Do you supplement feed your Tridacnids?

[Biscutz]

I just read an article in this months Coral magazine that stated that the reason for many adult Tridacnids deaths can be blamed on starvation. I have to giant clams, one is a dersea (5") and the other is a crocea (4"). I have not be supplement feeding for the past 3 months or so. I decided to stop my dosings of DT's for the sake of less nutrients, especially now since my tank is mainly SPS. I'm just wondering how many of you guys feed your large clams? And if you don't how long have you been successful with this?

Thanks.

[trmiv]

When I think about it, I throw some DT's in there. I don't do it regularly though, maybe once or twice a week. My crocea is about 4", I've had it for 4 months.

[kenny77]

i feed Dt's to the tank twice a year. but i dont directly feed my clams

[Leviathan]

I have a fairly large Squammy that is 5 years old that I have never feed one time.

[Biscutz]

Leviathan,
Do you supplement your tank with DT's at all?

[Lunchbucket]

i've never fed my clams DT's...just a ca reactor, water changes, and whatever the fish get fed

Lunchbucket

[trmiv]

What type of clams do you guys have? What type of lighting are they under, and how far under the surface?

I have a 4" crocea. It's on the sandbed of a 21" tall tank under 14K Phoenix 250w DE halide 6" above the water, driven off an IceCap.

[PrivateJoker64]

I have a blue Crocea that has grown about half an inch in the last four months, and a Gigas that has grown half an inch in less than two months. They are in a 65 under two 250w 20k's and one 250w 6500. I haven't fed them anything, but I have a fuge that I suspect feeds pretty much everything in the tank, i.e, it's full of pods and macros. I think some phytos are produced by the slow flow fuge.

[bad coffee]

Clams become {almost}Completely photosynthetic once they hit 4-5". So even if you're feeding dt's, you're not doing much for the clam.

Younger clams need to be target fed (top of a soda bottle trick) as they are mostly NON photosynthetic.

BC

[Leviathan]

Originally posted by Biscutz
Leviathan,
Do you supplement your tank with DT's at all?


Other than regular 10 gallon every other week water changes and daily additions of B-ionic, nothing goes in my system. With the exception of a VERY small amount of dried food for one fish.

The clam was raised under dual 175 10K's for the first 3 years aprox, and is now under dual 250's always on the bottom, and has gone from just over an inch to its current size of about 8-9"

[Gawain1974]

I don't target feed my crocea, and he's about 5-6" long.

Here's a pic of mine....

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y172/Gawain1974/Reef%20Tank/DCP_0477.jpg

[Biscutz]

Thanks guys for the responses, I will continue to do what I have been doing. Thanks again.

[Lures and Jigs]

What are "DTs"?

[Biscutz]

Live phytoplankton, the manufacturer's name is DT.

[grim]

Never directly fed, yet mine have always shown significant growth.

jb

[Steven Pro]

I dose phytoplankton (DT's) specifically for my clam, a 3-4" crocea. Plus, I like the little feather dusters and sponges that sprout from the liverock as well.