Hitchhiker baby clam on a snail!!

[BlennyBabe]

I have several small clams that are not photo synthetic. It could be a type of oyster or muscle.

[XNavyDiver]

Originally posted by Freed
I did a google search and typed in "zooxanthellae colors". At least the first 7 or 8 entries stated that the colors of clams and corals are because of the colorful zooxanthellae in the tissue of the inverts. Please try this and you will see what I am going by. There are also a couple of entries that state what you have said as well but not nearly as many. Thanks, Freed

I've read just about everything by Delbeek and Sprung, and they concur with what Mihn in saying also; zooxanthallae are brownish algea, and the pigments you see on the mantle is like melatonin in human skin when we tan, it's a protein that blocks uv radiation.

[blueoceandiver]

wow....would like to see a photo in a couple of months if poss.

[Jimmy719]

MMM. The thing I hate about reef central- rumors and opinions!! Haha. The "clam" is actually an oyster. Search google images for the genus "Lopha" and you'll find something strangely similar. Tridacnids can have more than 6 folds in their shell, in fact, check out this picture of a Hippopus, and you'll see he easily has 7 on one side alone. Here's the determining factor, though: I know we've all read as many Tridacnid books as possible before buying ours, so we know how they attach to stuff... the bysuss! That feller is attached to the snail by cementing his left shell to it, something that no clam does, but all oysters do.

As for the color of zooxanthellae, I searched google, and of the first 10 entries, 4 said it is brown, 3 said "the color of the coral is due to the color of the zooxanthellae" and 3 didn't provide relevant information. You could also look at the color of the stuff yourself. Search Symbiodinium, the genus of nearly all zooxanthellae, and you'll find pictures like this one or this one .

If it sounds like I'm trying to drive a point home, its because I am. It makes me sad that people come here to get real information, and when someone who actually knows what he or she is talking about offers advice, they are bashed for crushing someone's hopes. Take what you find here with a grain of salt. The prevalence of an opinion does not make it fact.

What you do have there, Dan, is not a Tridacnid, but it is a damn cool little shell, and will look awesome once it's all grown up. I bet you won't come across many people who have one of those in their tank!

Peace, good luck.

Jimmy

[dufferdan]

Well said Jimmy. It's been fun and very informative following this thread and getting so many opinions. I had know idea my question would start such a debate.
I will try and post a new picture in a few months so everyone can look at changes. (it hasn't changed much yet). In the mean time I'm going to learn how to post pictures.
Cheers

[SeaView]

dufferdan,

Hos that little clam doing? Any new pics?

Just curious

[Julio]

i would sacrifice the snail for the clam if it were me, it looks like a maxima or crocea too small to tell but you can defintely see some blue coloration in the mantle.

[The Shrimp X]

well looking around doing a searcg i found this thread, Can some one post the pics and give an update? The pics dont work so im bumed out.

[bkztrini465]

Hmmm digging this up. Any updates on the clam??