Tridacna Clam Care - Sand Bed?

[lynn.reef.nerd]

I have tried multiple times to keep clams but never had luck.

 

Recently I wanted to try again and this time keeping them OFF the sand bed. 

 

Seems to work so far as one of the clam has been with me for months. Anyone has insight?

 

 

[YHSublime]

Alternative reef used to make these neat little clam holders. I've found that the only clam I've been able to keep alive for a long period of time was from ORA when we hosted MACNA in DC. It was also a nano tank, and I suspect that part of the success was getting it a ton of nutrients in what was probably dirtier water, but that's just speculation. 

[lowsingle]

If you are looking for a starter clam go with a derasa.  They are the most robust for aquarium life.  Mine grew in the sand bed without any issues.  I sold him here so you can look back and see how big it was when he got too big for my aquarium.  I purchased him when he was ~ 2 inches.  Maximas are the hardest from my experience…..the longest I have ever kept a maxima clam was 2-3 years.  I also had a squamosa which is in between the two above as far as care goes.  I sold that one on wamas as well when it outgrew my tank.  Clams are great but they get large fast.

 

good luck,

Darren

 

[lynn.reef.nerd]

I have tried, derasa, maxima, and squamosa. All have died within 1 week to a few months on the sand bed. All from various vendors (ORA, PEA, locals, etc.), none are wild, and all different sizes from 2inches to almost 10 inches (this one hurt the most... I still have the shell as a reminder). It might just be my tank can't take on a clam? 

 

I never thought about sandbed versus rock until now. Wanted to see if this will change anything and if anyone else have the same experience. 

[DaJMasta]

It was my understanding that every clam wants to anchor itself to something solid with byssal threads, and that even trying to move them around once their threads were down could damage the relatively fragile organ that secretes them.  I see a lot of places offering/people selling them offering them on small rocks so that they have a secure holdfast that doesn't need to be altered if you want to move them.

 

From the talks I've seen about them, I would consider them somewhat high light requirement (at least not shaded), as they seem to be cultured outdoors in the tropics in shallow tanks, and while they will often benefit from plankton feeding, they should be able to get most of the nutrition they need from photosynthesis from 2-3" in size.  Could you have a fish or invert that is picking at the mantle and contributing to their downfall?

[lowsingle]

https://imgur.com/a/qY6GX4y
 

Large derasa happy as a clam on my sand bed 

[lowsingle]

Sorry for the bad link:

 

https://imgur.com/gallery/qY6GX4y

[lowsingle]

https://imgur.com/gallery/fs11sli

[lowsingle]

Sorry for the multiple posts, I tried to delete them to no avail.  Clams need a lot of light….way more than sps corals, so the most likely problem is they are not getting enough light on the sand bed.  Maxima clams need to be on a hard substrate but even on a hard substrate I couldn’t keep them alive long term.  For me, clams require more care than sps corals.  One of the best characteristics of clams is they are nutrient sponges and keep nitrates and phosphates down.  When I get a bigger tank I will definitely get another one!
 

Darren

 

[JMsAquarium]

Try to speak to Flowerseller. He used to have the largest clam I ever saw. That thing was about 20 yers old and the size of a basketball. No kidding

[razzpatazzz]

I can't say anything about other ones but I believe derasa clams are meant to be on the sandbed so I have mine on the sand. I have two derasas, a giant one that I got from lowsingles in feb this year and a small one from live aquaria a month? ago. https://imgur.com/a/uKsUuN1 

 

I am running hydra 52HD, and the big one gets 180~150 par and the little one gets like 100~120 par. Running with a refugium and infrequent auto water changes, no skimmer and filtersocks. Nitrates 5~10, phosphates .09. Alkalinity is 7.11 being tested 4 times a day by alkatronic and dosing all for reef to keep things stable.

 

I dose kz sponge power at full dose and LPS amino at half dose manually, not dosing any phyto right now.

 

I'm surprised to hear you're having a lot of trouble with your system considering your tank photos I see. Maybe try dosing more clam foods like sponge powder?

[VA Reefdog]

I put my ORA derasa on an empty 1/2 clam shell that I buried in the sand.  It attached its byssal threads to the shell and I can move it around as needed and it is still able to shimmy slightly if it wants to.  The clam shell was just one collected from a beach long ago.  It is an inch bigger than the derasa. 

Granted- it has only been 6 months but it is happy and growing well.  I know that isn't long enough to say success but it has been consistently growing and happy.  My 2 cents and probably worth a bit less than that.

 

65180111966__BC1625DC-7547-4E08-9337-F78BFEDAAEA1 by Greg Lorenz, on Flickr