20150329 180 Reef Tank update

A video update of my 180 Gallon Reef Tank after a couple weeks of intensive stocking effort.

Below are some of the new additions from this weeks fragswap at Janesville Wisconsin.

Middle of the 180 tank

New 4" Squamosa Clam

New Rose Bubble Tip Anemone about 3" disk, 6" open

Elegant coral in the process of swallowing some food

The Clarkii clownfish ditched the long tentacle anemone to host this rose bubble tip within 10 minutes of the anemone's introduction!

20150317 Camera is back

Without turning this into a Tech blog, I just want to say I take most of my photos published here using my iPhone5S. And when that camera goes out of commission it becomes very difficult for me to take photos and post them.
After a long and hard battle with Apple I finally found a replacement and now back!
Here are some tank update! While I was away, I added two anemones!

7" Squamosa Clam

This is the new long tentacle anemone I found. I am a true believer now in the symbiotic relationship with specifically the Clarkii clownfish with the long tentacle anemone. I placed the bubble tip anemone in the tank two weeks before I introduced the long tentacle. It took the Clarkii about 3-4 days to settle into the bubble tip compare to 30 seconds of me introducing the long tentacle.

The new Long Tentacle green anemone, hosted by a Clarkii clownfish

And a new bubble tip anemone, not so bubble tip right now though

20141229 Clams in my 180!

With my wife's lovely gift of waterproof case, I was able to snap some underwater shots without the disruption of water reflection.

My 10" Stardust Squamosa Clam

My 8" Green squamosal clam

8" Derasa Clam

20141226 Underwater footage of my 180 gallon reef- Fish point of view

Here is a submerged "fish point of view" to my clam in the middle of my tank. I love it when the sailfin desjardini tang decides to come up close and "size me up"

20141215 180 Mix Reef Video Update!

Here is video to the 180 Mix reef update with the new family members added. All mingling with no aggressions! I love the blue tang's electric blue color and the pyramid butterfly's golden highlights.

One thing surprised me: I was expecting the blue tang to appear "black" under actinic 430nm lighting, however, it appeared to remain sharply blue!

Tank update

Update photo from the top. All the fish got excited thinking I was going to feed- not quite, just taking a picture!

Clam update

Just another update to my clam!

2014-05-16 Species Spotlight- Derasa

This is the third Derasa clam I've kept in my personal aquarium.
My first clam came as a birthday present, a 5" derasa, had the tiger spotted marking.
Second one is similar to the one below, also a 5" derasa, with a slightly lighter color. That one unfortunately died due to disease introduced by another clam.

The current clam I have is between 8-9" and has beautiful stripes down its mantle.

In many people's opinion, Derasa clam is one of the hardiest, and easiest clams to keep.

In my opinion, squamosa is the hardiest and easiest, but Derasa clam is a close second.

Like all clams, it does require full reef water condition with extra care in calcium level for proper growth. It will also need slightly nutrient rich water (i.e. plenty of fish waste) to thrive as it absorbs phosphorous from water to build its body parts. Hence it's nearly impossible to keep clams in an aquarium with no fish in it.

Although Derasa doesn't require as much intensity in light as Maxima and Crocea do, it still need a decent light source. I've been able to keep it healthy under power compact at at least 5W/gallon with slower growth. Currently I have it under my AI sol blue LED fixture at around 70% at peak time and it's growing rapidly. Many others keep it under Metal Halide, which is more than enough light but can really suck up your energy bill.

Unlike Maxima and Crocea, you should place this clam on a sand bed. And give it plenty of room to "rotate" as it has a mind of its own in choosing what direction it wants to face. Lastly, keep the tank free of potential clam eaters. I had a flame angel who would nip at my Squamosa before. That flame took its own life one day, and my flame angel II has been very well fed and has not touched the clam.

One other conscience complier is that most of these clams you find in the trade are now aquacultures with minimum to none impact to the reef. And the bonus of aquacultured livestock is they are far hardier than those wild collected.

Scaling the clam growth

I've been trying really hard to photography my 10" stardust squamosa clam. But I think it has to do with the camera none of the photos I take end up doing justice to how huge and beautiful this clam is.
The photo below is probably as good of a testimony as it can be:

The yellow tang is fully grown- 5" and thick! it was about 5-6" over the clam as this was taken so picture the fish a bit smaller if it was a bit closer to the clam. I think seriously thinking of investing on an underwater camera (or even a go-pro!)

Squamosa clam has a special place in my aquarium keeping- My interest in salt water aquarium started when I visited the Waikiki Aquarium- There was a huge Squamosa clam at its entrance (must have been ver a foot) with small clowns swimming freely through it. Here is a video.

2014-05-05 Keeping Clams under LED

I just curious to see what other reefers are saying about the LED light's effect on keeping giant clams. So I did some research:

http://www.ultimatereef.net/forums/archive/index.php/t-588034.html

http://www.3reef.com/forums/clams/clams-under-leds-growth-130747-7.html#.U2Rq7l5k4y4

I've went through a few different forums but found that these two have the most constructive answers I was looking for. 

In general, the answer is yes. But it depends on how the light was made (home made, cheaply made in China, etc), the total wattage of the light, distance of light from water, distance of clam from water surface etc.

I can definitely attest that clams not only survive, but thrive under LED.

I have had my aqua illumination sol blue for more than 6 months now. And I've kept my three big clams in there for almost 5 months. I programmed my light to mimic the natural sunlight intensity bell curve throughout the day with the highest being 3pm at about 85% and down to 15% at beginning and ending of the day. The largest of the three squamosa grew 2", from 7" to 9", the derasa is a bit more sensitive to fish swim by so grew a bit slower, about 1.5", from 6 to 7.5". The smallest of the three is also a squamosa, grew from 5" to about 7" now. My calcium level was around 500 before these clams were in. And now I am struggling to keep it over 350 when they grow this fast! My tank is 92 Corner and they are all sitting at the very bottom. So yes, you can definitely keep clams happy with LED lights.

In perspective

Sometimes pictures just dont do justice on the size and color of something under the reef lighting. But a little contrast helps. In this picture is my 3 year old yellow tang about 5" has not grown anymore for a while versus my squamosa clam to show its size and color.