Clam Acclimation ???

[goldenmean]

I have 2 crocea arriving this morning From Divers Den and I have a question.
Live aquaria's acclimation quidlines say that clams should never be exposed to air. Then I just read read a post that said clams are often found in tidal areas and exposure to air is not going to harm them if they are high up in a tank and they are exposed to air during a WC.

SO my question is after the clams have been acclimated to my tanks water and I go to remove them from the bag to place them in the tank Can I just pick up the clam out of the bag and place him in the tank. They would be very briefly exposed to air. Or do I need to do as Live Aquaria says and sink the bag in the tank and then remove the clam which would always remain in the water??
What have you done?

[Octoman]

I did what Live Aquaria said to do, but I'm having a flashback to someone in the "lets see some clams" thread holding a huge open clam out in mid-air for a photo op...

[lcstorc]

I am certainly no expert, but I have read several clam books that agree with my experience. I have two Croeas and one Maxima that are completely out of water for as long as 20 minutes. In fact while I certainly don't recommend it, one of my croceas was bought in Pittsburg at MACNA. We had them put him in a triple bag with oxygen and went into our checked luggage. Frank said what do you think Fexex does with it?
Be sure they are placed on a piece of rock as well, Many people put a smallish piece of rock under the clam for it to attach to for easy moving though they can move small distances by themselves.
Then again I have clowns who stay in their anemone when it is exposed during water changes as well. Fortunately the clowns are in a 20g tank so we can do water changes quickly on the clown tank.

[Octoman]

Here it is! This is Whiskey's photo. I'm guessing the clam is still ok...

[sasquatch]

short term exposure shouldnt be a problem, trapped air in the body cavity is a problem, I pull mine out for a paste wax and polish every so often with no problems

[goldenmean]

Thanks Lynn, Mark, and Sas.
Thats what I thought and it makes sense.
Live Aquaria is just being overly cautious understandably to reduce loss of clam life.
Lynn your post in the Maxima thread is what I had just read.
I have to be at work today so Alonzo is actually going to get his hands wet and acclimate the clams and get them in the tank with my help over the phone. He is the one who really wanted the clams so i like that he is getting more reef involved. I just wanted to make it as easy as possible and it will be much easier to have him just pick up the clams out of the bag and place them in the tank.
I prepared the tank last night and placed some flat pieces of rock under the sand where he is going to place them. I will let them attach and then place them up on the rocks.

[Barry N.]

At the clams farms they even take the clams out of the water to clean the shells prior to exporting. We also do the same thing.

I would't leave them out of water for very long as it will cause stress and that could trigger a spawn.

When you take them out of the bag and place them in the tank, once in the water tap the side of the shell gently so any air that may be trapped will be released

Good luck.

[goldenmean]

Thanks for the advice Barry.
I greatly appreciate it.
I was on your site looking at your clams but all the crocea that caught my eye were sold already. I did a lot of research on clams there too!

[goldenmean]

Alonzo did a great job in acclimating the clams.
When I got home about 5 hours after the clams were placed in the tank I went to slightly adjust their positions. Both clams had already attached to the flat rock pieces that I had placed under the substrate. That was a surprise.

I have another question.
I got the clams from LiveAquaria's Diver's Den and I know they were kept under 400W 20k MH. My tank has 250W 20K MH which I had unplugged so they would not come on. I did turn on the MH when I got home so the clams will be under MH for 4 hours today.

Should I keep them on a shortened photo period for a few days and add an hour. Then a few days later add another hours, and so on until I get to my normal 8 hour MH photo period?
Or should I let them get the full 8 hours MH tomorrow?
Is 8 hours MH enough or should i go to 9 hours for the clams??
What do you think?
What is your experience?

[lcstorc]

A short term lighting decrease shouldn't hurt at all. There are certainly cloudy days in nature.

[GSELLERS]

8 hours is fine

[goldenmean]

So 8 hours is okay today on day 2 in the tank???