how to introduce clam to new lighting setup?

[markietan]

yesterday i made a mistake... i shifted some of my clams (1 maxima, 1 crocea, 1 derasa) to my sump tank where i've installed a 14k MH.

i switched on the mh and left the clams there for about an hour and when i returned, all the clams were closed up and looked shriveled. quickly switched the mh off....

then i researched online and realized that i should have shielded them first to let them get used to the lighting slowly... otherwise they would get burn by the uv radiation from the mh and bleach and die.

the clams were placed high up in my rock work previously under 7 x 34W T5HO and were very healthy, although abit dull.

this morning the crocea started opening again (under a 2ft PL light) but the maxima is still closed up. can see parts of the mantle out actually but shriveled... currently i have an egg crate and a black mesh over them with the mh on... gonna check back again in awhile...

what else do i need to do to acclimatize it to the new lighting? should i put them back in the main tank first until they are stabalized first before trying again or just continue with the mh?

[MbmC]

You've mentioned part of the answer in your post

Don't place them high up on the rock work. That might have been necessary in your previous setup with a lower PAR value.

Try placing the clams on the sandbed, or out of the direct beam of MH for now, give it some time to acclimatise and then slowly move it up the rockwork closer to where you intend to place them.

[markietan]

yesterday i made a mistake... i shifted some of my clams (1 maxima, 1 crocea, 1 derasa) to my sump tank where i've installed a 14k MH.

i switched on the mh and left the clams there for about an hour and when i returned, all the clams were closed up and looked shriveled. quickly switched the mh off....

then i researched online and realized that i should have shielded them first to let them get used to the lighting slowly... otherwise they would get burn by the uv radiation from the mh and bleach and die.

the clams were placed high up in my rock work previously under 7 x 34W T5HO and were very healthy, although abit dull.

this morning the crocea started opening again (under a 2ft PL light) but the maxima is still closed up. can see parts of the mantle out actually but shriveled... currently i have an egg crate and a black mesh over them with the mh on... gonna check back again in awhile...

what else do i need to do to acclimatize it to the new lighting? should i put them back in the main tank first until they are stabalized first before trying again or just continue with the mh?

this is how it looked like originally (yesterday)

maxima on the left, crocea on the right

this is how it looks like now...

crocea on the left, maxima at the middle, derasa on ther ight

closer shot of the crocea

[RockyBoy]

Under MH lighting, you can place your clams at the bottom. Mine has been around for more than 5 years at the bottom.

Clams need good calcium & kH, a bit of nitrates, if can , some phyto but not neccessary.

yesterday i made a mistake... i shifted some of my clams (1 maxima, 1 crocea, 1 derasa) to my sump tank where i've installed a 14k MH.

i switched on the mh and left the clams there for about an hour and when i returned, all the clams were closed up and looked shriveled. quickly switched the mh off....

then i researched online and realized that i should have shielded them first to let them get used to the lighting slowly... otherwise they would get burn by the uv radiation from the mh and bleach and die.

the clams were placed high up in my rock work previously under 7 x 34W T5HO and were very healthy, although abit dull.

this morning the crocea started opening again (under a 2ft PL light) but the maxima is still closed up. can see parts of the mantle out actually but shriveled... currently i have an egg crate and a black mesh over them with the mh on... gonna check back again in awhile...

what else do i need to do to acclimatize it to the new lighting? should i put them back in the main tank first until they are stabalized first before trying again or just continue with the mh?

[Tommo]

Always make sure your clams that you buy are in higher lighting conditions than your tank , so if you bring the clam home , make sure it gets less light than in the shop , and if your lights are much brighter , then try and shade the clam and get it used to your light over a period of time

E.G but putting shade cloth over your tank above the clam only. or try paper and remove a peice each week , nothing worse than getting a new clam and having it die to light shock

cheers Tommo

[markietan]

Always make sure your clams that you buy are in higher lighting conditions than your tank , so if you bring the clam home , make sure it gets less light than in the shop , and if your lights are much brighter , then try and shade the clam and get it used to your light over a period of time

E.G but putting shade cloth over your tank above the clam only. or try paper and remove a peice each week , nothing worse than getting a new clam and having it die to light shock

cheers Tommo

thanks for the advice... fortunately these clams have somewhat recovered. the side that is nearer to the mh is still shrivelled but the side that is further away from the mh has fully extended and no signs of bleaching (fingers crossed)...

give it a week or so and i'm gonna move the mh over them. currently the mh is shining from an angle at a distance away... as the tank is quite shallow...

btw following the light shock, i did not switch on the lights for a day.. then i placed some egg crate over the clams and resumed the mh lighting for 3 hours... then 5 hours... then removed the egg crate. will try and get a picture of them tonight

[boxerz]

14k MH does not tell much about the lighting. How high is your MH from the sandbed ? What is the wattage of your MH bulb ?