Clam Recommendations For A Reef Tank?

[Diving The World]

This one goes out to the clam experts. I have a 29 gallon mixed reef with some mushrooms, a sun coral, Zoas, and other Polyps. For fish, I have a yellow tang and 3 small ocellaris clowns. In the future I plan to add a few SPS and LPS corals.

I'm interested in adding 1 or 2 clams to my tank and am looking for some recommendations. I'd like at least 1 of them to be a dark blue color. From the research I've done, this seems to limit me to either a Tridachna Maxima or a Tridachna Crocea. The Crocea seem to be much easier to maintain than Tridachna and have very similar coloration.

For pics of my tank and tank specs, you can click here.

[mg]

You should be fine with either the T. Crocea or T. maxima. Crocea's generally require the most light and both are rock dwelling species that like to attach to a hard substrate with their foot. How high up to put them would depend on the depth of your 29 gallon and what wattage the coralife MH fixture is.

If you do add clams, it will be important to measure your alkalinity, calcium, and magnesium to keep them all in line. Clams will suck calcium out of your water pretty fast.

Whiskey wrote a great FAQ on clams
http://www.thereeftank.com/forums/sh...ad.php?t=84096

[Geoff]

how old is the tank? i would not add any clams untill you have experience with keeping your Ca and alk under control.

both the T. crocea and the T. maxima are the hardest of the clams to keep. they are also the smallest. the easier T. derasa and the T. squamosa are the easiest, but some of the bigger ones and can quickly outgrow a 29 in a few years.

G~

[Diving The World]

Tank's been set up for about 6-7 years. It's 18" deep and the MH is 150 watt right in the middle. From the light fixture to the sand bed is 23".

[PelagicMagic]

www.riptidesreef.com has some great clams in now. Black and white maximas and some crazy color clams that I have never seen before

[Geoff]

if you have the light and are good at keeping Ca and alk levels good, than clams can be one of the easiest critters to keep. i love clams for this reason. give them enough light and just sit and watch them grow!! i have 7 right now of various sizes. there are a few more i would like to get.

G~

[Nyles]

You should be fine. Test your magnesium and of course keep your alk and cal balanced.

[tdwyatt]

I have a big Squammie that helps control nitrates in the stony tank, growth is constant over time and they will get BIG if you keep the water parameters in line...

T. Squamosa, 31.7cm (12.5 in.) 11-22-06 tdwyatt


A short precautionary tale: I recently lost a Tridacna maxima and a beautiful T. crocea to the same stupid reason, I had let the part of the tank these two beauties were kept in get "a little wild" and had several Aiptasia take up residence right at the inhalent siphon (in a protected corner) for these two specimens, thinking that there wasn't anything they could do to the clams...

You would be surprised how big Aiptasia can get in a very short time. I never connected the two events until both clams were being stung so badly that they withdrew almost totally into the shell (got to stop working so much). Peppermint shrimp are on my list for that tank now, and I'll be shopping for two new clams.