T. Squamosa low light:Daniel Knop

[skeeters]

I guess you don't need Metal Halides to enjoy clams:

"Because T. squamosa is adapted to depths of 10 to 15 meters (32 to 48 feet), it requires less intense lighting. In my experience, although it is possible to successfully maintain this species using strong metal halide lamps for long periods of time, it does not seem to be the best environment for them. If the clam has a colorful mantle it can be placed under medium to strong lighting — even if it exhibits iridescent blue or green colors, it probably originated in shallow waters where it received very intense light. Generally, T. squamosa can be successfully maitained using fluorescent lamps (four to six), and will even grow to large sizes under this type of illumination. This is definitely not the case with the smaller T. crocea, which is found in the most shallow reef zone in nature.
If the light intensity is not sufficient, the gold, green or blue patterns will quickly disappear and the mantle of the clam will be dominated by a brown coloration. Under extremely insufficient illumination, T. squamosa will develop an uneven brown coloration with darker and brighter areas on the syphonal mantle (Knop 1996). The brown color will get more intense in those areas of the mantle that receive the highest light concentration (due to an increase of zooxanthellae density), and the parts of the mantle that receive the lowest light intensity (e.g., shaded parts of the mantle) will bleach (due to a lower density of zooxanthellae).

If the clam comes from a hatcher, the situation may be different, because those clams are normally kept in shallow waters — 2 to 4 meters (6½ to 13 feet) in depth. This is necessary in hatcheries to be able to have good access to the clams to control algal overgrowth or predation. Thus, these clams are adapted to stronger illumination than wild T. squamosa and can therefore be placed under metal halide lamps as long as they exhibit a bright luminescent color patterning with gold, blue or green, indicating they are used to bright illumination.

When a T. squamosa clam is purchased at an aquarium store and newly introduced to a tank, it is important to assure that it will not suffer from a sudden and excessive increase of illumination. In some cases the stocking conditions during transport and in the pet store don’t provide sufficient illumination, so the clam doesn’t have an opportunity to maintain its adaptation to high light intensities. In these cases, the luminescent golden, green or blue patternings are reduced and the mantle is dominated by brown coloration. Those clams must be acclimated to the strong halide lamps slowly.


Spectral composition of light
Because this clam is found at depts of 10 to 15 meters in nature, it does not receive the full spectral composition of sunlight. Therefore, T. squamosa can be kept under lamps with higher Kelvin (K) ratings like 10,000. But, again, you must determine whether it is a wild-caught clam or a clam raised in a hatchery. Generally, hatchery-raised clams are easier to adapt to the aquarium environment because they come from stable environmental conditions, whereas conditions in the habitat of wild-caught specimen may vary greatly."

-Daniel Knop

[toptank]

Skeeters,

As far as the last paragraph, that hold true with almost anything that we have in our tank. SPS come to mind as that is what I have. A captive speciment will adapt better than a wild colony.

But with some recent reserch, a lot of people will not for some reason pay for that tank raised or farmed clam as they are more expensive. I know that in my 180 SPS/Clam tank. 90& of my SPS are captive and some even 2nd and 3rd generation and guess what, they grow better and show better coloration then some wild colonies I have purchased.

Still I believe that the more intense lighting, the more coloration and growth there will be for our clams. Again, referring to SPS. You can take a Acropora nana and place it under PC and yes it might make it but then put that some SPS under MH and you will see a big difference in growth and coloration. Now I know that to be true as I have experimented with that many times.

I don't think Daniel Knop would come out and say," you can't keep a clam under VHO or PC but in the other hand I think he would agree that the more intense lighting the better.

How many times do we tell new clam keeper, ACCLIMATE your clam to your water and lighting. I have seen and read thread that someone say, " bought this maxima from the LFS and put up toward the top under my 400watters". Then a few days later they post," I don't know why but my clam will not open up or attach".

See where I am going with this? :)

I have read Daniel book several time and still refer to it and if I am in doubt about something relative then I will drop Daniel a note to get his feed back. This is a learning process but it shouldn't be a learning process to the animal.

Good thread Skeeters.

Barry

[Phillips]

Your clam might live, but will it thrive or lose its color?? I kept 2 maximas 8 inches under 4-96 watt daylight PC's for 2 months and they are now green-blue instead the deep blue they were when I bought them. Even feeding didn't make up for using PC's. My squamosa was under the same lights but 19 inches from the lights ( he insisted in living on the sand). I put MH's up last night and they're all happier.

Please don't take this as a lecture from your dad...I'm a newbie, and used to think the same about VHO & PC lights cause of some things I read on BB's & info from a clam supplier I thought I could trust (no one hereon this BB) & lighting suppliers.



You need to ask yourself:
(1) Do you know if your clam(s) were farm-raised or wild-caught?

(2) Do you know how much light it was used to receiving?

(3) How long has it been in transit from the farm/reef?

Even metal halide lights are weaker than sunlight at the equator. And no artificial light source matches the full spectrum of sunlight. I know that the research so far says intensity is more important than spectrum, but our clams evolved (or God created them, or God evolved them, if you wish) to live under the spectrum & intensity of tropical sunlight. So research or no, I will still believe spectrum is important.

From what I've heard in the aquaculture industry (I used to work for an abalone farm), I would go with the assumption that your clams are aquacultured, not wild-caught, and so used to more light just like Knop says about farm-raised clams.

But acclimate them carefully to the light in your tank.

I started out with 2 96 watt daylight PC's & 2 96 watt actinics over my tank, 2 inches from the water, gradually changed to changed to 4 96 watt daylights & my squamosa was still asking for more light as he adjusted. He & the maximas didn't like too much light at first because of the abuse from shipping and living at the LFS. It took my clams 6 to 8 weeks to get to the point where they wanted more light than I had. With 2 new 250 watt MH's 16 inches above the tank, the clams are much happier and are no longer overextending their mantles to make up for the lack of light. If you use VHO or PC's, keep your tank shallow and move the clam in toward the most intense light in the tank as it adjusts to your light.

Newbie or not listen to your clams, they know better than we do.;)

[skeeters]

I agree 100% with guys about Metal Halides. I think that they greatly benefit the growth of clams. I also agree with the acclimation issue. All animals have learned to adapt an evolve to their surroundings. If this was not the case many species would not even exist. Slow acclimation is the way to go!

I was more interested in this certain species (Squamosa). If they have adapted to living at 48 feet, I think that VHO's and PC can support the growth of these clams. Again this depends on how they were raised. I just wanted to provide more info concerning clam keepers in No Metal Halide situations. I would never suggest this for other types of clams.

Back to the how they were raised issue (Squamosa only)

Squamosa in nature are found at depths of 48 feet. Whether it is God or evolution(please don't start a debate) they have adapted to this depth, intensity and spectrum.

At what point would a clam have adapted to it's new surroundings to were it could not adapt to a new environment?

If a clam has grown to 3 inchs under 250 watt MH would it be able to adapt to 300 watt VHO's (assuming all other variables are the same)?

This goes for vice versa (raised under VHO's and moved to MH's)

Would a clam that is only 1 inch have a better chance from the above scenario?

We know what they prefer in the wild. Is their any research on clam size and their ability to adapt to change?

Heath

[MiNdErAsR]

Originally posted by skeeters
But, again, you must determine whether it is a wild-caught clam or a clam raised in a hatchery. Generally, hatchery-raised clams are easier to adapt to the aquarium environment because they come from stable environmental conditions, whereas conditions in the habitat of wild-caught specimen may vary greatly."

-Daniel Knop
Seeing how most of the clams available to aquarists come from "hatcheries" or farms, I'll continue to recommend halide lighting.
:D

[pjr]

Originally posted by MiNdErAsR

Seeing how most of the clams available to aquarists come from "hatcheries" or farms, I'll continue to recommend halide lighting.
:D

SO... if MH is the best lighting source, I have 2 follow-up points:

1. What is the correct intensity for an average depth tank (18")

2. What is the best K rating?

[MiNdErAsR]

Originally posted by pjr
1. What is the correct intensity for an average depth tank (18")

2. What is the best K rating?

Personally I'm a light freak, so my first response would be 400w halides but I'm sure 250w would be just fine. As for spectrum I would think 6500k or 10,000k would work.

IMO

[toptank]

Jim, I think you are correct as I think I read in Daniel book that recommended is 6,500 to 10K

I use 6,500 K in my display tank and at the present 5,500K on clam tank with Suppliment but when I order new lamps they will be 6,500s

Barry

[Phillips]

Temperature rating only truly relates to human perception of the color of light emitted by the light bulb. It does not reflect the true spectrum of light emitted by the bulb. If I remember right, the Iwasaki 250 watt mogul bulb and the AB 250 watt double-ended bulbs emit very similar spectra, but have very different preceived color temperature.

[ron4675]

Since I heard Eric B. speak on where alot of our corals are taken from the wild I have been rethinking the light thing.
Skeeter brings up a valid point about clams which releates to Eric's lecture.
If squas and deresa's come from deeper water which means less intense light, then isn't the clam farmer actually doing more "harm" than good by putting it under 400w MH?
Eric found most open brains were collected at an average depth of 100 to 150 feet! Yet people put them directly under MH? and the thing adapts!
However it is all species specific. To me for JUST the low light clams squas and deresas I think vho and pc would be fine to keep them under, it is what is more natural (so it seems). I think that 400 watts of mh light is too much. Now this is just my opinion and I am not trying to tell anyone else what to do.
The point of the post is MH is not the endall only way to light an aquarium. Infact for some species of marine life it may be way off the mark, (again citing things I have recently read and heard), but it also depends on the species and where it's collected from etc.

[skeeters]

ron4675-

I agree about Squamosa's and VHO's/PC. I don't think everyone would suggest buying his book if his insight was not creditable.

If we know that they prefer depths of 48 feet, why should we force it into a shallow watered environment. If they really wanted this in the wild, they would be there.

My question is on captive raised Squasoma. If we force them to be raised under high intensity lighting can they adapt back to their natural habitat?

Also,at what point would a clam have adapted to it's new surroundings to were it could not adapt to a new environment?

Is there any correlation in size and adaptive changes?

Again, I am only talking about Squamosa. IMO other clams should be under MH's.

Heath

[MiNdErAsR]

Originally posted by Phillips
Temperature rating only truly relates to human perception of the color of light emitted by the light bulb. It does not reflect the true spectrum of light emitted by the bulb. If I remember right, the Iwasaki 250 watt mogul bulb and the AB 250 watt double-ended bulbs emit very similar spectra, but have very different preceived color temperature.

Yes this is true, but we (as consumers) can only go by what the manufacturer's label the bulbs as.

[MiNdErAsR]

Originally posted by ron4675
The point of the post is MH is not the endall only way to light an aquarium. Infact for some species of marine life it may be way off the mark, (again citing things I have recently read and heard), but it also depends on the species and where it's collected from etc.

Some quotes from Knop's Giant Clams (P131)....

As a "minimal light source" for an aquarium populated with invertebrates, fluorescent tubes of different colour types may suffice....However, for the well-being of clams of the genus Tridacnidae such a light source may not provide the necessary light intensity.

He goes on to say...

I recommend metal halide "TS" lamps of 250 Watt (Osram TS 250W/D) and tube shaped lamps with the socket E27 or E40 (Osram T 250W/D). I also used halide lamps with 400, 1000, and 2000 Watt with no apparent negative effect on clams, traced back to the light source....250 Watt are used for tanks 60 cm high, 400 Watt with tanks of 80, and 1000 Watt with tanks of 100 cm water column. Lamps of 2000 Watt should only be used on tanks more than one meter high with a safety distance of at least 70 cm.

[anathema]

1: You seem to be reading the comment that Squamosa clams are found to a depth of 48 feet to mean they aren't near the surface.

Does it really mean that? They may simply be a hardier clam and therefore may be able to survivie if they fall to a deeper depth, whereas other breeds may not.

2. I have a squamosa, and it loves MH. I had it facing away from the light, and it swiveled around to point straight at it.

[Phillips]

Yes this is true, but we (as consumers) can only go by what the manufacturer's label the bulbs as.


Aren't there articles published in recent aquaria literature which tell us what spectra are emitted by some of the MH bulbs on the market?

[MiNdErAsR]

Originally posted by Phillips
Aren't there articles published in recent aquaria literature which tell us what spectra are emitted by some of the MH bulbs on the market?

Oh sure. But what will the online vendor say when you tell him you want that fancy new 9568k or 5992k bulb? Ok so I just pulled those numbers out of my hat, but you get what I mean. :)

[Phillips]

Well, honestly no, not really. What do you mean?


I just meant that one could make choices between various MH bulbs on the market in order to provide one's animals with a relatively balanced spectrum of light if one chooses.

[The_Iceberg]

I understand what you are trying to say. The bulbs that are sold by venders are ALWAYS 10K, 5K, etc. While the ratings on these bulbs done by magazines and websites and what not are NEVER a round number. So how readily should we except the ratings a vender gives when they are quite obviously rounded. Is this what you meant?

[Phillips]

"Oh sure. But what will the online vendor say when you tell him you want that fancy new 9568k or 5992k bulb? Ok so I just pulled those numbers out of my hat, but you get what I mean. "

Really?...why would you do that??


There have been some articles written in the aquarium literature which reported measurements of the amount of light different MH bulbs emitted throughout the visible spectrum.

One could read the articles, decide which bulb would benefit ones animals the most, weigh that against the aesthetics of quality of light (Kelvin) emitted by the bulb if one wished, and then order the bulb by the name the manuafacturer gives the bulb.

Simple.:rolleyes:

[MiNdErAsR]

Originally posted by Phillips
One could read the articles, decide which bulb would benefit ones animals the most, weigh that against the aesthetics of quality of light (Kelvin) emitted by the bulb if one wished, and then order the bulb by the name the manuafacturer gives the bulb.
This was (more or less) the point I was trying to make...albeit unsuccessfully evidently.
:rolleyes: