MCMAC Presentation: James Fatheree - Tridacnid Clams: Feeding & Lighting

Laura and Jim will be hosting the May meeting this Saturday the 12th and it will be the usual of food, drinks, raffle and fun.
 
Doors will be open at 6:00 pm for social talk and the meeting will start at 7:00.  Parking gets a little tight and the city says you can't park on 4th but there is a parking lot a block away.   Meeting is usually held in the backyard so feel free to bring your favorite lawn chair, weather permitting of course.

If you need address/directions, contact a club member.

Best if you park at Mini Mall (where the spaghetti establishment use to be)
 
You will get to see his new frag tank set up in the making.
 
Hope to see you there!

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Tridacnid Clams: Feeding & Lighting

These clams get all of their energy needs from their zooxanthellae which they receive by filter feeding.
It's not clear that they need to filter feed anything else.
When they do filter feed, they eat everything from detritus and microsand to zooplankton and phytoplankton.

"Detritus is very nutritious.  It's got all kinds of good stuff in it."

They can get much of their chemical nutrient needs (nitrogen, phosphorus, etc.) directly from seawater.

They can also digest their own zooxanthellae for additional nutrients and energy.

99.9% of the time nothing needs to be fed to the clams.  Feeding your fish also feeds the clams further down the food chain.

All clams need different amount of light, both between species, but also between members of the same species.
crocea needs a lot of light (less than 10' of water)
maxima (less than 20' of water)
derasa can live much deeper, but they are still diverse in their light needs

Color does not correlate to the amount of light a clam needs.

Bright halides are the best bet for most clams.  Clam lighting requirements vary considerably between individuals, but anything dimmer is a gamble, and what works for one individual may be insufficient for another.