'nother clam lighting ques.

rckmtl

rckmtl

Active Member
So I am thinking about getting a clam in a few months. Have not had one before so am doing some research first.

Most of what I read makes it sound like the lighting requierments kinda go as follows; dull colored clams-same lighting requ. as most LPS corals, bright colored clams- same lighting requ. as SPS corals. Have I interpretted this correctly?

Also by the time I am ready to decide if I will get a clam or not, I will have 200w of 50/50 PC lighting over a 20L. The clam would go about 6-8in under the lights. I know that PC's don't have the same intensity as MH. Would that amout of light be enough to keep one of the brightly colored clams and have it do well?

Thanks for the help.
 
Sharkbait

Sharkbait

Active Member
I have 7 clams (gigas,derasa,4maximus,and crocea) and recommend increasing your lighting if you really want a clam. Size is what matters more then color in my opinion, larger seem to be more photosynthetic and the smaller ones need to be target fed daily to deal with lack of zooanthelle in their mantle.If you do try I suggest a derasa, very hardy and tolerant of lower light levels.They(derasas,gigas,squamosa) like setting on the sandbed, wile max's and croceas are found on rocks usually.There is a great book on Giant Clams by Daniel Knopp.They are so beautiful to watch.
 
Maxx

Maxx

Well-Known Member
Good POst SharkBait, Karma to you!

Ellen,
You're sorta right about clams....its not the color of the clam that determines the lighting requirements, its the species. Crocea's and Maxima's require more light, they also happen to be more brightly colored usually.

here is a link to more info on clams...

Reef index links to Clam Articles......
 
rckmtl

rckmtl

Active Member
corvettephreek said:
reading is what got me into this hobby... :D
Click to expand...

That's cool that you started that way. A lot of stuff I learned from trial and error before I found good resources. Like, years ago, I would have just got the clam and then tried to keep it alive. So glad there are places like this around.

btw. I have decided not to get a clam for now. I just don't feel I have the right setup for it. I'm kinda leaning towards a theory that if you are going to have filter feeders you should have a lot of them, not just one. That way you can feed the tank liberally and not have to worry about uneaten food destroying your water quality.

Has anyone done setups both ways, one with lots of filter feeders, one with only a couple, and found it easier to properly care for the tank with more?
 
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