Clam Placement for Better Viewing

[MHG]

Well for my B day I told my wife I am going to get myself a clam (among other things). In keeping my eye out on the WYSIWYG web sites for the Purple LTA I am looking for, I am always looking at the clams as well. At the LFS today I saw a beatutiful clam but when I kneeled down to get a look from the side of the frag tank I noticed all the color goes away... Wow, I never knew the color was soooooooo directional. So that picture perfect clam is dull and the color of a purple mushroom when you look at it from the front of the DT.

Since cutting a hole in the floor of my house so my guests can view the true color of the clam, I figured I would ask about plan B. Can you rotate the mantle torward the glass? I have some pretty good sections of my LR that would craddle the clam in any position. Plus I have some LED's in the front of the canopy shooting towards the front of the rock work, so I may get back some of the better color... Hell, Can I glue a clam in place?

[ange062]

Clam mantles always look best top down (and yes, color is based very much on the viewing angle). Best bet is to find a location in the rock (for crocea or maxima) towards the back of the tank that will allow them to settle in while facing towards the front of the tank but with the mantle still pointing directly towards the light. Unfortunately, they will move around to find the position they like the best, so it may be a futile effort.

Derasa and squamosa need to be in the sand, so little that you can do to get the best viewing angle. Just get used to looking top down and getting pictures from there!

[Donkeykong]

That is one of the coolest things about the clams they change colors as you change angles. My derasa is a range of light shades of blue to green to orange to brown. All I have to do is sit down or stand up. Unfortunately that also means that you cant really count on that center piece clam always looking just the way you want it.

[moliken]

never glue a clam!

[jefstathiou]

Is there any clam that will tolerate/stay in place on rock closer to the top of a tank?

[ange062]

Originally Posted by jefstathiou

Is there any clam that will tolerate/stay in place on rock closer to the top of a tank?

Croceas love high light and rock, so they would be an ideal candidate for the top of the tank. However, the clam makes the final decision on whether it likes where you place it or not, and will move around until it finds a place with flow and light that it likes.

[moliken]

Originally Posted by ange062

Croceas love high light and rock, so they would be an ideal candidate for the top of the tank. However, the clam makes the final decision on whether it likes where you place it or not, and will move around until it finds a place with flow and light that it likes.

not only move around; it may jump/fall off the rockwork. that's why it's imp to get any attaching clams to grab a shell/rock first, before placing it where u want it

[91Atrac]

Ah. I hope when I get mine it won't walk around to much cuz that would be sad to see it fall and puncture itself or face down in the sand!


Sent from Q's iPhone using Tapatalk

[ange062]

Originally Posted by 91Atrac

Ah. I hope when I get mine it won't walk around to much cuz that would be sad to see it fall and puncture itself or face down in the sand!


Sent from Q's iPhone using Tapatalk

moliken is most definitely the expert, take his advise on getting the clam to attach to a small piece of rock first, down low in the sand where it can't be hurt. That being said, I attached mine way back in the day in my age of inexperience by wedging it in a place up high where it couldn't fall and all turned out well.

[MHG]

Well I have a nice live rock craddle on top of my pile. If I put a 2" clam in there, it would need to blow itseld about an inch up and 3 inches out to get out of the craddle... Wowever that would be difficult to light acclimate it since I dont have such a place half way up the rock...

How big of a piece of rock are uoi talking about in relation to the size of the clam? and does it wrap itself around the rock or do those little threads glue themselves?

[ange062]

Originally Posted by MHG

Well I have a nice live rock craddle on top of my pile. If I put a 2" clam in there, it would need to blow itseld about an inch up and 3 inches out to get out of the craddle... Wowever that would be difficult to light acclimate it since I dont have such a place half way up the rock...

How big of a piece of rock are uoi talking about in relation to the size of the clam? and does it wrap itself around the rock or do those little threads glue themselves?

Keep in mind that wherever you place it should be considered permanent if it attaches to the rock. That's why moliken suggests using a small piece of rock so that you can move it around. Just the byssal threads attach, so the rock only needs to be large enough for that. A 1" piece should be adequate for just about any clam.

[MHG]

got it... which clams like to be in sand? and do they just dig the strands into the sand?

[moliken]

hate to disagree ange, butpersonally, i think 1" is too big. i have 2 nice size 5+" maxis and they bth have a very small attachmnts. for a 3" clam or smaller, pick a well lit spot on the substrate, put 4-5 really small 1/4-1/2" pieces of broken up rubble about 1' down in the sand put yr clam about 1/2 " into the sand above the rubble, don't touch for a week.

[rhdoug]

Here are a couple of shots with my crocea placement. Seems happy and quite visible from the front.

[Toadally]

rhDoug, very nice tank....love the colors and that clam is awesome!

[Toadally]

Just received this clam yesterday. I'm pretty sure it's a crocea but not certain. Please confirm if you know..

[ange062]

Originally Posted by moliken

hate to disagree ange, butpersonally, i think 1" is too big. i have 2 nice size 5+" maxis and they bth have a very small attachmnts. for a 3" clam or smaller, pick a well lit spot on the substrate, put 4-5 really small 1/4-1/2" pieces of broken up rubble about 1' down in the sand put yr clam about 1/2 " into the sand above the rubble, don't touch for a week.

No worries, I agree with you that smaller pieces would be sufficient in most cases. I just through 1" out there as a catch all solution for any size clam.

@Doug, perfect example if what I was talking about with clam at the back of the tank but with mantle facing forward and toward the light! Nice setup!

@toad, that's a crocea

[Toadally]

Originally Posted by ange062

No worries, I agree with you that smaller pieces would be sufficient in most cases. I just through 1" out there as a catch all solution for any size clam.

@Doug, perfect example if what I was talking about with clam at the back of the tank but with mantle facing forward and toward the light! Nice setup!

@toad, that's a crocea

Thanks!

[MHG]

Originally Posted by rhdoug

Here are a couple of shots with my crocea placement. Seems happy and quite visible from the front.

Thats what I was thinking... Did you do the rock thing on the sand first?

[Allmost]

its ure Bday, set up a look down tank haha

[MHG]

it would double as a cat playground with lits of floating dog hair...

[rhdoug]

todally -- thanks for the compliment on the tank. Turns 13 in a couple of months. Beautiful crocea too, I wish mine was that blue!!

MHG - No, I started it on that rock but it was a little more off to the left side and a bit lower for a while. Also the rock was oriented so that the clam was facing upward, the way you normally see them. Had to shift a few things around a few months ago so I epoxy-ed the rock to a powerhead magnet and put it on the back glass. I was a little concerned that the clam would react badly to being turned 90 degrees from his original placement, but it showed no reaction whatsoever to the move. I like it there a lot better in its new position.