pyramidellid snails and clams

Discussion in 'Clams' started by Redbeard, Aug 9, 2004.

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  1. Redbeard

    Redbeard Spanish Shawl Nudibranch

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    Greetings,

    Should pyramidellid snails be a major concern if buying only aquacultured clams? If so then what would you recommend to keep them under control? My new reef tank is loosely based on the 50-Gallon Clam Lagoon in John H. Tullock's Natural Reef Aquariums so naturally I'm thinking of including a few clams in it. Tullock included a Clown Wrasse (Coris gaimard) in the example in the book but IMHO a fish that can get over 15 inches is a bit large for a 50 gallon tank. Yeah, I know the clams get big to but I think I can make room for a couple of T corcea. Besides it's just a mater of time before we get a bigger tank and I doubt the clams will grow as fast as the fish. (Is that a safe assumption?)

    And what about the good snails? If I get something to eat the bad snails must I kiss the good snails goodbye as well?
    A fish that doesn't get too big to raise to maturity in a 50 gallon tank or eat hermit crabs would be good. Is this asking too much?

    [rant]
    Back in the day, before the big dogs ran all the mom and pop LFS's out of town it was nothing to bag up a fish and run down to the store to trade it in. As a matter of fact we used to completely support our (FW) hobby by breeding several species and taking them in for store credit at a couple of LFS's, those days seem to be long gone. Now when I go to any of the SW LFS's in the area I get the impression that they're just too busy to stop and talk to a newbie. So I've been doing business with a couple of mail order houses and getting better customer service over the phone than I get here in person but I don't think I can expect to bag up a fish and ship it off to a mail order house for credit when it gets too big![/rant] :(

    Ted
     
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  3. amcarrig

    amcarrig Super Moderator

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    Most clams do and will grow much faster than fish.

    As for your snail question, I got this info from the forum at www.clamsdirect.com. Hope it helps :)

    "As farm raised clams are actually grown in the open water, they can also have pyram snails. Although in the wild these snails are not as big of a threat as it is not a closed system.

    The best thing to do is be careful when adding clams to your system, farmed or wild. The best practice is to have a quarantine tank where you keep the clam until you are sure it does not have any pyram snail before adding it to your display.

    Even if you do or don't have a quarantine tank, inspecting the clam is the most important measure to keep them out of your tank. IMO scrubbing the shell on a clam that you just received is the first step. This way you remove any debris that could hide one of these snails. When inspecting the shell I also take the clam out of the tank and put them in a shallow container so the clam is not out of the water longer than necessary. A pair of tweezers is helpful to remove the ones you find.

    After you have cleaned your clam the threat is not past, pyram snails are asexual so it only takes one to repopulate, therefore it is necessary to inspect new and established clams in your system every so often and whenever a clam shows signs of stress."
     
  4. Redbeard

    Redbeard Spanish Shawl Nudibranch

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    Thanks for your response amcarring [smiley=2thumbsup.gif]

    I guess it's not safe to assume anything. Don't know where I got the idea that clams didn't grow that fast. Coris gaimard might be a viable option then if I can find a place to trade it in when it gets too big. I will have to learn more about clams (and SW fish) before I get any. This seems like a good place to start, I'll also check www.clamsdirect.com. (seems like a popular place).

    1) What do you use to scrub them?
    2) How long do you need to quarantine them before you can be sure they're not infested?
    3) Do I need another MH light for the QT?
    4) Once the clam is established would you be able to see the offending critter attacking it from a normal viewing angle before signs off stress are apparent?
    5) Anybody recommend a good book on maintaining clams in a mini-reef?

    6) Could I be trying to gather so much info so fast that I'm starting to misprocess it? (Here again I don't know where I got my info but I was under the impression that taking them out of the water at all could kill them.)

    Sorry about the long posts and all the SNQ (stupid newbie questions). ;D
    I just like to keep the trial & error (torture) phase to a minimum when I start bringing animals home.

    TIA for all the info.

    Ted
     
  5. amcarrig

    amcarrig Super Moderator

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    Well, I'm not going to pretend that I know the answers to most of your questions as I've never had to deal with these types of snails. I would definitely read up as much info as you can on the Clams Direct site and take it from there. As for lighting over a QT, you shouldn't "need" halides but strong lighting will be required. What have you got for lighting now? What size tank is your QT?

    I don't know if any books regarding keeping clams in aquaria but I'll look around and get back to you on that :)
     
  6. Gresham

    Gresham Great Blue Whale

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    Daniel Knopp has a VERY complete book out on Giant clams. Check the Book forum. I think I have it listed in my reviews (it should be there, I own it.) Hey, you done with it yet Matt?
     
  7. Redbeard

    Redbeard Spanish Shawl Nudibranch

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    My QT is just a bare 10 gallon tank, I tossed a sponge filter in the sump of my main tank so it would be ready when I need it. The hood has a 15w Philips Agro-Lite in it. That bulb must be old, left over from my first attempt at growing FW plants. ;D ::) Planned on dropping in a couple of pieces of pvc for hiding places for fish when the time comes. Probably dig up an Ebo-Jager if I need to. Will that work? Am I missing anything? I never used a QT before. What do you recommend for lighting? I really don't want to spring for another MH if I don't have to.
     
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  9. Redbeard

    Redbeard Spanish Shawl Nudibranch

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    Oh yeah, thanks for the info on the book, Gresham. :)
     
  10. amcarrig

    amcarrig Super Moderator

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    [quote author=Redbeard link=board=Newbie;num=1092125055;start=0#5 date=08/12/04 at 01:29:58]

    My QT is just a bare 10 gallon tank, I tossed a sponge filter in the sump of my main tank so it would be ready when I need it. The hood has a 15w Philips Agro-Lite in it. That bulb must be old, left over from my first attempt at growing FW plants.  ;D  ::) Planned on dropping in a couple of pieces of pvc for hiding places for fish when the time comes. Probably dig up an Ebo-Jager if I need to. Will that work? Am I missing anything? I never used a QT before. What do you recommend for lighting? I really don't want to spring for another MH if I don't have to.[/quote]

    15 watts won't be enough to maintain a clam in a q-tank so you'll have to figure something out.  I'm not sure if pc or vho light setups are available for such a small tank so you'll have to do a bit of research there.  As long as the sponge filter is enough to keep the q-tank's water parameters in a fairly pristine condition, the filtration should be enough.  Keep on eye on your ammonia/nitrite/nitrate levels and take if from there.  If you decide to upgrade the filtration, I would just purchase a small, cheap hang on filter and fill it with carbon and/or Chemi-Pure.  

    If you plan on quarantining clams, be sure that you have either a flat piece of rock or a flat shell to place the clam on. The clam will need to attach its foot to something and if it attaches to the bottom glass of the qt, it will be difficult to remove. Also, if you buy any clams under 3", they will need to be fed live phytoplankton regularly. The dead stuff from Kent won't do it. You'll have to buy DT's or a similar type of live phyto.

    After doing a bit of reading, I found out that wrasses will only keep the snail population in check and not wipe them out entirely.  I also found out that a 6-line wrasse may also eat the snails so if that's true, you won't have to worry about the fish outgrowing the tank.
     
  11. Redbeard

    Redbeard Spanish Shawl Nudibranch

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    This is great stuff, thanks again for all the great info.
    I like the six line wrasse, I'll probably get that. I'll try to get a copy of that book before I get any clams too.

    I did a quick search and found some 20" PC's, from 1x28w to 1x96w and a few in between. All are 50/50 10000k/actinic blue. The tank is 20"Lx12"HX10"D
     
  12. amcarrig

    amcarrig Super Moderator

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    I like the 6-line as well. Very colorul and interesting and generally well behaved.

    When it comes to equipment, I'm not much help to you. I can't tell you whether or not the light set ups that you mention would be good but I'm sure that if you have 4-5 watts of lighting per gallon (minimum) over the tank, you should be good to go :)