Denver LFS - Clam question

[malibu599]

I am going to denver and am curious to buy new corals. Mainly soft corals, however I know that clams take excessive light. I have 192 watts on a 46 gallon bowfront will this be enough if I put him up towards the top of my aquarium???
Also, Denver locals let me know which stores to visit in Denver

 

[viper_930]

Not enough.

 

[flatzboy]

By the the sounds of it you have power compacts so I would say no. IMO, it won't do that well and will probably be un-happy. It might do well if its under 3'' because the smaller ones don't need that much light but have to be spot fed in a container with phytoplankton daily.

 

[viper_930]

The smaller ones do need a lot of light. They just need to be fed more phyto because they don't have enough mantle surface area to get enough energy from light. They still need the light though.

 

[flatzboy]

Originally posted by ViPeR_930
The smaller ones do need a lot of light. They just need to be fed more phyto because they don't have enough mantle surface area to get enough energy from light. They still need the light though.
I had a squamosa in my old 20g. that I got at abut 2'' and I only had 110 watts of pcs and it did fine, knows its in my parents 75g. that has 4x110 watt vho and the clam is about 4''. I know they need a good amount of light but they don't need near as much as a 5 or 6'' clam needs.

 

[viper_930]

Originally posted by FLATZBOY
I know they need a good amount of light but they don't need near as much as a 5 or 6'' clam needs.
They need just as much light as a 5-6" clam IMO. Like I said, they don't have the mantle surface area to get enough energy from the light, but what mantle space they do have needs the same amount of light. Decreasing the amount of light would just do more bad.

 

[marvida]

Different species have different needs. T. squamosa, for instance, lives at depths down to 18 meters, so can get by with less light. Small clams simply don't have enough syphonal mantle to support enough symbiotic algae to satisfy all of it's nutritional requirements. Therefore small clams need to have their diets supplemented with phyto. The fact that you feed small clams does not mean that they do not require the same quality of light as a larger clam of the same species. Also keep in mind that the bright colors that attracted you to a clam may fade without proper lighting.
Small clams are tough enough to raise without cutting corners on their care. Of course it really depends on your philosophy, do you want your animal to thrive, or simply survive.

 

[badkharma]

MarVida's correct. Some types don't need as much light as others, but the color will fade without proper lighting and clams *should* really be on the sandbed. It's what they prefer.

 

[viper_930]

I don't think all clam species like the sandbed more than the LR. Croceas like the LR. I may be wrong about this though.

 

[flatzboy]

My squamosa likes having its foot attached to liverock at least a piece of rubble. if its not it will open and close to move itself around until he finds something.