Crocea Clam and PC lighting

[rfc]

I recently purchased a crocea clam from absolutely fish in Clifton NJ. The salesman said my PC lighting was fine but many forums say that metal halide is absolutely necessary. I have an orbit 130 Watt PC light, and the clam is high up in my tank, approx 8 inches from the actual bulb. Will this be sufficient to maintain this clam ?

Thanks in advance

Regards

RFC

 

[Chiefmcfuz]

Put it high in the tank and towards the center of the bulb.

 

[Breezp]

It should be fine, i have a blue crocea thats about 5" and i keep it in my sandbed, and i have pc's, and my tank is two feet tall.... hes doing just fine and he has been there for a month... they just grow quicker, and you get a better color spectrum with mh's.

 

[nanoreefer22]

It should be fine, i have a blue crocea thats about 5" and i keep it in my sandbed, and i have pc's, and my tank is two feet tall.... hes doing just fine and he has been there for a month... they just grow quicker, and you get a better color spectrum with mh's.

Gotta disagree. A month is way to short a time to say if a clam is healthy or not. Clams can look absolutely perfect up until the day they die.

rfc,
How big is your tank? Shouldn't really buy livestock on the word of the LFS, even though you already had read that they require halides/t-5's. It may survive for sometime depending on water quality, sooner or later its going to want better lighting.

 

[reefman]

bare in mind size matters too. the clam size i mean.:biggrin:

 

[rfc]

Thanks everyone for the quick responses. The clam is appox 2 inches (widest shell diameter) and my tank is a 29g. I am a total noob to reefing and almost purchased a deresa instead of this crocea, but I took the advice of the salesperson. Time will tell what the future holds.

Here is a snapshot of my tank. The clam is just right of center on top. 29g, 130w PC lighting, 45lbs live rock, 15g sump, CSS 65 skimmer, fluval for carbon, lifereef overflow box, mag5 return
Tank is 4 months old.
Last test parameters: Ph=8.2, temp=79.5, salt=1.025, ammonia=0, nitrite=0, nitrate=0, Ca=440, Kh=8, PO4=0

Thanks again

RFC

 

[reefman]

nice dude. very clean looking. everything seems to be heathy.

 

[Tonyscoots84]

how long is the clam...

the tank looks nice....... great job

 

[nanoreefer22]

The tank looks very nice, but that clam is way to small. It's going to need direct feedings until the shell is over 3 inches.

A deresa would have been a much better choice for a first clam as they require less light and would actually be better off under your lights than a crocea would. Here you have it, the moral of your story; Don't listen to the LFS unless they have a repuation for being truthful.

 

[scarf_ace1981]

rfc- i think i speak for many when i say your tank is very nice. i would definately listen to these guys. eventhough the clam needs direct feedings due to it's size, it will require better lighting in the future. it's up to you what you decide to do. either up the light or give the clam back to the LFS. most, not all, but most LFS say anything to sell their product. many times they don't know the corrrect answer and say anything so they don't look like idiots.

 

[Reefer420]

the size of the clam is actually better for your lighting now- as it needs direct feeding and doesn't care about light so much yet...

i have a crocea under PC lights (about 6-8")- its been at least 8 months now and the guy seems pretty healthy... not gaping, mantle looks nice, lots of new shell growth. The only thing I don't like is that is does generate some mucus, which I am sure it not great... if I could I would upgrade to MH or T-5 now as I know it would certainly like more light.

 

[rfc]

Thanks you everyone for your recommendations. I currently feed my reef DT every other day so I guess I have some time to shop around for metal halides. When I started this project 4 months ago I really didnt want to spend a lot :smile:

Oh Well !

Regards


RFC

 

[bad coffee]

You can target feed that clam really easily where you have it placed in your tank.

Take a 1 liter bottle and cut the bottom off. Put it over the clam, squirt the DT's in the bottle. When the water in the bottle is clear again, take the bottle out.

B

 

[Aqua Pro Builder]

Thanks everyone for the quick responses. The clam is appox 2 inches (widest shell diameter) and my tank is a 29g. I am a total noob to reefing and almost purchased a deresa instead of this crocea, but I took the advice of the salesperson. Time will tell what the future holds.

Here is a snapshot of my tank. The clam is just right of center on top. 29g, 130w PC lighting, 45lbs live rock, 15g sump, CSS 65 skimmer, fluval for carbon, lifereef overflow box, mag5 return
Tank is 4 months old.
Last test parameters: Ph=8.2, temp=79.5, salt=1.025, ammonia=0, nitrite=0, nitrate=0, Ca=440, Kh=8, PO4=0

Thanks again

RFC

I saw one in a MOD's tank same size as yours doing badly even with MH. Your clam is too small for just lighting and it MUST need feeding.!!! Furthermore, your tank looks way to clean and I assume there is basically nothing in the water for any filter feeder to survive. You should feed it now and don't wait.

 

[rfc]

Thanks again everyone for the fine advice. I have been feeding the tank DT every other day and the clam still looks great after two weeks. Additionally, I just retrofitted another 65W pc bulb into my Current USA Orbit hood for a total of 195w on a 29G tank. This gives me approx 6.7watts/gallon and the clam is 8 inches from the actual bulbs.

There will be future updates to this thread to document...."What happens when you keep a clam under PC lighting" I guess I will just have to wait and see.


Regards

RFC

 

[nanoreefer22]

You'll learn that watt per gallon is all doo doo talk .

Tank does look great though