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clam lighting?
- Thread starter zoidberg
- Start date
You should be fine with a clam with the mh's, keep your calcium up
I have a large clam in my 210 under T5's 
I have a grade A purple w/black crocea clam in my 125 and its under t-5's
Have had it almost a year now
Have had it almost a year now
Croceas and Maximas require the most light. They occur in the shallow reefs and within rock structures and nestled between coral heads, and would need to be close to the top of your tank under your MH's which is fine.
Deresas and Squamosas will do just ok in the bottom of your tank but you would want to get the most light penetration to the bottom by making sure your water is as clear as possible by utilizing carbon on a regular basis to remove yellowing compounds. Increasing photoperiods will help as well.
Gigas clams just get too big. The most common clams sold at pet stores are usually croceas which have smooth shells and colorful mantles usually in the blues and greens, followed by deresas which are more elongate and are usually tannish to olive with green or blue striations. Try to get one larger than 4 inches if possible, and make sure your calcium levels are up there, they are Calcium hogs
Deresas and Squamosas will do just ok in the bottom of your tank but you would want to get the most light penetration to the bottom by making sure your water is as clear as possible by utilizing carbon on a regular basis to remove yellowing compounds. Increasing photoperiods will help as well.
Gigas clams just get too big. The most common clams sold at pet stores are usually croceas which have smooth shells and colorful mantles usually in the blues and greens, followed by deresas which are more elongate and are usually tannish to olive with green or blue striations. Try to get one larger than 4 inches if possible, and make sure your calcium levels are up there, they are Calcium hogs
As concept3 wrote, different clams have different lighting needs. The other variable is positioning, maximas and croceas are usually placed higher up where they attach to the rockwork while deresas and squamosas are placed down on the sand bed. Also, how old is your tank? They usually recommend the tank be 6-9 months old to make sure you can keep your parameters in check. The size of the clam also matters, if they are smaller than you need to feed them phyto because they cannot get all their food from just the light. As they get bigger they can get the food they need just from the light. The last part is size, deresas and squamosas can get to about a foot or larger in size while croceas and maxiamas may get to about six inches, so be carefull with what you choose.
I have a derasa clam on the bottom of my 120 about 20 inches down with T5 lighting. I do keep a fairly long photo period, feed phyto, and he stays on the sand. Derasa clams are more sand bed oriented and don't attach themselves to anything. I have had good growth got the typical 2 1/2 inch 40$ size ;D. Good luck I am very glad we got one.
reefsandrotts
NJRC Member
I have a 6+" squami 24" down under T-5 and it's loving life.