[GKES]

I bought a Derasa clam recently. The clam attached to a rock and everything seemed fine. The clam was OK for about 30 hrs. I got up and checked my tank and found that the hermit crabs had attacked the clam and had eaten the thing overnight. I did read about the keeping of clams before I purchased it. Guess I missed the part about the hermit crabs and their expensive meal. Is the notmal??

[plecosword]

wow I did not know that! Im just here learning from everyone elses mistakes,lol. Sorry about your loss.

[jimw369]

What kind of hermits? The usuall small ones? Blue /Red Legs? What size clam?
What are your water params? What other critters in the tank including fish? How long tank up and running? Did you get a very close look at the clam after death? ( tear it apart to see anything left) How did you aclimate the clam? Clam from LFS or thru the mail?

[GKES]

Red Leg small and med size. Tank is 4 years old. Water peramaters are amonia, 10 nitrates, calcium 475, temp 77.5 no nitrites. Clam was from LFS. Fish is 1 yellow tang, 1 clown, 1 watchman gobie. 6 feather dusters. 70 gal tank.

[GKES]

By the way, nothing left of clam. Just few chunks around the shell. Clam was about 4 inches across

[GKES]

Took two hours of trading water 1/4 cup at a time. Before starting to switch out water, let clam sit is bag in tank for 1 hour

[GKES]

Thanks. I am sstill learning.

[jimw369]

huh. Died in 30 hours from when you bought it. I have read this often. A lot of times when clams die they just up and die very quickly and for no apparent reason. I highly doubt your hermits had anything to do with it. Crabs are opportunistic creatures. Clam couldnt close up so the crabs got a meal out of it. Doubt if there was anything you could do about it. Clam was a good size one for your tank too.

The only thing I would say you could do different is to buy the clam and let it sit at the LFS for a week to make sure all is fine then bring it home. Any garauntee on the clam from the LFS?

Sorry for the loss. I have been there.

[GKES]

I talked with the LFS and they will give me a full credit. They are good people. Probabley doesn't hurt that I was their very first customer and spent about $2000.00 on my first trip to them. Bought my entire set up from them and everything since.

[jimw369]

Originally Posted by GKES

Thanks. I am sstill learning.

Giant Clam Basics

A Close-up Look at Tridacna crocea by James

Fatherree - Reefkeeping.com

Anything James Fatherree writes about clams you want to read. Takes great Pics of them too.

[plecosword]

Originally Posted by GKES

I talked with the LFS and they will give me a full credit. They are good people. Probabley doesn't hurt that I was their very first customer and spent about $2000.00 on my first trip to them. Bought my entire set up from them and everything since.

Lucky! , wish people were like that here

[NAS]

Ahh,

The only inverts (crab types) I am currently housing in my clam tank are "Algae eating hermits". I have foud that Pacific Cleaners were ok in the past. As long as they were kept well fed.

If you are looking for other algae cleaners the Strawberry Snails are also doing well.

Keep an eye on the fish you have too.

[NAS]

When you buy a clam it shoud show the closing reflex with a shadow or contact. Never buy a clam that has been activley removed from a rock or other substrate it has been attached to. Ie pulled off (NEVER DO THIS), or Cut from. Pulling usually damages the basal foot, cutting can but does so less.

My 8" gold Maxima actually reacts to voices in the room, and as I call it "Winces at my wife's Voice too!"

If the clam is attached to a rock, bite the bullet and get the rock too.

Make sure your carbonate hardness is 120-160 ish ppm (ph should be 8.1-8.4 at that point), and calcium is over 350 ppm, i run mine at 425. Nitrates 10-40 ppm (tops) you need some nitrates, try to have some fish to keep nitrates up. Phosphates Zero or as close to it as possible.

Try to have as much light as you can. My tank is only 16" on that I am running 150mh 5 inchs above water, and two double 55w t5 50-50 fixtures. So far it seems to work for clams throughout the tank for me. Really, any thing deeper then 20" should be MH. Or if you can keep clams in top two thirds of tank. Change your flourescant tubes at least every 6 months (no longer the 8) and your MH's ever year!

In my own experiences/trials I have seen the following critters eat clams:

Yellow tangs-activley
Regal tang (aka hippo tang, blue tang)-actively
Angels (Majestic, regal, french, Emperor, blue face, grey pomachanths, Flame Angel, Lemmon Peel Angel, Blue Pygmy angel) all actively ate clams...
Butterfly's- its a given that's what they do!
Porqupine, and Dog face Puffers -Actively
Large Hemit Crabs-actively
Pepermint Shrimp - Actively feeding on living clam mantle.
Arrow crabs-mmmmHHHH, clams yummy
Watch for thoes nasty bobbet worms too, they make a quick meal of a clam.

A lot of inverts the crawl with bug clams when they walk on them, i try to keep them to a minimum and only run with Algae Eating hermits. Oh, and NO STARFISH! MMMWWWAAAHHHAHAH alot of them eat clams better safe then sorry.

The real kicker is that if a clam is constantly harrased or thretened they don't open to siphon feed or "light" feed, and then gradually die out. To this end, make sure there are no "stinger" corals contacting the clam....Noh GOOD!

Recently i have shut my protien skimmer off part time. I run it at night, that's usually when my clams are closed up and anyways. Nthing has been produced in it. I am keeping a close eye on it.

Keep Salinity stable, and TEMP!

I feed ALOT OF Nannochloropsis and Tetraselmis (live phytoplankton), and throw in some Rotifers (Zooplankton). Also on occasion Selcon*, but not too often.

Well, I don't know if this helps you. I say this is my own experiences in the past 3 years, not the "Normal" persay.
It is about all that i can puke up. The compatibility thing, better safe then sorry and thoes critters listed I have had problems with.

Some opinons may varry, as will the results. Good luck, look forward to seeing more stuff.....