[miareefer]

Hi guys i figured its about time i posted some clam pics so i hope you enjoy and PLEASE feel free to post some pics of your own ive been growing clams for about 2.5 years and have never lost a clam ive always had the correct lighting and maintained the correct parameters ive only in the last year started to feed phytoplankton and add rotifers to the tanks in my experience they are very hardy individuals all my clams have been harvested locally from the ocean and have been placed in the tanks within 24 hours of capture i live in a very remote location and dont have the pleasure off a local lfs so i have to help myself
legally ime allowed to take 2 a day.

[miareefer]

Ime totally unaware on the id off my clams i believe there is two different types that i have ime under the impression that they are juvenile giants because there is a lot off 3 foot clams around where i dive any takers. ?

[miareefer]

I have a few more smaller ones that are good looking clams feel free to post some pics and ill post some more later on

[Ninong]

Originally Posted by miareefer

Hi guys i figured its about time i posted some clam pics so i hope you enjoy and PLEASE feel free to post some pics of your own ive been growing clams for about 2.5 years and have never lost a clam ive always had the correct lighting and maintained the correct parameters ive only in the last year started to feed phytoplankton and add rotifers to the tanks in my experience they are very hardy individuals all my clams have been harvested locally from the ocean and have been placed in the tanks within 24 hours of capture i live in a very remote location and dont have the pleasure off a local lfs so i have to help myself
legally ime allowed to take 2 a day.

Hi miareefer, welcome to Reefland!

The phytoplankton will benefit clams, especially juvenile specimens, but the rotifers are too large for the clams but will be appreciated by other inhabitants in your aquarium.

I believe the clam in the two pictures in Post #1 is probably Tridacna squamosa.

Where in Australia are you?

[Ninong]

Originally Posted by miareefer

Ime totally unaware on the id off my clams i believe there is two different types that i have ime under the impression that they are juvenile giants because there is a lot off 3 foot clams around where i dive any takers. ?

Post #2 appears to be another T. squamosa.

[Ninong]

Originally Posted by miareefer

I have a few more smaller ones that are good looking clams feel free to post some pics and ill post some more later on

I believe all of the pictures in Post #3 are of T. gigas.

[miareefer]

Thankyou for your prompt reply ime located in Tom Price about 1600 kms north of Perth ive only been here for about 6 months previously i was in Dampier and i moved my reefs 290 kms inland from the coast and yes i had to take all my tanks and have them in the flamin desert i dont have any local lfs so i have to mailorder all my equipment and when i head to the coast i do all my own collecting thats why i was unsure on my clam id i basiclly head over to the coast to do all my water changes i have about 400 litres saltwater capacity in containers and i still have my boat so every month or so ime fishing and diving and walking the low water reefs. Thanks again for your reply

[Barry N.]

Nice looking clams : )

I believe the one in post 3 is a Tridacna Maxima but I could be wrong..

[Minh Nguyen]

I agree with Barry. The first three clams in post # 3 are sure Maxima. The last one is a Crocea.
Minh

[almostdiva]

Miareefer,

welcome indeed! You have beautiful clams. Care to post a full tank shot of one of your tanks? How many do you have, by the way?

By ALL means -- keep posting pics!

Rebecca

[miareefer]

hi thanks for the nice words ill post a pic a little later on ime bustin me gut at work at the moment ill try and post a few more clam shots to try and get a better id

[miareefer]

Okay heres a few pics ill start with my main tank

[miareefer]

allrighty heres a few pics off my kitchen tank

[Minh Nguyen]

I find the clams are very beautiful especially the blue Squamosa (First two pictures in this post). That is a very rare clam and worth lots here in the US.
Minh

[almostdiva]

Great shots!

Thanks!

Rebecca

[Ninong]

Miareefer,

How long have these two tanks been set up at your new location? And did you employ a deep sand bed in your previous tank setups before you moved inland? If so, how long were those tanks set up, how deep was the sand bed and what do you think about deep sand beds in general?

Thanks,

[zhenya]

I also have a question

Couldn't help but notice lots of Catalaphyllia j. corals in both of your tanks.How long have you had them? They look beautiful,aside from clams of course
Anyhow, you have GREAT looking tanks,both of them.
As far as clams,I love your blue Squamosa the most

[Barry N.]

Yes indeed, Very nice set ups. I guess your Blue Squamosa takes the Reefland award. How big are they?

[miareefer]

Hi guys ever so sorry about the delay in the reply to this email but ive been on holiday 7000kms away on the other side of oz enjoying our v8 touring car racing at Bathurst yep close to 3 weeks away from work and my reefs in a way i get a bit nervous in case something goes wrong but my preparation is nothing short off meticoulous everything that can go wrong is prepared for in every way even to the length that i shot a 30 minute video before i left explaining the inexplainable scenario off things that can go wrong spare pumps impeller changes dilution off plankton cultures it was a enourmous overkill but i slept better at night so my sister moved in for the duration off my trip and everything was excellent not a loss at all all i had was a slight bit off light GREEN algae on the glass the healthy reef tank kind . So Ninong i have always had DSB ever since ive been reefing my previous setup was a unbelievable dsb the colour variations in the bed where unbelievable the depth was a constant 8 inches and there is absolutely no better way to do it realisticly anyone can have a dsb in a reef tank in nature a lot off reefs i see have very similar fine sandy areas adjacent to reefs when you disturb the sand you will get very murky dirty water almost the same if you disturb a mature dsb in a tank so in reality i believe they are functioning the same way the only shortfall in a artificial reef enviroment is the introduction off reef critters if you dont have access to a variety off the right pods and stuff it would be difficult Bristle Starfish are probably the most underrated critter in a dsb i have at least 20 in my main tank eg bigger then my hands these fellas have never been target feed ever. They come out at night under almost every rock scouring the top off the bed My bed is so good that i honestly never touch it in my existing tanks the beds are less then 6 months old the main tank is populated with bacteria faster then anything ive ever seen basiclly the tank was loaded with sterile sand allowed to clear then loaded with all the rock and coral that you can see bearing in mind everything was allready cured in previous setups and the rock was mainly base rock from my other setups. In my kitchen tank dsb was not as fast as the main tank because the rock in that tank was really top rock in the setups and didnt have the same bacterial concentrations so was slower to populate. pls dont take my word as gospel ime just trying to reflect my expeirences.
thanks for replying

[miareefer]

Thanks for your reply Barry the blue Squamosa pictured is about 3 kilos in weight and is about as tall as a coke can from base to the top off the shell and about 1.5 coke cans in length. Its well and truly rooted in and has attached to multiple rocks so its there forever its definetely a tad rare because its the only one ive ever seen where i dive i see a lot off brown morphs and green varietys but only ever seen the one blue and ive talked to a good mate before who spends a lot off time in the water and hes never seen a light blue variety.