdwyatt]

Originally posted by Sue Truett
Geoff, tridacna crocea is noted for having the largest byssal gland of all the giant clams...

Not only do Tridacna crocea clams have the largest byssus opening in relation to its shell length, but it is the smallest of all Tridacna species, making the opening appear even larger in this aspect. The shells are prolly the smoothest (heh, relative to the other giant clams), are one of the few species that can close completely, and are quite capable of boring well into limestone liverock where they are usually found (one of the littoral rubble species).

Ditto on the Fenner/Calfo book, Sue, VERY nice section on the clams.