Nano Clams! Sick or Sadistic

[sasquatch]

I applaud your success! and for every 100 nano's sold how many buyers have your skill level?

[flricordia]

Originally Posted by sasquatch

I applaud your success! and for every 100 nano's sold how many buyers have your skill level?

I really have no more skill than the next. If you know the basics for a nano such as the right equipement and fiter medias, anyone can have a nice set-up. Products that work for larger tanks don't work for nanos and vice-versa.
Many fail from the start because they don't sart with the #1 peice of equip. needed. A good quality RO/DI unit. Next thing that is just as important and even more so-patience and taking the advice of those that are successfull at it, they did in turn.

[lcstorc]

From what I have learned the most important thing with clams is light. If you have enough light and good water parameters they can be fine until they ultimately outgrow the tank.
JMO

[flricordia]

Originally Posted by sasquatch

I applaud your success! and for every 100 nano's sold how many buyers have your skill level?

And you have to admit, the same applies to larger tanks. I see many start-up a large tank only to become overwhelmed by the fight with algea and dieing corals/fish and soon give up after spending hundreds if not thousands of $.
I would guess that the average new-to-reefer starts with a 55gl, fills it with water, turns on the couple of florescent bulbs that came with the tank, mixes the salt, turns on the couple PH and a back filter, plugs in the heater, adds some LR and LS, then a week or two later heads back to supercenter fish store and spends a couple hundred in livestock after the part-time employee tests their water with a cheap, liquid test kit and says that they can start filling their new tank up.
Skill? no, just knowledge.

[zoomer]

From what i've been told by my lfs owner, one of the problems with 'baby' clams is that their shells aren't completely formed in the back by the hindge and because of this sand or gravel can scratch or tear their tissue leaving them very vunriable to infection that will kill them almost instantly.

[blue_eyes53813]

All good points.. My fear is with putting a clam in a nano would be how easy the water can fluctuate. Salinity , temp etc.... People that have a lot of time to watch the tank and keep this from happening would do great with a clam.
Some corals like zoas or mushrooms may be more forgiving. Clams need very stable water.

flricordia- you must really watch and care for your tank. I commend you on that.


It is a learning process for everything in this hobby. I would just hope everybody would know what kinda water perimeters clams need.

[goldenmean]

I applaud your success! and for every 100 nano's sold how many buyers have your skill level?

And you have to admit, the same applies to larger tanks

I think the same can be said for larger tanks too.
How many new reefers set up 55g or 90g tanks only to kill their livestock
because they do not know how to best care for their animals?

It is not the nano that fails.
It is the reefer.

[flricordia]

Originally Posted by blue_eyes53813

All good points.. My fear is with putting a clam in a nano would be how easy the water can fluctuate. Salinity , temp etc.... People that have a lot of time to watch the tank and keep this from happening would do great with a clam.
Some corals like zoas or mushrooms may be more forgiving. Clams need very stable water.

flricordia- you must really watch and care for your tank. I commend you on that.


It is a learning process for everything in this hobby. I would just hope everybody would know what kinda water perimeters clams need.

At first I did tend to my tank quite often, but with the hotter weather I am out most of the time and on weekends camping. What I did was set everything up automated. Auto topoff and timers keep it going for a few days without any care. If I am going to be gone for more than 3 nights I set the lighting to 1/2 photoperiod, which doesn't seem to have any affect on the clams or corals. This keeps the evaporation down. Even on a reef the sun doesn't shine every day.
I have yet to have any problems and have always had plenty of top-off when I returned.
If you have the proper lighting, filteration and a ATO what would you have to watch your tank for? Is there something I don't know about?
I do think that often times reef keeping is made out to be more difficult than it really is.
It is difficult if you don't have a proper set-up. If you're not going to follow guidelines, plan on takeing shortcuts and don't have patience-wanting to rush things, then you might as well just give up before even starting and save yourself some money and the lives of some corals, clams and fish.
But if you follow a few simple rules, start with the proper set-up and go it slow, then anyone can have a nice reef, whether nano or large.

[KMP]

the big vs. small debate. all i can say is you guys taught me well. and for those that think a nano is so difficult - consider me to be SuperNano!!!

[BigAl07]

I think flricordia has some great points. But the key point is that you do watch and "adjust" your tank at first and keep it in check. Once a tank matures and becomes stable it's much easier to let it run on "Auto-Pilot" for a couple of days with less CHANCE of something going wrong. Once the tank is mature it's very well equipped to handle it's normal day to day issues. But what CAN happen on an extended "Auto-Pilot" session is something different... power outage... animal dies.. those are things that need personal attention or they will cause a land slide of events that the tank isn't equipped to handle. Say a fish perishes due to natural causes... if you see this you know to get it out so it doesn't cause your water params to go crazy..... but if it's left in there to decay then you can bet there is at the LEAST a mini-cycle about to take place. With a larger tank this may not be an issue because the ratio of water to "critter" is so large it can handle this. but a smaller Nano tank that same size critter will indeed "nuke" a tank to some degree.

Now that I've rambled on I do have to say that once the tank is mature it's so much easier to care for. Nano or not it gets better with age (Just like Me).

Allen

[kathywithbirds]

Interesting. Mike definitely wants a clam for his 24g aquapod, but he know he has to wait and that it needs specific care, and he has to ascertain that his 70w 14K MH are enough light -- we've asked about the maximas at one LFS but I know not to take the word of a store employee. AND we know they'll outgrow the tank. ... and Mike loves those garden eels...

so guess what's going to happen? A bigger tank!!! Don't know when but Mike's doing well learning stuff (me too!!)

The point of my rambling? We're happy to learn and want to minimize the learning curve mistakes as it can result in death or just unhappiness for critters. It's always been a thing of mine with the birds and any other pet -- if you can't provide its needs, not just bare essentials but enough to make it HAPPY, then don't get it.

I have to show the part about the immature shells to Mike. He does get a little down when he decides his setup isn't what's good for some critters he gets "into," but he'd rather do that than be irresponsible about it.

[Cal Native]

Why the Nano tank hate? I've had a derasa clam in my "Nano" for about 10 months and it's doing great, it has about 1/4" of new growth showing. If you take care of your tank and animals you should be able to do it. I would recommend a larger clam to prevent needless death unless you are really going to keep up on things.

[mps9506]

Well regarding the OP's question regarding clams. I don't think this is a thread intended to bash nano tanks. I've seen many nano tanks succesfully keep clams. The question is are these little 3/4" and 1" clam's that are showing up a good option to keep, as opposed to the 3-4" clams that we have been purchasing for so long.
Previously it was recomended that small clams be taken out and fed phyto in a bowl, since it was believed that small clams did not have enough zooxanthalle to support themselves without substantial feeding. However it appears this isn't necessarily true and small clams are able to support themselves photosyntheticaly like their larger brethren.
That being said I would probably stick to purchasing clams that are 2" or larger. Buying a larger healthy specimen can help reassure the mind that clam will be able to deal with the stress and environmental changes of bagging, shipping and being placed in a new tank.


Keep in mind when purchasing a clam for a nano, the maximum sizes for clams, many will simply outgrow a little nano tank:
Crocea- 15cm or 6"
Maxima- 35cm or 13 3/4'
Squamosa- 41cm or 16"
Derasa- 55cm or 21.5"
Gigas- 137cm or 54"
H.hippopus- 40cm or 15 3/4"

And regardless nano or 10,000gallons no clam will survive without good water quality and quality light.

[sasquatch]

Originally Posted by mps9506

Well regarding the OP's question regarding clams. I don't think this is a thread intended to bash nano tanks. I've seen many nano tanks succesfully keep clams. The question is are these little 3/4" and 1" clam's that are showing up a good option to keep, as opposed to the 3-4" clams that we have been purchasing for so long.
Previously it was recomended that small clams be taken out and fed phyto in a bowl, since it was believed that small clams did not have enough zooxanthalle to support themselves without substantial feeding. However it appears this isn't necessarily true and small clams are able to support themselves photosyntheticaly like their larger brethren.
That being said I would probably stick to purchasing clams that are 2" or larger. Buying a larger healthy specimen can help reassure the mind that clam will be able to deal with the stress and environmental changes of bagging, shipping and being placed in a new tank.


Keep in mind when purchasing a clam for a nano, the maximum sizes for clams, many will simply outgrow a little nano tank:
Crocea- 15cm or 6"
Maxima- 35cm or 13 3/4'
Squamosa- 41cm or 16"
Derasa- 55cm or 21.5"
Gigas- 137cm or 54"
H.hippopus- 40cm or 15 3/4"

And regardless nano or 10,000gallons no clam will survive without good water quality and quality light.

Agreed Mike, nano hatred was never the point. The nano tank itself is the best "vehicle" the lfs has ever had for the instant tank, now the coral industry is focusing on mini stock for them, not that long ago who ever heard of a frag pack?

[caitrina]

Mr. Manoukian, would you like to chime in here because I do believe you have successfully had clams in small tanks and do plan on having them again. Am I wrong?