breeding clams

[Cole Harlow]

Earlier today i started a thread about wtb rotifers to breed clownfish and somehow the thread ended up talking about breeding clams. it seemed like an interesting topic to me so i thought id start a thread about it. does anybody know how to breed clams i know from my thread earlier today and doing some reading online that its best to breed them on a full moon night and you can lay the clams outside for about 30 to 60 minutes, and then put them in a tank with hot water around 95 degrees Fahrenheit. i also read that if one clam in the tank spawns then it can cause every clam in the tank to spawn because usually when the spawn in captivity its stress related. this can cause unhealty water conditions fromall the free floating materials. is this about all there is to clam breeding id be really interested in breeding clams. i also have a few specific questions about clam breeding. 1 does anybody know someone who has bred clams before or done it themselves. 2 can you cross breed clams. 3 are all clams hard to breed or are some familys of clam easier thank other to breed. 4 about how many baby clams are produced from each spawning. 5 how often can clams spawn( im guessing every full moon)
Thanks for the help
Cole Harlow

[Cole Harlow]

heres the article i got some info from the rest is in the thread rotifers in the wtb section
Maxima Clams are not commonly bred in aquaculture, though the practice is becoming more common. In the wild, gametes are released into surrounding water; if egg and sperm cells unite, the resulting planktonic larvae will float freely for about ten days before settling on the bottom to develop. In captive breeding programs, many people will briefly warm the tanks in which Maxima Giant Clams are kept. This often triggers a gamete release. However, the release of clouds of sperm and egg cells is not always intentional and can be destructive in a small tank. In home aquaria, gametes are usually released in response to stress. One Maxima Clam that is not healthy and releases its gametes may cause all Giant Clams in the area to release gametes. This can vastly compromise water quality in a home aquarium, as clouds of gametes may pollute the water quickly. Many fish, particularly Chromis species, may eat these gametes, and protein skimmers can generally aid in cleaning up a gamete release, as well. If many Giant Clams are kept in an aquarium, you may wish to remove the one that is initially releasing gametes if you wish to prevent other clams from doing the same. If the Maxima Clam cannot be moved, you may siphon out the gametes by placing a tube, in which suction has been started, over the clam. After the gamete release is over, you should observe the individual that initiated the process, in order to be sure that it is not ailing. You may wish to perform a partial water change.

Credit to central pets.com

[DarinSchmidt]

wow, you had to get me started, theres a ton to know so i'll basically give you a basis on it. I have a manual i downloaded from somewhere and its on my pc so when i get time i'll look it up.

So heres the thing. the reason why its not commonly done, but doable, at home is because of the amount of sperm and eggs a clam can give off, around the millions or hundreds of millions, i'll double check that with my manual. The other thing is that the babies dont have a good success rate in a controlled environment such as the standard aquarium which is why there are clam farms around the coast and not local.

So there is basically a 2 week cycle to follow to get whats going to have the best success at surviving. First is getting the clams to breed, you can inbreed but the success rate is extremely low and not worth it because when stressing a clam to breed, it can sometimes kill them, which isnt exactly a bad thing which i'll explain in a bit. If you can get it to expel the eggs and sperm from multiple clams, you have have to have the sperm and eggs separated to get a count of the density. If there are too many sperm for the mount of eggs, the sperm will kill the egg by over fertilizing the egg. Polyspermia is what its called. The eggs are only good for 15min, so you have to be sort of fast and the sperm lasts for something like 1-2 hours.

Once you have done that, you have to get the fertilized eggs into a separate container, by which they will hatch, then remove the egg sacs and any unhatched eggs to prevent fowling the water. Then once thats done, on day one or two you can start feeding phytoplankton. Then you have get the zoanthelle to attach to the new babies..... This is where the clam comes in if its dead, you beat blend the clams mantle or scrape off the zoo and put it in the water, you'll know when the zoo has attached to the clam once their belly turns yellowish brown.

I'm drawing a blank after this part but you have to keep the water fresh, keep them well fed, get the zoo to attach, and pretty much wait out a couple weeks for the strong to survive.

[Cole Harlow]

Do you have to kill the clam to spread the zoathelle to the new clams

[DarinSchmidt]

Its one of th eonly effective ways to get it. The problem with a home system, and in many clam farms, is that they cant get enough free floating zooanthelle. In a home system like mine it might be possible because i dont change my water for over 6mo at a time, but even then I'm not sure. But one clam can be used for several batches if you can keep the zoo alive between breedings and some other circumstances.

[Cole Harlow]

could you post the name of the book you downloaded about breeding clams. also is there any way to harvest zooanthelle from zoathoids with out it being potetionally dangerous

[DarinSchmidt]

Its called The Clam Guide i'm pretty sure, havent had time to check, i'll look tonight. There isnt really any way to get the zoo without extracting it from something, i'm sure that you could find a methode but i'm not sure of one at this moment. The main thing with many home aquariums is with water changes, thats what makes it complicated for the brood to obtain it, so little in the water. I thought about making my first attempt at getting the eggs fertilized then sticking them in a container in my main tank since i only do water changed around every 6mo or so, hopefully with all the coral and my two clams, there might be enough free floating zoo in my water. If not, well then i know what i must do before its too late....

And the brood are really sensitive to light, so generally a dim/low lit place is where they need to be kept.

[DarinSchmidt]

http://www.ctsa.org/upload/publication/CTSA_130631672860873095404.pdf

[DarinSchmidt]

I am wanting to test this out, but i dont want to drop 300 on a 6" or larger clam right now. Is there anyone out there with a large clam that would be willing to try this out with me? I have a couple other small clams that should be able to help out with this process as a sperm donator but as far as the egging goes, it needs to be a mature large clam. I have Derasa's , two of them. I'd really like to get this going before i go back to school. We will split the Brood 50/50 if all goes well. Plus its the oportunistic time as the Moon is full. Not that they will turn into wolves but because thats part of their cycle.

If we could start today, that would be perfect.

[DarinSchmidt]

I believe i have everything needed.

[Cole Harlow]

keep us informed

[HUNGER]

that sounds cool if i had a clam i would let u use it

[DarinSchmidt]

Yeah just need to find a donor. I contacted reefsystems to see if they wouldn't mind helping out. So I'll just have to wait and see.

[HUNGER]

i hope they do  that would be awsome

[hatcher2014]

any update on ur clam breeding darin really interested cause im thinking about getting a couple clams.

[DarinSchmidt]

Still looking for a donor. I may have to buy a large clam if I can't by spring.....

[slandis3]

I think some people (me included) are going to have a hard time handing over live stock for you to experiment on. If it were to die in your system I'm sure it would create some hard feelings.