Cherrystone Clams In The Fuge w/ Miracle Mud?

[reefkprz]

1/2 gallon isnt a lot if its a semi wet skim. is the skimmate dark or light? (I shoul have asked that with thefirst question)
the salinity is higher than their prefered optimal but I run mine higher.
no planktonic foods. though fish waste and such is also on their diets. your currently batteling nitrates correct? that indicates at least a marginal level of organics present, wheather its suspended or not is another matter.
how is the flow in your sump areas? is it enough to keep particles floating to reach the clams or is there a place that gunk seems to pile up (that greyish stuff that settles in dead zones)

 

[reefkprz]

Originally Posted by renogaw
when you're done researching this one, let me know what you think about Crepidula fornicata in our tanks
its a highly invasive filter feeder that can out breed just about anything and competes food wise with clams and oysters, if you have those in your tank no worries about particles your clams are starving and you'll be overrun......

 

[reefkprz]

General impacts
C. fornicata has been reported to alter sediment characteristics (by removing a huge volume of suspended organic material from the water column, and depositing that filtered material on the bottom as pseudofeces). It is also reported to decrease the abundance of certain suprabenthic species (such as mysids) (Vallet et al. 2003). Other studies (de Montaudouin et al. 1999), show that the presence of C. fornicata does not affect the benthic community and spatial competition with other macrozoobenthic species didn't occur, but that the habitat became more heterogeneous.
JNCC (2002) states that, "C. fornicata competes with other filter-feeding invertebrates for food and space. It is considered a pest on commercial oyster beds, competing for space and food, while depositing mud on them and the mud rendering the substratum unsuitable for the settlement of spat." Some experimental studies de Montaudouin et al. (1999) conclude that the potential competition of C. fornicata with oysters (Ostrea edulis), populations did not show much overlap, and that C. fornicata provided the required niches for further hard-substrata species and that a rich association could be built on the initial basis of Crepidula alone that the competition of C. fornicata on oyster growth was negligible compared with the effect of competition by oysters themselves (intraspecific competition).
Grall and Hall-Spencer (2003) state that C. fornicata is one of many reasons for the decline in local maerl bed habitats in Britain. Live maerl thalli become covered in Crepidula and the interstices of the deposit become clogged with silt; this kills the maerl thalli and dramatically alters associated maerl communities.
The other major reason for the decline in local maerl bed habitats in Britain being industrial exploitation, first by sucking and dredging tons of living material and secondly by depositing overboard tons of suspension matter on or near the beds (Blanchard, M., pers. comm., 2005).
Le Pape et al. 2004 showed the negative effect of this invasive species on the density of young-of-the-year sole Solea solea in coastal nursery areas of the Bay of Biscay (France).

 

[reefkprz]

I live for this!

 

[zman1]

Originally Posted by reefkprZ
1/2 gallon isnt a lot if its a semi wet skim. is the skimmate dark or light? (I shoul have asked that with thefirst question)
the salinity is higher than their prefered optimal but I run mine higher.
no planktonic foods. though fish waste and such is also on their diets. your currently batteling nitrates correct? that indicates at least a marginal level of organics present, wheather its suspended or not is another matter.
NO3 as a nutrient, Yes, inorganic or organic remains to be seen - LOL
I wet skim, so it will drain easier to a milk jug.
The clams aren't much of concern, so don't waste too much time on it. My NO3 was higher than I liked , but have that down to a manable level now. Anything under 5 ppm is good for me, right now 2.2ppm. Sump flow say about 3000GPH
PS they are not larval stage - they are about 3" across...

 

[reefkprz]

I understand they arent larva, (you must be talking about the link) there is information there about their whole life cycle its really long though. honestly it sounds to me like there isnt enough suspended organics for them to eat. I would consider it death by starvation.
how did you like the info on Crepidula fornicata?

I'l get you more if you want...

 

[zman1]

I am half tempted to pull the rest out and make fish food out of them. I got them for the NO3 issue. I know what originally started it, or how it was not being exported. When I dropped two 50 gal AG tanks and two 30 gallon trash cans off my system. The two trashcans and one 50 gal were full of macro algae. I also inadvertently rearranged flow in the 120 gal and blew the front of my DSB apart. This was about a two week span. NO3 took off shortly after that. I do weekly water changes and that's not an exaggeration of 30 gallons. There have been times I missed a week, but that's the exception. When it hit 20ppm with weekly changes , I put one of the 30 gal trash cans back in and have macro in it again. I was going through 30 gallon changes as soon as the RO could produce it and it was still not coming down. I went through one 5 gal bucket of coralife salt and two 5 gal buckets of IO, trying to get it down below 15ppm, which it would not. That is why I went to the De-NO3.

 

[reefkprz]

might as well since they are just dropping off on you get some benifit out of them as fish food anyways. sounds like the De-NO3 is going to do it for you just dont muck up your sand bed again.....

 

[renogaw]

Originally Posted by reefkprZ
how did you like the info on Crepidula fornicata?

I'l get you more if you want...

doesnt look good for our tanks