Ok I have a question, I think I allready know the answer but I want to hear all your opinions.
I was at the LFS the other day. I talked to this guy names Rick he seemed pretty knowledgable. He has two reefs a 29 gallon and a 120 gallon. He asked about my lighting on my 12 gallon NANo. I told him I had 6 13 watt PC's (4-6700k 2- 7100k blue) He asked me if I had any clams yet. I said no because I didnt have the light!

So here is my question can I have clams? Will they trive not just survive? If so what kind of clams could I keep

12 gallon hex
6 13watt PC's (4-6700k 2-7100k)
CPR BAkPac 2R skimmer
20lbs of variuos LR
10lbs of Fiji LS
1- colony yellow polyps
1- colony button polyps
1- Fox Coral
1- tomato clown 1.5"
1- Fiji Devil damsel
1- emerald crab
7 astrea snails
2 turbo snails
CA 420
ALK 12 DKH
PH 8.1-8.3
Temp 79.5
NH3 0
NO2 0
NO3 0

see my answer on www.reefs.org

You could keep T. Deresa clams in your tank. They are one of the easiest to keep and a great beginner clam.

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Jeff

http://www.homestead.com/jeffsreef/index1.html

Go buy a derasa you have plenty of light I had mine up until friday under 192watts of p.c. in my 46 he loves his new new mh's in the 90 thoguh..

Hi pasoreefer ~

I believe there are issues involved here besides the lighting. I think it will be difficult to succeed with a clam in a 12-gal tank.

Ninong [img]/ubb/smile.gif[/img]

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Irrational Exuberance!

Ninong

Could you please elaborate on your concerns.............

I am always seeking knowledge

OK. The only species that would be OK size-wise, Tridacna crocea, need much more intense light than that. The only two species that might survive with that lighting--T. derasa and T. squamosa--get much too large for a 12-gal tank.

All of the Tridacnidae are sensitive to changes in water parameters and a 12-gal would be very difficult to maintain with stable water conditions.

I think a 20-gal tank would be difficult, even with proper lighting, but a 12-gal tank would be an almost impossible challenge.

Ninong [img]/ubb/smile.gif[/img]

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Irrational Exuberance!

Ninong I'm going to disagree with you on this one. [img]/ubb/smile.gif[/img] If you buy a small Deresa it will be years before it outgrows that tank. Clams grow very slow. Keeping the calcium up may present a problem but dosing a 2 part additive of your choice should keep your alk and calcium up.

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Jeff

http://www.homestead.com/jeffsreef/index1.html

[This message has been edited by Personifer (edited 02-12-2001).]

My understanding (no experience) from "The Reef Aquarium" is that very small clams need much less light as they need less food. As they grow larger most need more intense lighting. Maybe a 1 1/2"-2" clam would be OK for a year then upgrade tank and lighting or sell/trade it?

Derasa's and squamosa do not take years to get large. After about a month (of acclimation I guess), both my deresa and squamosa have put on some serious growth. Almost 3/4" of new shell in about 1.5 months. Its easy to tell because the shell is a nice white that doesn't have an algae on it yet. I would skip the clams and wait until you have a larger more stable tank with more light.

Danny

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http://albums.photopoint.com/j/AlbumList?u=1267823

Ninong,
Is there something online that says what clams you can keep in what size tanks and under how much light? I have a 30G, and have some new 130W PC's on the way.

Thanks,
Brian


>OK. The only species that would be OK size-wise, Tridacna crocea, need much more intense light than that. The only two species that might survive with that lighting--T. derasa and T. squamosa--get much too large for a 12-gal tank.

I have a Derasa in my 10g and I have had no problems. It is under 72 watts of PC and has added a little over an inch of new growth. I think that if you have the room then go for it.

ACE

Yam, that is incredible growth. Your clam must love your tank. I will say my Deresa's grew pretty fast when it was little but when it reached around 4-5 inches the growth slowed down to about 1/4 inch every 2-3 months.

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Jeff

http://www.homestead.com/jeffsreef/index1.html

waterboy ~

Here is a link to 12 articles by Daniel Knop. That should keep you busy for a while. [img]/ubb/biggrin.gif[/img]
http://members.home.net/kevdone/AF/O...alf_Shell.html

He is also the author of an excellent book on clams, Giant Clams.

Of the three most commonly kept Tridacnid clams, T. crocea and T. maxima should really be kept under metal halides and they should be placed on a rock surface in the upper half of the aquarium; the third commonly available species, T. derasa, should be placed on the sand bed and does not require as much light as croceas and maximas but it, too, would do better under metal halide lighting.

While it is possible to keep croceas and maximas under less than metal halide lighting, they will not do as well, particularly croceas.

Ninong [img]/ubb/smile.gif[/img]

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Irrational Exuberance!