how to differentiate clam??

[hammy]

hello reefer ,

recently taken a liking in clam due to the upgrading of light ....er , one simple qn to ask which might seem easy for the expert ... how to diffentiate which breed or kind they belong to??

in fact , like always kanna con by lfs , they say what i believe what ... haiz , can someone enlighten mi and probably will be better to post a pic for a clearer picture ...

thanks in advance ( a time to showcase ur beautiful clams too !!! )

[Dispar_Anthias]

I think that this qns have been ask many times and answerd too. Suggest you search for older thread and you may find your answer.....

Anyway just FYI........... I try to make it short

Clam commonly sold in the market mainly belong to the tridacna species... A few popular ones are maxima, crocea, derasa, gigas and squamosa........

Crocea- smallest clam species which do not have huge stair case like structure(think they are call scute) on their shell........ They are very colourful and their stretch their mantle out very wide and one of the biggest in the clam family) thus making them prone to predation... Being very colourful, they therefore needs very very strong lighting(>250watts) The shell base is also very wide and that makes it diff from its cousin(maxima) as these 2 species are easily mistaken as each other...... usually lfs owner will try to say that their croceas are maxima because maxima cost more.....

maxima- They have staircase like structure on their shell(some may not have) They are very colourful and therefore lots of lights are needed(some colourful one may need 400watts of light).....The shell base where the byssal is is not as wide as croceas..........

Derasa- This guys have very small and thin base......... When fully close, this clam look like pancake....... When they open, the shell can open to almost 180 degree...... Their colour are not as colourful as maxima or corceas and usually they come in brown, gold or green....... They also have scutes on their shell but the scutes pattern are more unique becos they continue from one end of the shell to the other end........

Squamosa- This clam have shell pattern that resemble maxima... only thing is that maxima scutes are more closely pack while squamosa's are more wide..... Another thing to differentiate maxima from squamosa, is from the mantle pattern, squamosa mantlt tend to be more dull and usually in gold or brown while maximas mantle can be of almost and colour........ Squamosas are very hardy clam and should be recommended for beginners....... They need very little light too(least is many t5s).......

As for gigas and hippophus, i would not talk much abt them as they are seldom see in lfs trade.... Gigas being rare and endangered while hippophus being very ugly thus no lfs owner would want to bring them in.....

From the way you speak, i suggest you read up lots more on clam before buying them, read up on their needs and diseases or predation which may affect them......

[Dispar_Anthias]

This is a squamosa(FYI my clam are ugly and no way compared to others which some reefers' own)

[Dispar_Anthias]

A maxima

[Dispar_Anthias]

Group of croceas

[Dispar_Anthias]

derasa(the one which is browish and has a mantle pattern diff from the rest but it looks gold from the side)

[bubble_gum]

hey hippopus are nt ugy its just that nt every1 can appreciate them

here is my fav one

besides almost every1 has a max,crocea,squamosa and even derasa

[bubble_gum]

another squamosa.... nw it belongs to bro triggerfish

[Dispar_Anthias]

hey hippopus are nt ugy its just that nt every1 can appreciate them

here is my fav one

besides almost every1 has a max,crocea,squamosa and even derasa

Because they are so colourful thus add colour to your tank but hippophus eh........ dun want to comment to much

[Dispar_Anthias]

My giant squamosa

[bubble_gum]

Because they are so colourful thus add colour to your tank but hippophus eh........ dun want to comment to much

hmmmm i cant find the webbie tt tells u hw to differentiate clams .... but then again bro DA has said everythng .... BTW hippopus is nt under tridacna....

mine is hippopus hippopus

[bubble_gum]

My giant squamosa

thins is my giant

[Dispar_Anthias]

hmmmm i cant find the webbie tt tells u hw to differentiate clams .... but then again bro DA has said everythng .... BTW hippopus is nt under tridacna....

mine is hippopus hippopus

yeah thats why i never mentioned hippophus are from tridacna

[Dispar_Anthias]

Updated pic of the giant... notice the colour has faded alot as the squamy has grown quite a bit

[Godzilla]

hey hippopus are nt ugy its just that nt every1 can appreciate them

here is my fav one

besides almost every1 has a max,crocea,squamosa and even derasa

[hammy]

yup i am not a expert in clam , will read up more and find out more ... definately !!!

thanks guys ... nice clams !!!

[Assillian]

They are definately big.... how many inches are they?

[Dispar_Anthias]

They are definately big.... how many inches are they?

1 foot long

[dandelion76]

This article at reefkeeping has a very elaborate explanation on how to identify clams.

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2002-07/jf/feature/