What kind of clam should I get?

[Keith P]

My tank: Tech 70 (same as a 65G tall)
Lighting: 6x 30W T5 ATI

I don't want to put the clam on the sand bed, as my critters move sand a lot.

What kind of clam is easy to keep and can live on my rock work. I guess I'd like one near the top, as it's too bright up there for a lot of my soft corals.

 

[125reefer]

deresa clam is a good starter clam

 

[prattreef]

A nice T. crocea should do well up high on the rock work. I find them generally to be a bit hardier than T. maxima.

 

[PeterD]

I have a squamosa i think thats how its spelled but there really cool and can have very nice colors. They dont really on light for food as much as other but are very hardy.

 

[D1J8Z]

The only reason I would suggest a derasa is bc they wont grab onto the rock work any other clam when happy is going to grab on with its "foot" and lemme tell you its a Pain in the ___ to get it off !

If grabbing hold of the rock work and have no intention in moving a crocea would be my first choice.

Maxima are not easy to keep unless its a teardrop but they get big
Crocea dont get huge but will grab hold of a rock once happy.
Derasa easier to keep but get HUGE
Squamosa easiest to keep but also get HUGE
Giga if you find one let everyone know :p

 

[tentacles]

Crocea. Dr. Mac usually has some beautiful ones at the swap. I don't like attaching clams to my rock work in case I want to move them, so I usually place them on the bottom of the tank on a small piece of rock or a large, flat frag disc for a few days to let them attach their foot to that.

 

[Zuska]

you can get any clam and attach them to a frag disk and just hide the disk underthe sand...

 

[beerfish]

I would generally agree with the crocea, but would suggest reading this before getting a clam. It's an interesting read and will give you a good understanding of how to care for them.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/0978619404/?tag=reefs04-20

 

[lfsmarineguy]

I would also offer up a crocea or derasa as a starter clam. Crocea would be better long term, as they only grow to about 5" and in that tank it's still small enough to move or remove easily if need be. With that kind of light I would start it up high, since croceas do like their light. You can also get a farmed derasa from ORA fairly inexpensively and they generally come in about 2.5-3". 3" and under they should all get phyto on a regular basis since their mantle isn't large enough to sustain them through photosynthesis alone at this point. Over 3" and you should be ok just dosing the tank with phyto normally.

 

[beerfish]

3" and under they should all get phyto on a regular basis since their mantle isn't large enough to sustain them through photosynthesis alone at this point. Over 3" and you should be ok just dosing the tank with phyto normally.

This is actually not true. See the book I listed if you want a reference.