sqamosa or derasa clam under 260 watts of pc?? which is better looking???

[agoutihead]

which clam is the brighter cooler looking clam of these two???
i have a coralife pc with 260 watts of light.... does that mean i have to run both actinics and day lights at the same time all the time for the clam to get the proper lighitng???
i normally leave each light on for 12 hours... and they overlap together for about 6...
what do you guys think??
also i have a diamond goby, and i know clams like to be in the sand.. is it a problem for the goby to always dump sand on it?
should i place it higher up on the rocks??

 

[reefer123]

you cann't really keep a clam under that low of light.
i would go with a deresa because it doen't need as much as the other one you listed.
and if you plan on keeping one place it high up on the rocks to get as much light as possible.
good luck

 

[agoutihead]

ive talked to a few people who said that it is no problem... even another website listed these two as the only ones that can sustain in "moderate" lighting..... and its a pretty reputable site....
anyone have any experiences with these?

 

[mudplayerx]

I agree with reefer123. You can't keep clams under moderate or low lighting. It must be intense lighting, and probably only hetal halide.

 

[agoutihead]

mud..... im surprised that you dont agree with the derasa clam.... pretty much everyone says that is good to go!

 

[agoutihead]

oh yeah hey guys... is it a big deal if my diamond goby sifts sand all over the clam???
should instead place him on the rocks??

 

[marvida]

Derasas are sand bed clams, which makes having one with your current lighting even more problematic.

 

[agoutihead]

ok... so is it a big deal if a diamond goby dumps sand all over it as im sure it will....??
then i should go with a squamosa cause the can be on the rocks??
i also heard that squamys are more colorful over all than deresa

 

[lamaface]

yeah, the goby dumping sand would be a problem and if the clam survives under your current lighting it would go very dark and become very dull in an attempt to get more light.

 

[agoutihead]

from the research i have compiled.... squamosa and derosa will do just fine in pc lighting...
im not saying metal halides arent great... and i wish i had them.... but people think that is the ONLY way to go.... which is clearly not correct.

 

[lamaface]

well me and a couple of guys tried keeping clams (squamosa, crocea and maxima) under differant types of lighting. All the clams showed under T-5s, PCs, VHO darkening of colours and in the case of VHOs the clams started to look like they were going to die (as we noticed this we put them into his main tank with 8 metal Halides and a month later the clam was 100% even though it never got the original intensity of colour back). Under the PCs supplemented with T-5s the clams survived even though they lost most of their intense patterns and their more vivid colouration they lived (all species except T.Crocea lived well) Under MHs they all did amazingly and lost no colour. We didn't keep them under just PCs or less than 300ww or light but best of luck to you and could you post what happens with your clam in its various stages that your clam goes through on the forums becuase it may help people in the future.
This little experiment was actually a bet that we made with the shop owners of one of the larger reef shops where i live, he said clams couldn't be kept succesfully under anything other than halides. Im not also saying that all clams will react the same way to the lights we mentioned. just my 2 cents

 

[me-n-my-fish]

Originally Posted by agoutihead
from the research i have compiled.... squamosa and derosa will do just fine in pc lighting...
im not saying metal halides arent great... and i wish i had them.... but people think that is the ONLY way to go.... which is clearly not correct.
Could you please post where the info saying this is. I am very interested. All my experiance says that MH are the lights to use when your are going after intensity, which the squamosa and derosa need to be happy and thrive, not just live.

 

[agoutihead]

well one is off of a very very reputable site... but its a competors site.. so i probably cant list it...
but i will tell you they have about 12 different times of clams for sale... and all of them except these two were listed at high light.... the derasa was listed as moderate.. and the squamosa was listed as moderate - high.... and like i said they had all of the maximas and croceas as all high light only...
also i have talked with other people who have kept these clams succesfully under pc... and one of the guys had over 12,000 posts... so im sure hes been very active as far as reefing goes and knows his stuff...
along with many other people... actualy only a few people have said no, and they were both in this thread...
also... an website that just sells clams... they have a website and forum.. and i read all of the posts pertaining to squamosa and derosas, and they all said pc was accecptable for these clams...
by the way i will also be dosing with dt's.... so they will be able to get nutrients and energy from that....

 

[mudplayerx]

The reason you cannot safely keep clams under lighting less intense than metal halide has less to do with the clam "starving" than you think. Actually, the clam, in an attempt to get get more light, will extend it's mantle more and more until it eventually begins to tear and separate from the shell. This is around the point when things go downhill and people assume the clam starved to death.

 

[vi3tb0i]

agoutihead i would go with derasa clam

 

[vi3tb0i]

i heard that clam would be fine under pc lights

 

[bang guy]

If it's a shallow tank like a 75 or a 40 breeder then a derasa can live in moderate lighting. It's not ideal but it will live. Keep in mind the rapid growth though. They get big very fast. Gigas is a better choice but they get big too.
Placing an animal in minimum conditions for survival means that it will be gone the first time you make a minor mistake.

 

[smarls]

Hmmm...I do not have a clam, and I hate to put animals at risk, but I agree with Agouti.
I have read on another site's message board that specializes in clams, that indeed certain clams will be fine under PC light. I actually specifically asked this question to the resident experts and they said certain species were fine. (yes, they may be trying to sell me something, but I believe the experts on the message board were similar to "sharks" here, so maybe they were just giving their opinion)
I think the Maximias and one other one required MH, and then the derasa and squamosa did not. Actually, I think they stated that Derasa clams were a perfect beginners choice in a stable and mature tank.
Again, I do not have a clam so I do not speak from experience, and I would suggest more research if someone is considering this. However this information was received from user "experts" (again to be taken with a grain of salt as in all cases, except of course for the sharks on this site )
Stewart

 

[promisetbg]

Squamosas and Derasas can be kept without halides,but what size tank is this 260 wts of PC over?
They cannot however be kept in the rockwork..they must be on the sand.They do not attach as Croceas and Maximas do.As a clam opens/closes and takes in water..it will scoot some...you don't want to have them fall.
The goby may cause a problem,but if you must keep him just blow off the clam gently with a turkey baster.
Lastly,the age of your tank is important when considering adding a clam.I recommend at least a year...I waited 2.
Derasas are more attractive than Squamosas IMO>

 

[discusking]

I would go with the deresa, Ive had mine in my nanocube for 9 months and its has quadrubled in size!!! Mine you its only about an inch from the surface so it gets good light, but dersa clams have some cool colors, my personal favorite is the zebra striped form...in fact im thinking about getting one of those. I really love my clam...i even named him Jabaa the clam :hilarious