Clam compatibilities

[FishWife]

We want to get a clam or two, either soon (next month) or "eventually." At any rate, I want to plan where to put them in the tank, and I need to know about compatibility. I'm not reading anywhere that any corals bother them. Is that true? Can you put them right near zoas or acros or LPSs and have everyone happy?

 

What about sponge? We got this yellow sponge with our new tank...

 

You can see it in the tank behind the GSP.

 

Can I put a clam right on top/near it? Or, near the SPS's?

 

Also, has anyone put clams on the rocks? In the picture above, there's the large rock on the left that's like a satellite dish. (There has been a brain coral there, but it didn't like so much light and we moved it down some.) Could a clam perch there, if it was secure? Does one apoxy clams?

 

Any comments on these questions would help us sort this out. TIA!

[dshnarw]

http://www.wetwebmedia.com/ca/cav1i3/Clam_care/Clam_care.htm

 

I wouldn't put the clam on the sponge, but having SPS and softies nearby shouldn't be much of an issue. I would imagine LPS could sting it, though.

 

If you're putting it on the rocks, you'd be best to go with a crocea. You'd just place it on the rock, and it'll eventually attach itself, although it may try to move and fall off the rockwork if it doesn't like the placement. Can't epoxy it on, though, because if it's unhappy where you put it, it could stress and die.

[vaironman]

I agree with dshnarw to place the clam near SPS would have no negative effect. In fact my large crocea, its mantle have spread out large touching a small 2" light green acro. when the MH light is on.

 

Placing it near LPS such as torch, frogspawn, hammer is not a good idea as dshnarw pointed out its mantle will be stung by the LPS. The left corner top of your tank is a very nice place to put the clam there since they love bright light. The more light you give the clam(s), the more colorful its mantle become. I have found from experience that the clam does not need to have those green liquid feed. As long as you have good clean water and enough bright light for them, they thrive adding more beautiful color to your tank.

 

BTW, the new 180G bowl setup is very beautiful! Good work guys!

[FishWife]

This is encouraging, 'cause crocea is what we want!

 

And thanks for the compliment about the tank. My husband did a great job, and I just love to gaze upon it.

 

Thanks for the link, too! I think we'll wait a few months for that indication of the coraline algae growth, based on the information therein.

[Larry Grenier]

Hi Marcia,

 

We should all follow your example of doing your homework 1st.

 

Do you mind if I ask what the eggcrate-looking thing of the back of your tank is?

[dbartco]

Only thing I would watch is encroachment of zoos etc. I have seen zooanthids, gsp, yellow polyps, go up the shell and irritate mantles of clams, causing the demise.

[FishWife]

Hi Marcia,

 

We should all follow your example of doing your homework 1st.

 

Do you mind if I ask what the eggcrate-looking thing of the back of your tank is?

 

It's an experiment. It evolved out of a desire to use a foam & egg crate idea that I saw on large tank threads on Reef Central. (Search for a thread on this site, and you'll find links to the discussion, if you're interested. I couldn't find the proper reef-safe foam locally, nor could I find a proper epoxy for the project, so we downgraded to the "bare egg crate" look. We ended up liking it very much. It beautifully displays LPSs while keeping them near the pipes that take water out of the system, so that their chemical warfare is kept to a minimum, yet they are wonderfully displayed. We hope that over time coraline algae will cover them, making them look a bit more natural.

 

They also hide all the plumbing pipes behind; you can see more on this on our build thread (linked in our signature below).

 

The construction is: two pannels wide (not attached to each other except by one zip tie at the top). Each pannel, right and left, is actually two pannels deep, offset to make the openings smaller. We then glued them together with acrylic glue, and added the cable ties as places to insert the stalks of LPSs. Used Krylon Fusion spraypaint to make it all black. There are two zip ties for each pannel: one in the middle and one on each side. This is to keep it from floating up. We're a bit concerned that it might become a detritis trap, so we arranged pipes behind it to flush downward and outward from it, and we run those pretty strongly from our sump. Because of the construction, it's easily removed, should the need arise.

 

Only thing I would watch is encroachment of zoos etc. I have seen zooanthids, gsp, yellow polyps, go up the shell and irritate mantles of clams, causing the demise.

 

Hmmm. :( There are small zoos on that rock; or maybe even orang polyps, not sure. They came with the rock. They're small now, but getting more colorful every day... Can we control them (i.e. cut them back somehow) if they grow too close later?

 

Edited February 8, 2008 by FishWife

[vaironman]

Marcia,

 

You can place the clam on a small piece of flatrock for the its foot to lock/clamp down on and move the clam to any other place later that you like it to be at. Eventhough, it loves light, you can place it down at the bottom, on top of the sandbed is fine, too. Seem that your tank has lots of light, nice enough for the clam to be at the bottom also.

 

KLee

[FishWife]

Marcia,

 

You can place the clam on a small piece of flatrock for the its foot to lock/clamp down on and move the clam to any other place later that you like it to be at. Eventhough, it loves light, you can place it down at the bottom, on top of the sandbed is fine, too. Seem that your tank has lots of light, nice enough for the clam to be at the bottom also.

 

KLee

 

OK, that helps. I had read that once you place a clam, don't move it. My concern with the floor of our tank is that it's got quite a bit of motion... so, between light and flow considerations, plus just seeing it well, I thought that rock was perfect, until the issue of the orange polyps came up. I'd rather have both coexist nicely, but the idea of temporarily putting it on the sand appeals, 'cause we can lower flow for awhile then move it up and see what happens with the polyps. Question: how long would it take for the clam to attach, usually?

[vaironman]

This, I am not sure how long it will take the clamp to attach its footing to a piece of rock. Once I put it on a rock, I normally don't touch it again until many months. The last time I had moved my clams probably 8-10 months ago with rock rearraignment. You can try a small piece of flat rock for its base and give it a month.

 

I would think it depends on whether its foot was injured during previous clam harvest or not. We might want to listen to any clam experts in the forum to chime in here.

 

KLee

[FishWife]

Only thing I would watch is encroachment of zoos etc. I have seen zooanthids, gsp, yellow polyps, go up the shell and irritate mantles of clams, causing the demise.

 

After thinking it thru some more, I'm still wanting to put it on the rock... right about where the brain coral is in this picture. Problem is (might be) that there are many small, orange button-polyps there now... both behind and under where the clam would be placed. You can just see them if you know where you're looking:

 

 

 

These orange polyps are small right now. I *believe* they are juveniles of the ones you see in this shot: on the left, in the crack below the big, hightest, bowl-shaped rock with the Xenia on it.

 

 

 

If so, they'll be polyps that are about 1" tall... a veritable jungle of them. And one would think they'll grow upward, towards the light... Think I could control them thru husandry (i.e. peeling them off/fragging) if they grow on the clam's shell or too high nearby?

Edited February 9, 2008 by FishWife