That is for sure a maxima calm. it is true that clams under 3.5 inches will need supplemental feeding until they reach 3.5-4" but it is because the mantel size doesnt have enough surface area to support the clam alone. it is not however true that the calm doesnt have zooxanthellae at that size. zoxanthellea is in fact a unicellular(single celled) algae and not a bacteria...so if the site/where you got the information from, said so it may not be a reliable place for information. calms also feed over long periods of time...this means that just a squirt of food or short dips (which can be extremely stressful) dont benefit them very much. daily feeding of a live or well preserved phytoplankton is really best and the filters should be kept off for at least one hour with only powerheads/wave makers running. this will allow the clams to feed naturally. spot feeding is not effective at all and if one watches close they will notice that a squirt or cloud of food usually causes the clams to close off their siphons. they also will feed off of nitrates and fish waste in the tank. really the most important thing for young clams is a regular proper feeding of a phytoplankton and very good light. A lot of strong T-5's with high quality reflectors or metal halides are really needed to support them in the long run and less powerful light will end up shorting their life span and dulling their color. some people are able to keep them in a tank with of at least 5watts per gallon withing 5 inches of power compacts as well...but this condition is not usually ideal. Tridacna maxima and T. crocea are both lagoon or shallow water clams meaning they need much more light. where as T. gigas, squamosa, derasa,tevora and Hippopus hippopus and H. porcellanus are from deeper water and tend to do well under even strong power compacts but they all get fairly large.
regardless of everything though removing the clam to feed it is not a good idea at all...it will cause much stress to the animal...just as you wouldnt fish out your fish or remove all your corals, each day/couple of days, you should not do so with any animal.
i really hope this helped some. if anything isnt clear please feel free to say so...i am an active clam keeper myself so it is a subject i have spent much time and research on in the last few years.
regardless of everything though removing the clam to feed it is not a good idea at all...it will cause much stress to the animal...just as you wouldnt fish out your fish or remove all your corals, each day/couple of days, you should not do so with any animal.
i really hope this helped some. if anything isnt clear please feel free to say so...i am an active clam keeper myself so it is a subject i have spent much time and research on in the last few years.
