Feeding a 2" squamosa?

[pncstod]

I Just got a 2" squamosa clam and have a few questions about feeding. I have Golden Pearls and I am wondering if i should be removing him from the tank feeding him in a seperate bowl or will he be ok if i feed the main tank. I feed the golden pearls every 3 days (very sparingly) If I should be feeding him outside the tank how do i go about doing this? Just put him in a bowl with the GP's and let him sit? For how long and how often? Any help would be appreciated--Paul

[Squidman]

I float my 2" maxima in a tupperware bowl in the tank. I put enough DT's in the bowl to turn the water light green and leave him there for 20 minutes. I've had this guy for about 2 months I think and he's grown a good 1/4"-1/2".

[pncstod]

I tried it yesterday, i put him in a cup and added the golden pearls to the cup and let him feed for 20 minutes or so. I hope it will work. He seems to be doing very good. I will pickup a small tupperware bowl to float inside the tank, that sounds like a great idea.

[Squidman]

I'm not familiar with golden pearls although I've seen them mentioned often. What are they?

[pncstod]

A friend of mine ordered 3 pkg's of golden pearls. He used dt's but required so much dt's (heavily stocked with sps's and clams) that it was getting very expensive to feed. He did research on reef central and found that gp's were a lot more cost effective. It is potent stuff. To feed my 58 tank i wet my finger and dip it into the gp's powder and thats it. I do this two or three time a week. Too much of it will pollute your tank from what i understand. I ended up buying one of the pkg's from him because you have to use such a little amount compared to dt's. The pkg that cost me under $20 will last for a least a year! compare that to dt's and that is a major savings. I am reefing on a budget with a 3 month old in the house :) DT's is supposed to be the best and GP's is the second best from what I have been told. Do a search for Golden Pearls and see what you come up with. Good luck--Paul

[pncstod]

Here is the website to get Golden Pearls. http://www.brineshrimpdirect.com/

[Squidman]

Thanks Paul! :D

[stereomandan]

I don't know if you have to take your clams out to feed them. I guess it saves on the Dt's or Golden Pearls, but I like to feed my whole tank the stuff. That way I know all of my other filter feeders are happy too, like my little feather dusters and corals that feed on phytoplankton. I also worry about the stress on the little guy and the possibility of adding something bad to the tank by dipping my arm in there all the time.

I have a 2" squamosa too. It was 1.5" a few months ago. I have never taken it out to feed. I add 15ml of DT's to my tank about every 3 days.

Here is a pic.
http://members.toast.net/danschroer/squamosaweb.jpg

Good luck with yours.
My tank specs are in my signature.

[Squidman]

Nice squamosa Stereomandan. Interesting that you posted that. This last week I have been debating whether or not it is worth picking up the clams to put them in the bowl and feed. I'm sure it is a good way to feed them, but the I'm not sure about the stress of moving them all the time. I have a small gold max that I have been feeding that way, and he is growing, but he always gapes more than I would like. I wonder if it's the stress caused by the way I feed him. Maybe I'll post a thread and get some input form more people. Anyway, thanks for making that point. :)

[stereomandan]

Thanks Squidman.

I know that some of the members on this board who raise clams to sell them take them out and feed them. I think it's because they would have to use an aweful lot of phyto in their big holding tanks to get enough to the clams. In my smaller system, it makes a lot of sense to just feed it directly. I order my DT's from Premium Aquatics and it ships to me next day using ground shipping (I'm lucky I'm close enough). So the cost isn't crazy high to feed the whole tank. Probably works out to $10/month for food. It's worth it in my opinon.

I hope your clams do great.

Dan