Tridacna Crocea
 

Unbelievable deal on these 4-5 inchers right now from our fav LFS.

http://www.hyperdream.com/~samw/reef...2-2226_IMG.jpg

Do they all come with a copywrite in the middle....? :lol:

Good luck with the crocea - they are very cool. I had one for about four months or so under PC's (of course it went brown) but was doing well until it got moved to another tank.

It was one of the few clams that really attached itself - in fact, I had advice about cutting the threads to remove it.

Should have left it, brown or not, maybe.... :roll:

How's the clam after it got moved to your new tank? Any pics?

I just had one die. Had it over a year almost 2. Not realy sure either why it died. Good luck sam they are one of the hardest of all the clams to keep alive.

Oh, it died shortly after. I actually have a whole pic library of the fading and removal, but my infamous Kole kept it from attaching in the new tank, I suspect (given more recent history) and the clam just got knocked about too much and died.

I will try and dig up those pics.

First pic:

http://members.shaw.ca/bhadford1/urchinclam.jpg

Months later:

http://members.shaw.ca/bhadford1/CroceaNow.JPG

Brief residence in MH:

http://members.shaw.ca/bhadford1/CroceaMH.JPG

Sorry to hear that your clams didn't last longer for you both. Hm, did either of you add phytoplankton to your tanks?

I'm a believer that Giant clams need something other than light to thrive. I like to believe that adding Phytoplankton to the tank and having nutrients in the tank in addition to good lighting will be very beneficial.

No, I didn't Sam. However, there were fish, being fed regularily. Nutrients/nitrates....?

You should also regularly check the clams for the small white snails that hide under the mantals and will kill the clams if they go unchecked. I had up to 13 clams in my tank at one time and checked for them twice a month.

I agree the croceas are one of the most difficult to keep. No matter what I did, the clams would not last over 2 to 2.5 years.

I do use spray dried phytoplankton, and I did use Tahetian algae paste until it expiered. They are still hard to keep. Derasas Ive had good luck with.

Yeah, I'll agree they are hard to keep from everything that I've read. I admit the reason I decided to try one was because of the great price on this one.

I read this interesting article about phytoplankton being a necessity for clams from Dr. Shimek.

http://www.dtplankton.com/Clams.htm

In the summary at the end, it states that dead phytoplankton (such as Tahaitian blend I think) are not consumed by the clam but live phytoplankton (such as DT's) are.

This is why I'm hoping to get group/power buys on DT's every 4-6 months or somehow get access to some home grown cultures.

Metal Halide lighting is a must, more important than feeding IMO.

Hey Sam, how bout an update on the clam!

Hi Pocilipora.
Not much to say other than its alive :) I can't really tell if the clam's happy or not. It looks about the same at this point.

I also got one of those croceas. It's doing fine. Clams do need additional feeding though.

when are we going to see some pictures of your tank Brad?

Steve

When you take them Steve....

Well I don't know if clams in general need extra feeding. I beleive as long as good lighting is provided and ammonia is being released in the system clams will do well. I have two clams that are over 5 years old. I don't feed anything more then fish food. That being said mine are maxima's and I have never owned crocea's.
http://members.shaw.ca/jcross1/bluemax.jpg
http://members.shaw.ca/jcross1/purplemax.jpg

Jamie, I guess what I meant was they eat stuff other than light. So if you have a good supply of plankton in your tank, that may well be enough. I understand size also matters (in clams)...the smaller they are, the more supplemental feeding the require.

Brad,

I would say ammonia is the key. I don't know if they need plankton.

Jamie, I agree that a nitrogen source is essential, but for the phytoplankton, I have to go with Knop's recomendation that they need phyto. Since I haven't done any side by side comparisons, I can't speak from experience. I had a clam for a year that grew well without additional feeding, but it did really well after starting with DTs. Of course that was about the time I hooked up my Ca reactor, so who knows. Popular opinion in the clam forum of RC is that they unarguably need feeding. I feed DTs anyway, so better safe than sorry.

while i agree that feeding items such as phyto may be beneficial...i do not necessarily believe it is a necessity for keeping clams.

case in point, jamie's clams...though they may be getting food present in his system, he is not adding any supplemental food for the clams.

yeah, i have noticed phytos is pushed heavily on RC, but i also realize one of the biggest advocates for it is someone who sells clams...though you can take it as him having lots of experience with the husbandy of clams, you can also take it as someone who has a vested interest in the sale of the product as well.

though i must say...feeding phyto is something i may try in the near future.

Brad,

I'm sure Daniel Knop would be a wise person to follow as far as clam advise goes. I don't know much about what clams consume for sure other then what I read and well I geuss just cause I read it doesn't make it true. :wink: What I do know is I don't feed Zoo or Phytoplankton in my system. I geuss I was more disagreeing with your statement that clams need additional feeding. Also I do notice when I feed more fish food that the clams also do better. Wether thats do to the increase in dissolved solid,extra ammonia or the additional growth of phytoplankton(eg. more algae on glass) would be a tough one to answer.

Jamie, I guess you have me there. I don't KNOW they need anything extra and tend to follow the masses on husbandry technique. I figure so many people advocating something, the something must hold some merit. Again, I'm told by the 'experts' that to get a tank like yours, foods like DTs needs to be added. You (and your corals/clams) obviously didn't talk to the same experts :P (anyone that's seen Jamie's tank knows he's an expert in his own right :D )
In thinking about your comments, I'm actually surprised you don't add "coral food". I would have guessed you did.

Shao, you make a good point regarding sellers advocating this. Is it experience or sales speaking.
Since I have DTs and golden pearls, I'll feed it to the tank. One observation about food...I've sat for a long time and tried to see a coral polyp actually extract something from the water column, and never have.
Maybe this opens up a new thread on feeding filter/polyp feeders.

Brad,

Well I do know one thing. I'm no expert. I have expermented with algae pastes,dt's and spray dried. The most I noticed with these different foods were increases in algae growth and pod life. I feel I can do this with fish food for cheaper and my fish like it too. :D

I should add I'm not saying these are bad products. Their is no question that many animals we keep consume and need zoo and/or phytoplankton. But from my experience with plankton additives in my system, the results did not justify the costs.

Jamie, do you think your sump supplies a lot of food? I recall it looked like a good place to breed pods, etc. In other words, would you advocate a refugium style setup over food additives?

Brad,

For sure the sump/refugium has a great deal of life. I would imagine it supplies a good deal of zooplankton and I suppose some phyto to the main system. In order for these life forms to thrive, I do feel food is needed, but I think fish food will work as the food supply.

Jamie, what do you mean by fish food? Frozen Formula series, flakes, pellets, something else?

Just what ever you feed your fish. I don't mean target feeding the plankton. All I mean is by having a healthy feeding plan your fish are healthy with a good metabilism. Their for they excrete urine and fecal matter at a higher rate equaling ammonia and dissolved organic matter which in turn feeds your ammonia loving animals and your plankton community. With this we can't forget the beloved water change. Now don't go trying this at home I don't want to be responsable. :wink:

Hey ! I can relate to that ! 8) They eat lots and crap lots :lol:

Yup, If they eat everybody eats. :D

Just thought this may be of some use to clam owners. http://www.reefs.org/library/talklog...ts_081797.html

Where did you get the clam Sam?

They have them at J&L $40, not much to chose from now though.

Hi Ruck'n.
Yes, J&L had 'em for $40. I think their reg prices is about $70 and probably other places are over $80-$100. The best ones were probably gone by the time I got there but what I was able to get wasn't too bad at all.

Jamie, wow, nice clams (hmmmm, things that sound rude, but aren't. :D ). How big were they when you got them, would you say?

Hey Tony thanks. But now you made me dig through some old pics. Though I did get a few laughs. :P I hesitate to post this pic but what the heck. It's a whole tank shot from about 3 1/2 - 4 years ago. Not the best for clam sizeing but I can't remember how big they were. It's sure neat looking at old shots. On the far left is a squamosa, maxima and derasa. Since traded off the squamosa and derasa. Then closer to the bottom center is the other maxima. Also notice the little christmas wrasse in the center shot. He's a monster now same with the yellow tang if you can see it. Remember it's only funny when the owner laughs at old shots. :oops:
http://members.shaw.ca/jcross1/4yearstank.jpg

Thanks for the picture. It seems fair to say then that that the clams have grown significantly in last few years! :) It's hard to guage by a picture but I'm guessing that the clams must have been closer to the 2" - maybe 2 - 1/2 " range for starters.

The reason I ask, is, I've gone on the DT's diet and in six months I've lost $300. :( And it doesn't seem to guarantee that the baby clams will have any better luck succeeding into adulthood.

Sooo .... I think I'm through with ordering small clams. Next one (if there ever is a next one) it will be a larger specimen ... one that relies on photosynthesis more than feeding, rather than the other way around. Too much trouble, and too much expense to be constantly dumping in DT's at any daily amounts significant to sustain the clams. Maybe if a person grew their own Nannochloropsis spp. it would be somewhat more economical.

Hey Tony! Go to Wai's on 16 ave. He has very nice Maximas and they are a fair size. I bought mine from him and it is doing very well. Well it is finally doing well after I was able to catch my emperor angel and stick him in the refuge! I thought I was going to loose the clam for a bit there!

Simon