Non-photosynthetic clam

OgreMkV

OgreMkV

Father of Earth's Next Emperor
Apr 26, 2007
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Port Arthur, TX
ogremkv.wordpress.com
OK, I've got a clam. It's got a white shell... ridges on the shell run to the hinge. It is alive, the shell halves are opening and closing. It's also apparently getting larger.

Now what the heck do I do with it? How do I feed it?
 
Did it come on the LR?

Leave it as it is filter feeder. There were times when I and many other hobbyists used mussels/clams to filter water. One way to remove detritus!!!

How about a pics?

I would jump off the chair for any freebies on LR such as clams, oysters, etc, etc.
 
Cool! Leave it alone! Could be clam/scallop, etc, etc.
Should start the pic journal with dates and start doing research on the clams found in the area where LR came from.
 
Cerianthus said:
Did it come on the LR?

Leave it as it is filter feeder. There were times when I and many other hobbyists used mussels/clams to filter water. One way to remove detritus!!!

How about a pics?

I would jump off the chair for any freebies on LR such as clams, oysters, etc, etc.
Click to expand...

Non-photosynthetic clams are specialist feeders of micro algae in suspension they have evolved to feed solely on phytoplankton not detritus.

I have a few non-photosynthetic clams for the last 2 years, they seem to be doing well. I dose a small amount of phyto regularly.

http://www.dtplankton.com/articles/necessity.html
 
Esox lucius said:
Non-photosynthetic clams are specialist feeders of micro algae in suspension they have evolved to feed solely on phytoplankton not detritus.

I have a few non-photosynthetic clams for the last 2 years, they seem to be doing well. I dose a small amount of phyto regularly.

http://www.dtplankton.com/articles/necessity.html
Click to expand...

Actually, clams, depending very largely on species, can end up feeding on a large variety of suspended foods. This can range, again depending on species, from phytoplankton, invertebrate larvae, detritus, bacterioplankton and other small zooplankton separate from larvae. There are plenty of studies, in fact, that show a greater preference for animal-based foods in certain species. Phytoplankton, however, is still considered somewhat of the de facto standard, mainly because it is readily taken, digested, is adequate for necessary nutrition, and is very easy to make or obtain. But feeding solely on it isn't necessarily true across the board.
 
2 yrs? you got way to go, lol!

How I view detritus is any uneaten foods, be it natural or induced.
They are all part of food chain. Without one,missing link, specifics can become extinct.

Filter feeding mollusks were my main or only mechanical filtrations and they themselves produced eggs which some of themselves become part of food chain.
This was late 80's/ealy 90's when I bult tidal wave action for Cylindrical Vat using DIY filtrtion pumps with float valves, pressure valves, etc.
I have simulated surging action of wave as in nature which greatly improved general health/condition of livestock including corals.
 
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Well, considering the usual lifespan in captivity, 2 years isn't bad at all--in fact, it's much better than most. I'm curious as to the size of the clams and the density of phytoplankton you've been feeding them.
 
I also have a couple of hitch-hiking non-photosynthetic bivalves in my reef tank (came with a zoanthid rock I purchased a few years ago).

They started out really small (smaller than zoathid polyps) and were concealed by the surrounding zoanthids. I didn't even notice them until a year or two ago when they gained some size and their shells protruded beyond the zoanthids. They're about almond-sized now. I've never specifically fed them.
 
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